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The annual UK Payments Market report reveals that debit cards, including those stored on mobile phones, remained the dominant payment method throughout last year. In total, debit card transactions made up 54% of all payments in 2025, with contactless payments comprising 39% of that figure.
Although cheques were initially set to be phased out by 2018, pressure from Members of Parliament led to the industry reversing this plan several years ago. As a result, cheques have declined significantly, now representing only 0.2% of UK payments. Last year, approximately 77 million cheques were still written.
Cash continues to hold a notable position in the payment landscape, as data from UK Finance suggests it will not disappear entirely. Notes and coins were used in 3.9 billion transactions, equating to 8% of all payments made in the UK last year. While this usage is expected to drop by half by 2035—approximately 4% of payments or two billion transactions—the report stresses that cash will remain in demand by certain groups.
The report states, “Rather than the UK becoming a cash-free society over the next decade, the UK will transition to an economy where cash is less important than it once was but remains widely valued and still preferred by some.” Nearly 50 million people withdrew cash from ATMs last year. Nick Quin from Link, the organization managing the UK’s ATM network, commented, “Cash withdrawals are falling across every part of the country. More people find it convenient and prefer to pay using contactless cards and digital wallets on smartphones, but millions still rely on cash day in, day out.” Quin further explained, “People on lower incomes rely more heavily or entirely on cash to budget, which is why our job is to protect access to cash for as long as people need it.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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