Cash makes a comeback as families limit their use of cards to manage budgets amid the cost of living crisis

• British Retail Consortium welcomed the increase in cash usage 
• Cash machine group Link revealed six in ten ATMs will be ripped out by 2030
• READ MORE: Mother says the secret to getting richer is paying in cash

Cash usage has grown for the first time in a decade as households seek to manage their budgets amid cost of living pressures.

Payments with notes and coins made up 19 per cent of transactions in 2022, up from 15.2 per cent in 2021, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Until last year, cash payments had been falling steadily, down from more than half in 2013. The pandemic sparked a dramatic drop as nervous shoppers turned to contactless methods.

The number of retail transactions rose from 17.2 billion in 2021 to 19.6 billion in 2022, while the average value fell to £22.43 from £24.49.

This reversed a trend seen during the pandemic in which households opted for bigger, but less frequent, shopping trips.

Payments with notes and coins made up 19 per cent of transactions in 2022, up from 15.2 per cent in 2021, according to the British Retail Consortium 

Until last year, cash payments had been falling steadily, down from more than half in 2013 (stock image)

Card payments were used for 76 per cent of transactions in 2022, down from 83 per cent in 2021.

Debit cards accounted for four fifths of transactions on plastic.

The BRC welcomed the increase in cash usage and said it was committed to accepting cash payments to support vulnerable groups and others using cash to budget.

It added that the dominance of card payments meant retailers spent £1.26 billion on card processing fees last year.

Hannah Regan, payments policy adviser at the BRC, said: ‘We are now seeing a return to many of the pre-pandemic trends in payments, including smaller but more frequent purchases, and a slight return of cash payments.

‘Unfortunately, what has not changed is the ever-increasing scale of fees paid by retailers in order to accept card payments.’

Earlier this week, cash machine group Link revealed that six in ten ATMs will be ripped out by 2030.

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