Although digital bank accounts now offer budgeting tools and cashback, cash payments are still very much a staple in the UK. But will we eventually become a cashless society? We look at the latest cash usage statistics and trends for 2025.
Cash usage statistics: Highlights
1 in 8 people in the UK (13%) use cash every day in 2025, around 7 million people.
3 in 5 Brits (61%) – an estimated 32.7 million people – use cash at least once a week.
However, almost 1 in 10 Brits (9%) never use cash.
There were 4.4 billion cash payments in the UK in 2023, a 27% decrease from 2023.
Cash was used to make 9% of all payments in the UK in 2024 and is forecast to make up just 4% of payments in 2034.
More than a quarter of Brits (26%) use cash to help budget or control their spending.
How many people use cash in the UK?
91% of UK adults still use cash at least some of the time in 2025, even if it’s only occasionally. This is an estimated 48.6 million people. This leaves less than 1 in 10 Brits (9%) who never use cash – around 5 million people.
What percentage of transactions are cash in the UK?
In 2024, cash was used to make 9% of all transactions in the UK, down from 12% of transactions in 2023. The percentage of transactions made in cash has decreased significantly over the past decade, going from making up almost half (48%) in 2014 to less than 1 in 10 transactions (9%) in 2024.
The average Brit uses cash roughly once every 3 days. 1 in 8 UK adults (13%) use cash every day, around 7 million people, while 3 in 5 Brits (61%) use cash at least once a week, an estimated 32.7 million people, according to a 2025 Finder survey.
The most common reason for carrying cash is so that it will be accepted in places that only accept or prefer cash. 44% of Brits carry cash for this reason. This is closely followed in second place by people carrying money in case of emergencies, such as losing their debit card or phone (36%).
A quarter of Brits (26%) carry cash because it helps them control spending and budget, while 1 in 5 Brits (20%) like to use cash for tips. Just under 1 in 5 Brits say they use cash because they like the privacy and security it offers.
In case I shop at places that prefer or only accept cash
43.60%
In case of emergencies, such as losing my debit card or phone
36.20%
It helps me budget or control my spending
25.80%
I like to tip in cash
19.80%
I like the privacy and security that cash payments offer
19.25%
I don’t like using digital payment methods
9.65%
When will cash be obsolete in the UK?
Cash usage is declining in the UK and this was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2017 and 2020, the number of cash payments more than halved from over 13 billion to just over 6 billion.
It stayed fairly stable between 2020 and 2023, but decreased by 27% between 2023 and 2024, going from 6 billion payments to 4.4 billion payments.
However, Finder’s 2025 survey shows that cash is still used by a lot of Brits and they have a variety of reasons for carrying it. The decline in cash usage seems to have slowed somewhat in recent years after a rapid decrease, and while it is still declining, it doesn’t look like it will be obsolete anytime soon.
Finder commissioned Censuswide in April 2025 to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.
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Sophie Barber is a senior content marketing manager for Finder in the UK. She has over 5 years experience in writing and publishing clear, concise and informative articles that help consumers make informed decisions.
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Kate Steere is an editor and money expert at Finder, specialising in banking, savings and fintech. She has previously written for The Motley Fool UK and Fitch Solutions, where she covered a wide range of personal finance topics and kept a close eye on market trends. Kate has a Bachelor of Arts in Modern History from the University of East Anglia. When not working, she can usually be found curled up with a good book or heading out for a run.
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