• The average Brit uses cash roughly once every 3 days
• 3 in 5 Brits (61%) use cash at least once a week
• More than a quarter of Brits (26%) use cash to help budget or control their spending
• Cash remains the second most frequently used payment method in the UK

1 May, 2025, LONDON –

1 in 8 Brits (13%) – an estimated 7 million people – use cash every day, and 3 in 5 Brits (61%) – around 32.7 million people – use cash at least once a week, new research from the personal finance site Finder has revealed.

This research comes amid a report from a group of MPs – the Treasury Select Committee – urging the government to improve its monitoring of cash acceptance to avoid the UK becoming a ‘two-tier society’. The report also said that cash acceptance may have to become mandatory at some point in the future.

Finder’s research also found that only 9% of Brits reported never using cash, and the average person was found to be using cash at least once every 3 days.

Certain vulnerable groups rely on cash and a quarter of Brits (26%) are using cash to budget or control their spending, helping them navigate the rising cost of living. Meanwhile, an estimated 1.5 million people do not have a personal bank account, so they need cash to make payments.

Cash remains a frequently used payment method in the UK

Despite declining cash usage in recent years (cash made up 12% of payments in 2023 compared to 34% of payments in 2017), cash is still the second most frequently used payment method in the UK, behind debit card payments but ahead of credit card payments.

The number of cash payments has also remained steady in the past few years, hovering around the 6 billion mark each year between 2020 and 2023, after dropping significantly at the start of COVID-19.

Power outages and cyber attacks prompt calls for cash to become ‘king’ again

Several retailers have experienced card payment and other technical issues in recent years, prompting questions about our reliance on cash. This month, M&S experienced a cyberattack that significantly impacted payments, raising questions about our dependency on digital services.

This week, parts of Spain and Portugal experienced a blackout, highlighting the importance of physical currency in an emergency. The Treasury Select Committee report even suggested the government could recommend that households should cash in case of a national emergency.

Kate Steere, personal finance expert at Finder, commented:

“Digital payments are widespread and the default for many of us, but cash remains a lifeline for older and vulnerable people or those who need it for budgeting, and recent payment failure incidents show it can be very useful to have in case of emergencies!

“There are concerns that people who rely on physical cash are being excluded by card-only shops and services. Our research found that 2.8% of Brits don’t currently have a personal current account in their name, so cash acceptance is particularly essential in those cases.

“Cash usage also seems to have reached something of a plateau; it’s not declining as quickly as it once was, but we’re not entering a cashless society any time soon. With millions of Brits still using cash every day, it’s clearly still a much-needed way to pay.

“While there is still demand to use cash, people should have the choice in how they pay.”

Methodology:

Finder commissioned Censuswide to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain between 4 April and 7 April 2025, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.

Statistics on the overall number of cash payments in the UK are taken from UK Finance data.