A third of Britons now carries less than GBP5 in cash, while one in five (21%) of Britons believe that physical money will disappear over the next 20 years (view press release). According to research as part of Skrill’s Future of Money campaign, one in 20 said that they never carry cash on them, while 13% said they would be happy to give up cash today.

The report also revealed that cash is being replaced by more contemporary payment methods, such as credit or debit cards, as well as digital wallets and paying via mobile phones. Conversely, instead of paying using notes and coins, Brits are now more likely to use a plastic card or make payments over the internet.

In addition, 32% of Brits believe they will use less cash over the next ten years, while many of them are already using cash to pay for less than a third of their weekly purchases.

Skrill’s research also showed that 35% of Britons get annoyed if a shop only accepts cash, with around a third stating that they only use their debit or credit cards to pay for everything, regardless of how small the purchase value. 13% admitted to buying things they do not really need or want to take them up to a minimum transaction amount.

Skrill discovered that 51% of people think digital wallets or online cash transfers will increase over the next few years, while 42% said they will make more payments on their debit cards.

Despite moves to new payment channels, there are some downfalls to not using cash; 19% of Brits admitted that using their credit or debit card makes it harder to keep track of their spending, with another 21% saying they are less likely to stick to a budget if they don’t pay with cash.