Bank of England quarterly bulletin says that cash isn’t dead just yet
Reports of the death of cash have been greatly exaggerated, the Bank of England claims.
Well, not perhaps greatly exaggerated, but certainly a little premature.
"Over the next few years, consumers are likely to use cash for a smaller proportion of the payments they make," Tom Fish and Roy Whymark of the Bank’s notes directorate said in its quarterly bulletin.
"Even so, overall demand is likely to remain resilient. Cash is not likely to die out any time soon."
A number of recent studies have suggested cash could be on its way out, with 25 per cent of people believing it will become obsolete in five years' time, largely due to peoples' increasing usage of new technologies such as card and digital payments.
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But in the coming years, consumer preference will continue to be the main determinant of demand for cash.
"The future rate of growth in demand for cash is uncertain and will depend on a number of factors including alternative payment technologies, retailer and financial institution preferences, government intervention, and socio-economic developments," Fish and Whymark said.
"Finally – and probably most importantly – it will depend on the public’s attitude towards cash."