The UK is expected to ditch cash payment and emerge as a cashless society over the next 20 years, reveals a report issued by London & Partners.
Over 2,000 consumers participated in a survey conducted by the company, which highlighted that 68% Brits believe cashless technologies will completely replace cash by 2036. In London alone, around three quarters of consumers felt that cash would disappear within 20 years.
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The survey is supported by figures showing the rise in contactless payment technologies. New data from MasterCard indicates that contactless spending has grown by 326% year-on-year in the UK.
To further facilitate the growth of cashless society, the Bank of England (BoE) has recently announced that it will unveil a fintech accelerator programme that will work with technology companies to harness fintech innovations.
The Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said: "Financial technology companies will change the nature of money, shake the foundations of central banking and "deliver nothing less than a democratic revolution for all who use financial services"
MasterCard UK & Ireland head of digital payments Elliott Goldenberg said: "We’re in what we might call a perfect storm for payments right now.
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By GlobalData"There is this virtuous circle of creation and adoption in fintech where tech-savvy consumers and entrepreneurs are feeding from each other. No other market combines the expertise, the captive audience and regulatory infrastructure in this way."
London is widely recognised as a global city for the development and adoption of fintech technologies. The rapid adoption of new payment technologies has been cited by experts as a critical factor in investment coming into the UK’s fintech industry.
