'Sign of the times' as only 1 in 12 adults still use common item daily

Only one in 12 people - just eight per cent - still use physical cash "all of the time," a new survey has revealed. But more than three-quarters, 76 per cent, of those who said they preferred digital payments said they still carried cash for emergencies.

The study, commissioned by NatWest, also discovered about a third, 36 per cent, of cash-users on low incomes said better protection against fraud would make them more likely to switch from cash to other methods. Almost two-fifths, 38 per cent, of those quizzed said they would be likely to use a product that gave them change from cash transactions on a mobile app or card, rather than in coins, for easier spending and saving, reports MirrorOnline.

NatWest is hosting an industry event on Friday with large retailers and brands, concerning the future of cash. Mark Brant, chief payments officer at the banking firm, said: "Cash remains important for many of our customers, and there’s an important job for us to support those who continue to use cash, as payments and services become increasingly digital."

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More than 2,000 people were quizzed across the UK during August and September.