Cashless revolution 'happening too fast' as millions of consumers face exclusion from shops and restaurants

Britain is going cashless too quickly, a report has warned, meaning elderly and disabled consumers face being excluded from shops and restaurants.

A major review looking at the future of UK payments found millions of consumers could be left behind by the digital revolution, as cash use is predicted to halve over the next decade.  

The report, compiled by a consortium of payments experts, warned that the UK could soon face similar problems to Sweden where large numbers of shops are starting to refuse to take cash because it no longer makes economic sense. 

In Sweden, where just 15 per cent of payments are made in cash, the Government has issued leaflets to consumers suggesting they hold cash in their homes in case of emergencies, and could soon issue card imprinters to all retailers in case payments networks go down. 

The report warns that the UK, where 34 per cent of payments are cash, is following in Sweden's footsteps.

A number of pubs, including the Boot in Freston, Suffolk, have already stopped accepting coins and notes and last week London-based Indian restaurant chain Dishoom said it was thinking about going cashless, asking customers for feedback on the potential decision.

Meanwhile London buses have been cashless since 2014. 

It comes after debit cards overtook cash as the most popular payment method for the first time last year, with fears also growing about cash machines disappearing from all over the UK.   

The chair of the Access for Cash group and former Financial Ombudsman, Natalie Ceeney, said the elderly and people with medical conditions were most likely to struggle in a cashless society.

She said: "Conditions such as Parkinson’s and arthritis can make it hard to use touch screens. People who suffer mental health problems tell us that, at times of poor health, access to digital payments can lead them to clear their bank account within hours. 

"Do we want a situation where sectors of society are unable to use certain shops or pay for council services, purely because they use cash?

"And how comfortable would we be relying totally in digital payments. What might happen if there was another major IT failure or cyber-attack? In Sweden, the government is considering issuing card imprinters to all retailers and has already leafleted consumers to suggest they hold cash in their homes, in case something was to go wrong."

Ben Broadbent, deputy governor for monetary policy at the Bank of England, said: “It is true that an unmanaged decline in cash use could limit choice for people and businesses who prefer to use cash.”