A fresh research shows that UK citizens increasingly choose cashless payment alternatives, with debit cards remaining the most popular option, but mobile wallets use also rapidly growing.
New data from UK Finance’s Payment Markets Report 2024, released on Oct.1, highlights a rapid shift towards digital-first payment habits among UK adults.
The key findings of the research are:
- 57% of UK adults now use mobile wallets, up from 42% in 2023;
- Cards dominate, making up 64% of all transactions, led by debit cards with 26.1 billion payments, a 6% rise year-on-year;
- Contactless reached 18.9 billion payments, or 61% of all card transactions;
- Faster Payments climbed 14% to 5.6 billion transfers, becoming the UK’s second most-used method;
- Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) surged, with use rising from 14% to 25% of adults in one year;
- Cash fell below 10% of all payments for the first time, with just 4.4 billion cash transactions.
What That Says About the UK Payments Landscape
Digital payment options are now central to everyday money management. Mobile banking is the most common way to access personal bank accounts today. It is used by 75% of UK adults, overtaking desktop for the first time.
While younger consumers remain the heaviest adopters of mobile payments, older groups are rapidly catching up. Mobile wallet use among people over 65 nearly doubled to 25% over the last year. BNPL is expanding into physical retail as well, steadily growing since 2020, especially in the fashion segment, though regulation from 2026 will add mandatory affordability checks to encourage responsible lending.
Debit cards remain the backbone of UK payments, with widespread acceptance and integration into digital wallets reinforcing their dominance.
Cash remains in use, particularly among the over-65s and some younger adults, but reliance on paper money continues to shrink. Only around 2% of the UK population (1.2 million people) rely mainly on cash today.
Looking Ahead
By 2034, cards are projected to account for 67% of all payments, with contactless rising to 43%. Mobile wallets will grow further across all age groups, while open banking options like “Pay by Bank” may gain traction if widely adopted. Cash is expected to fall to just 4% of payments.
UK Finance’s Head of Research, Adrian Buckle, noted that 2024 marked several “firsts”: more than half of adults using mobile wallets, mobile banking overtaking desktop, and cash dropping below 10%. He emphasized that growth is not just among younger people, but across older demographics too, showing that digital payments are now mainstream.
How the UK Payment Industry Fits Into The Global Context
The UK’s rapid shift mirrors broader international trends. Globally, digital wallet adoption is accelerating, with wallets increasingly replacing both cash and physical card payments for low-value transactions. Card use continues to grow worldwide, but its digital form, through mobile and in-app payments, is becoming the default. The UK’s experience suggests a future where real-time payments, mobile wallets, and BNPL expand side by side, while cash and cheques fade into the background.
