Finance: people are using less cash in the UK

The current pandemic has disrupted UK’s finance sector. Just like in the US, British customers are hoarding items from grocery stores. However, they are using less cash to purchase products.

While there was a decrease in the number of people using physical money even before the current issue, this is more pronounced now. As individuals are trying to stay from germs, ATM usage has gone down and they are keeping way from cash and coins. The Word Health Organization advanced that consumers should favour contactless payments. However, a spokesperson revealed that people were misrepresenting the agency. Fadela Chaib sent an email to MarketWatch claiming, “WHO did NOT say banknotes would transmit COVID-19, nor have we issued any warnings or statements about this. We were asked if we thought banknotes could transmit COVID-19 and we said you should wash your hands after handling money, especially if handling or eating food”.

Since the image of paper money has already been tarnished, some analysts have predicted that the shift towards contactless payments could be a lasting one. Countries like Malta, Greece, Ireland, Poland and Turkey have expanded the amount that people can spend via these methods and Britain is going to do the same. Nonetheless, the trade group UK Finance said that there “is no scientific evidence that there is an increased risk of spreading the coronavirus through the use of cash”.

People are using more contactless payment methods