News in Brief

Bank of England Safeguarding Cash

In a speech at the Banknote Conference on payment choice by Victoria Cleland, the Bank of England’s Executive Director, Payments, cash took centre stage. Although cash use in the UK for transactions has been reducing 1-2 percentage points each year for many years, 2.6 million people remain heavy cash users, 14% of people choose cash as their first-choice payment method and a quarter of adults use cash each week. It may be that cash use will plateau. The Bank is working, therefore, to safeguard cash and the cash cycle.

Payment choice underpins inclusion. People’s needs differ widely, and so do the challenges they face when making a payment. Cash use is highest among groups who are already more vulnerable to exclusion.