Money experts have expressed their disappointment over the death of cash as a result of the pandemic, which has encouraged the use of contactless payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, 30.2 million cash withdrawals were made from cash machines across the country, a 19% increase over the previous year. However, the use of cash remains low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bank branch closures have raised concerns about people’s ability to obtain cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cash withdrawals have recently been steadily declining, with a particularly sharp drop seen at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simon Lambert of This is Money explained how he had \u00a350 in his wallet but hadn’t used it in over two weeks because he no longer used cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He cited a Nationwide report on the decline in cash use, joking that the reason was “obviously, because we’re all going to get Covid from bank notes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’d love to see someone do a study one day that shows whether anyone ever managed to catch Covid from a bank note or a coin,” he continued. That whole catching it from touching stuff panic was proven to be false and exaggerated.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is Money’s pension and investment editor, Tanya Jefferies said: “I do it out of principle to some extent, going to a cashless society would be a very bad thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I don’t think we ever could, people need to pay some things in cash which do not go through cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“From handing out money to homeless people on the streets to handing out a fiver to a young niece…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I really hate the idea that every single time that I spend, however innocent, will be recorded somewhere by the central bank.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Money experts have expressed their disappointment over the death of cash as a result of the pandemic, which has encouraged the use of contactless payment. Last year, 30.2 million cash … <\/p>\n