The statistic comes from the final Access to Cash Review, published in March 2019.

As part of the survey, participants were asked what concerns they'd have in a cashless society and 70% said that they would not have the peace of mind that comes with carrying cash.

Some key figures include

In the UK,

  • 97% of people carry cash on them;
  • 85% of people keep cash in the home;
  • 16.5% of people keep more than £100 in their home;
  • The average amount of cash people carry on them is £41; and
  • The average amount of cash people keep at home is £84.

When asked about concerns about a cashless society,

  • 74% say we would all be more vulnerable to cyber-attacks;
  • 69% say charities and the homeless would suffer as they wouldn’t benefit from people having small change;
  • 60% say people wouldn’t have the peace of mind of having spare cash in their pocket.
  • 74% say some older people would find it difficult to do everyday things like pay bills; and
  • 75% say vulnerable groups of people would be more likely to get scammed or defrauded.