Research into the shopping habits of consumers by the UK’s leading discount website has found that 71% of respondents prefer to pay for items in store using a debit or credit card, rather than cash, whilst half think cash may not exist by 2030.

A new poll by the UK’s leading discount voucher codes website of 1,938 people has found that almost three quarters of respondents prefer to pay for items on their card rather than using cash, suggesting that less people are carrying money on them.

47% said they felt safer without cash on them and 82% agreed it was ‘easier’ just to carry a card around. The fact that almost half were concerned about safety didn’t prevent 6% admitting that they also carried their pin around with them, written either on a piece of paper or in their phone.

Further findings of the study included more than half, 52%, of the total respondents agreeing that notes and coins ‘could be obsolete’ by 2030. 83% of respondents claimed that they had not used a cheque in the past 5 years.

When these people were asked ‘what method of payment do you think people will use in 2030?’ 11% agreed that using some kind of iris recognition scanner that links to their bank account could be a possibility.

Farhad Farhadi, personal finance expert at http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, commented on the findings;

“I think it is quite possible that notes and coins could be obsolete within the next twenty years, as debit cards were only introduced in the mid-70s and since then paying by plastic has drastically increased in popularity. I wouldn’t rule out the idea that in a couple of decade’s time, we won’t use cash anymore.

“Cheques were once a hugely popular method of payment in the UK, but that is already something that is now phasing out. By 2018, it is thought cheques could be made obsolete if adequate alternatives are developed.

“I’m not surprised that such a high number of respondents said that they preferred paying by card when shopping in store, as I very much agree that it’s the easier option. I think people get tired of carrying a bulky purse or wallet around and, added to the fact that you end up with lots of coppers in change, this makes it easy to see why people are not choosing cards over coins.”