Consumers in the UK are increasingly relying on mobile phones to make payments rather than carrying bank cards, according to an annual report by banking trade body UK Finance. The data, published in the UK Payments Market report, shows that two-thirds of UK adults were registered with at least one mobile payment service last year, a decade after Apple Pay launched in the UK.
Mobile wallets become default payment method
The report shows that nine in 10 users of mobile wallets have their debit card loaded as the default payment method on their phone, with the remainder having registered a credit card. This suggests phones are being used for everyday payments, with use particularly high among younger consumers, although older age groups are gaining ground, according to UK Finance.
More than 80% of 16 to 34-year-olds make mobile payments on a regular basis, compared with 22% of over 65s, the report found.
Consumers are increasingly storing card details on phones or watches and making contactless payments backed up by facial or fingerprint verification, instead of entering a PIN.
Debit cards dominate, cash decline slows
Debit cards — including those loaded onto phones — were the predominant way to pay last year, accounting for 54% of all payments made in the UK in 2025. Some 39% of payments were contactless.
| Payment method | Share of UK payments (2025) | Volume/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Debit cards | 54% | Predominant method, including cards on phones |
| Contactless | 39% | Share of all payments |
| Cash | 8% | 3.9 billion transactions |
| Cheques | 0.2% | 77 million written |
While cash use continues to decline, the data suggests the fall is slowing. Notes and coins were used in 3.9 billion, or 8%, of all payments last year. UK Finance forecasts this will halve to 4% of all payments in 2035, or two billion transactions.
Cheques, which had been due to be phased out by 2018 until MPs forced a change of heart by the industry, have withered to just 0.2% of payments, with 77 million written last year.
Cash remains important for millions
Cash is unlikely to go the same way as cheques, according to UK Finance forecasts. Nearly 50 million people used a cash machine last year.
"Our latest data show that the UK is now a predominantly digital economy when it comes to making and receiving payments," said Adrian Buckle, head of research at UK Finance.
"Rather than the UK becoming a cash-free society over the next decade, the UK will transition to an economy where cash is less important than it once was but remains widely valued and still preferred by some," the report said.
Nick Quin, from Link, which oversees the UK's ATM network, said: "Cash withdrawals are falling across every part of the country. More people find it convenient and prefer to pay using contactless cards and digital wallets on smartphones, but millions still rely on cash day in, day out."
"People on lower incomes rely more heavily or entirely on cash to budget, which is why our job is to protect access to cash for as long as people need it," Quin said.
The data provides the most recent official snapshot of how consumers in the UK pay, covering both card-based and mobile payments, with debit cards retaining the largest share of transactions and cash remaining a significant payment option for a minority of the population.
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