The chief executive of Visa has vowed to “put cash out of business” and said that the company plans to pay British businesses not to accept coins and notes.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the payment company is preparing to strike a deal with shops and restaurants across the UK whereby it offers them lump sums of cash and free upgrades to cashless payment technology in return for a pledge to ban transactions that are not made by credit card, debit card or some form of digital payment technology.
Visa was not immediately available for comment when contacted by The Independent.
James Frost, the UK chief marketing officer of payment provider Worldpay said last month that 60 per cent of 24-34 year olds already say they prefer not to carry cash and for all age groups that figure stands at around 48 per cent.
“Innovations like contactless and mobile payments make popping to the cash machine seem like a unnecessary chore compared to the speed, simplicity and convenience of tapping,” he said.
Data from Worldpay also shows that a quarter of UK consumers say that they have started avoiding shops that do not accept card payments, while a third say they only use cash if absolutely necessary.
Figures from the UK Cards Association shows that contactless card spending surged by 225 per cent during 2016 and now accounts for 1 out of 4 card payments.
