Between January and May there were 8.7% fewer cash withdrawals in London than in the same period last year; in the South East the decline was 7.9%; in the South West the drop was 7.7%, and in the North-East the decline was 3.7%, says LINK the UK’s biggest ATM network.

Total cash withdrawals measured both by value and volume of notes peaked in 2012.

Two years ago, the number of transactions done by debit cards overtook the number done by cash.

“The rate of decline in LINK transactions appears to be accelerating,” says LINK, “the reduction in transactions is currently expected to be at least between 9% and 10% for 2019 as a whole compared with 2018.”

UK Finance forecasts that, by 2028, only  9% of payments will be in  cash.

Could the UK become a cashless society? In Sweden, cash transactions have fallen by 80% in ten years and it is forecast that the country will be fully cashless in 2023.

If we follow the Swedish trajectory, the UK could be cashless by 2030.

This raises concerns that, with public transport, chemists and other public services becoming unable to accept cash payments, there could be problems with excluding people who don’t have access to cashless forms of payment.