Cash was used for 9% of UK payments in 2024, down from 12% the year before, as the country made 4.4 billion cash payments out of 48.8 billion in total (UK Finance). The cash machine network has shrunk to 42,403 ATMs, from a 2015 peak of 70,588 (LINK). Yet £102.7 billion of notes and coin was still in circulation in November 2025 (Bank of England). The real story is not that cash is vanishing, but that Britain holds it while spending it less.
How often cash is used, how many machines remain to get it, and how much physical money is in circulation.
Cash slipped from 12% of all UK payments in 2023 to 9% in 2024, a three percentage-point drop in a single year.
| Year | Cash share of all UK payments | Source window |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 12% | UK Payment Markets |
| 2024 | 9% | UK Payment Markets |
Cash dropping to 9% of payments does not make it irrelevant. It remains the second most used payment method in the UK after debit cards, and a significant minority of people, including many older and lower-income households, rely on it for day-to-day budgeting.
For a business deciding whether to accept cash, the trend is one input, not the whole picture. The share is falling, but 9% of nearly 49 billion payments is still billions of cash transactions a year. Turning cash away can exclude customers who have no practical alternative. The wider shift toward instant digital payments is covered on UK Faster Payments Statistics.
As fewer people withdraw cash, the ATM estate has contracted sharply from its 2015 peak. The make-up of the machines that remain matters as much as the headcount.
| Year | Total ATMs | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 70,588 | Network peak |
| 2024 | 44,569 | −37% on the peak |
| 2025 | 42,403 | 33,710 free-to-use + 8,693 fee-charging |
A smaller network is not automatically a problem; losing free machines in places with no alternative is.
Most of the closures have hit machines, not the principle of free access. The bigger risk for consumers is geographic: when the last free-to-use ATM or bank branch in a town closes, people can be left with only fee-charging machines or a long journey. That gap is what the UK's access-to-cash protections are designed to catch.
The decline changes the maths on accepting cash, but it does not remove the obligation, or the commercial case, to keep taking it in many sectors.
The most misread cash statistic is circulation. People use cash for fewer purchases, yet the value of physical money in issue has stayed high. The two facts are not in conflict.
A bank note does two jobs. It is a way to pay (a medium of exchange) and a way to store value (something to keep). Cash payment volumes measure only the first job. The Bank of England's circulation figure, £102.7 billion in November 2025, captures both, including the notes people keep at home for emergencies, savings or peace of mind.
So when payment statistics show cash use falling while circulation holds up, it tells you that Britain is paying with cash less often but still choosing to hold it. Treating a high circulation figure as proof that cash is thriving as a payment method would overstate the case, just as treating falling payment volumes as proof that cash is disappearing would understate it.
Cash usage comes from UK Finance's annual payment-markets data; the ATM estate from LINK; and notes and coin in circulation from the Bank of England's published money-and-credit series.
| Source | Publisher | Period covered | Type | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Payment Markets Report | UK Finance | 2024 (calendar year) | Industry body | 27 Apr 2026 |
| ATM numbers, year-end 2025 | LINK | 2015, 2024, 2025 | ATM network | 27 Apr 2026 |
| Notes and coin in circulation (LPMAVAA) | Bank of England | To Nov 2025 | Central bank | 27 Apr 2026 |
The cash payment share and the 48.8 billion total-payments figure come from UK Finance's UK Payment Markets data, the standard industry count of how UK payments are made.
Machine counts, and the split between free-to-use and fee-charging ATMs, come from LINK's year-end data. The 2015 peak is included to show the scale of the decline.
The value of notes and coin in circulation is the Bank of England's LPMAVAA series. We keep it distinct from the usage figures because it answers a different question.
Cash share and total payments map to UK Finance; the ATM series to LINK; circulation to Bank of England series LPMAVAA. Distinct source windows are kept distinct, and we do not present circulation as a measure of cash spending. Last full review: 27 Apr 2026.