Is it time to cash in our pounds and pence?

MONEY Mail reports that cash is being ditched so rapidly that the use of money and cheques for payments has plummeted. Though credit cards, debit cards and contactless technology are favoured because of the convenience, many still don’t wish to use them. But we are being forced by the banks and the Government to abandon cash. ATMs have been taken away and banks have closed smaller branches. I used to get my pension from the Post Office, but that was stopped. I keep a tight rein on my spending, so handling the money in my purse means I am fully aware of my outgoings. Offering a small piece of plastic to buy items doesn’t have the same effect, which is why there is so much debt. What is even worse is that those who use online banking are sitting ducks for the hackers and scammers.

E. WRIGHT, Eastbourne, E. Sussex. IF ONE in ten of us never uses cash that means nine in ten do, but we are being forced to go cashless whether we want to or not. Most of the 10 per cent will be techno-savvy young people, so once again, pensioners are being ignored. If all the older folk took their savings out as cash, the banks would collapse.

B. THOMAS, Billingshurst, W. Sussex. WE MUST fight to save cash. Without it, how will young people understand the value of money? When credit and store cards are dished out, people can get into serious debt. Without cash, how can I tip a waitress? I won’t be able to give my grandchildren money for a treat and collections boxes in churches and charity street collections will be empty.

D. O’KELLY, Watford, Herts.