What will happen when there are no coins

The rollout of the new £1 coin has been troublesome: further proof, some say, of the need to abandon cash usage altogether

The replacement of the forgeryprone old £1 coin, supposed to be fully implemented from tomorrow night, has sparked fresh speculation about how rapidly Britain is heading toward a new epoch in the history of spending – the outright abolition of all physical cash.

A report published this week puts Britain second in Europe and third in the world in its readiness to “go cashless”. Only Canada and Sweden are closer than Britain to abandoning notes and coins, the report found. The data was based on a mix of metrics including the number of payment cards used per person, the proportion of those which are “contactless” and the rate at which contactless transactions were growing. It reflected the findings of a similar report by Imperial College London, which put Britain in fourth place – after Finland, the US and Singapore. While in some countries, including Sweden, the authorities have openly supported a move toward a cashless economy, some think that in Britain it will come about because of consumer and business preferences.

Consumers are turning their backs on cash. Almost two in three of all transactions in 2016 were made by card, nearly double the proportion a decade ago. The pace of change is