‘My wallet never leaves my bedside’: why cashless will soon be king

Like most 35-year-olds, Douglas Wood says the fact he has gone entirely cashless means his wallet rarely, if ever, gets an outing and now sits next to his bed gathering dust.

The product manager who lives in Hammersmith, west London, says he has used cash only twice in the past year – both times to pay for a £6 haircut, and only then because the barber insisted on being paid in cash.

“I have my bank cards registered to my iPhone via an app called Curve and use the phone to pay for absolutely everything. My wallet never leaves my bedside table these days. If it wasn’t the need to get a post-lockdown haircut, I would not have touched any money at all over the last 18 months.”

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Wood says he would have no problem if cash disappeared entirely, and in fact would welcome it – not least as it would force his hairdresser to get on board with the technology. He says he cannot remember the last time he had a problem paying using his phone in the UK. His only refusals came pre-pandemic, and while abroad.

“I’m sure the only reason that the hairdresser insists on cash is to avoid paying tax, and it had been so long since I used an ATM that when I got there, I found my card had expired. The only time I ever used cash before the pandemic was in my old company’s canteen, but since I moved to a new job I simply haven’t needed it. Most people of my age and younger are all the same. Why would you want to bother with it when you can just swipe your phone and go?”