Payment transactions – Expensive card payments – Economy

The British have given up paying with cash during the pandemic. In 2021, only 15 percent of purchases were made with notes or coins. That is almost 40 percent less than before the start of the corona pandemic. Most transactions were made with debit cards, which are often issued to checking accounts. The share of credit cards hardly increased. The British Trade Association complained that falling cash consumption was making the handling of banknotes and coins more and more expensive, but that it was not possible to turn away as around five million Britons could only pay in cash. “We urgently need intervention by the Treasury Department to prevent card schemes from abusing their dominant position,” the association said. Accepting card payments cost companies a total of £1.3 billion (about €1.5 billion) last year.

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