A survey by Capterra has indicated that the Covid-19 crisis has accelerated the use of cashless payments in the UK.

Cash and ATM use in the UK has almost halved since the beginning of the pandemic. Adding to this, customers view cash as a possible way to transmit the virus, causing mobile wallet usage to rise.

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Sonia Navarrete, content analyst at Capterra, says: “Businesses that want to ‘keep up’ with consumers need to adapt in order to be prepared for the new payment habits derived from the pandemic.”

Several UK retailers are no longer accepting cash to prevent the spread of the virus. From the start of April, UK banks have also been permitted to raise their limits for contactless payments.

Covid-19 is certainly something customers are taking into account. Capterra’s survey found that 30% of customers named health as the main advantage of using a mobile wallet app. In addition, 41% of respondents stated that they avoid using cash due to health risks.

Mobile wallet adoption 

In terms of mobile wallets, 87% of respondents who had a mobile wallet installed said they had used it before lockdown measures were implemented. This rose to 91% during the lockdown. Of respondents who put a mobile wallet onto their phones in the pandemic period, 95% intend to start or carry on using it.

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Looking ahead, Capterra maintains that results of the research indicate this change in customer attitude will stay.

“The results of our research show that there are consumers that have started using mobile wallet payments since the beginning of lockdown and intend to continue to do so in the future,” says Navarrete.

In fact, 84% of survey respondents expressed their intention to continue with mobile payments. There were 11% who claimed never to have paid by mobile but expected to begin doing so in the future.

However, some doubts still remain about going completely cashless. To start with, 40% of businesses still do not take card payments.

Security is still an issue among many respondents too, with 52% citing it as their main concern with contactless payments. Furthermore, 54% stated they would feel unsure or uncomfortable about a cashless society.