# One third of Britons never carry cash

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/07/16/one-third-britons-never-carry-cash/
- Published: 2014-07-16T11:36:18+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

The UK public’s preference for non-cash payments continues, according to research
by Pennies, the microdonations platform. They report that 30% of us regularly leave
the house without any cash, relying on credit or debit cards and digital and mobile
payment methods.

At the same time, cards are being used for small payments that would previously 
have been settled with cash. Pennies says that 47% of 16-24 year olds use their 
plastic cards for payments of under £2, and 75% of them use them for payments under
£5.

The research was carried out by markettiers4dc who surveyed 2,040 people.

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## Small payments challenge to businesses and charities

The move to digital payments is causing problems for some small businesses. One 
in five people said that they had abandoned a purchase when they found they were
unable to pay by card.

Charities too should be aware that 55% of those surveyed said that they barely noticed
the traditional charity collecting box anymore. Indeed, 12% of 16-24 year olds said
that they would be more likely to donate to charity via a smart device.

While Pennies doesn’t address the micropayments issue, it does offer charities an
additional benefit when customers pay by card. At participating retailers they can
choose to donate anything from 1p to 99p when they pay by card.

The scheme’s partners include Domino’s Pizza, ASK Italian, Monarch Airlines, Screwfix,
and The Fragrance Shop. So far Pennies has raised more than £2.4 million for 100
charities.

Alison Hutchinson, CEO of [Pennies ](http://www.pennies.org.uk/)said:

> “With an increasing number of people not carrying cash on them anymore we’re pleased
> to be able to give people a way to still give micro-donations.  These could otherwise
> be lost, and despite being small add up quickly to make a huge difference to the
> charities who receive them. Last week alone we saw more than 100,000 donations
> made via Pennies.”

## Other findings

The survey also found that:

 * 62% of respondents say that giving to charity can make them feel good
 * 69% think an update of the charity box will make the UK more generous
 * One in five of us wouldn’t bother to pick up anything less than 20p from the 
   floor
 * People don’t want to give more than £1 in a charity box – 93%

 

_Photo: [two one pound coins](http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-61598314/stock-photo-two-pounds.html)
by Daniele Carotenuto on Shutterstock.com _

 * **[Emerging Payments Association promotes Pennies for microdonations](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/10/22/emerging-payments-association-promotes-pennies-for-microdonations/)**(
   22 October 2015)
 * **[The Grand Appeal raises over £200k from The Entertainer’s microdonations](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/06/17/grand-appeal-raises-200k-entertainers-microdonations/)**(
   17 June 2016)
 * **[Verifone reaches £1 million for charity with Pennies](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/08/03/verifone-reaches-1m-charity-pennies/)**(
   3 August 2016)