Cash usage in UK convenience stores has seen the sharpest decline among key retail channels over the past year, according to new data from LINK, although millions of consumers still continue to rely on cash for everyday spending.
LINK’s first 2026 Cash Index found that the proportion of people using cash in convenience stores in the previous two weeks fell from 26 per cent in June 2025 to 19 per cent in March 2026.
The research also showed overall cash usage continues to decline, with 61 per cent of consumers having used cash in the past two weeks, down from 69 per cent in 2025 and 73 per cent in 2024.
Despite the shift towards digital payments, LINK said cash remains important for budgeting, privacy, low-value purchases and resilience during payment outages.
Supermarkets remained the most common place for cash spending, although usage there also declined from 27 per cent to 22 per cent. Cash use also fell in cafés, pubs and person-to-person payments.
Among those who used cash in a supermarket or local convenience store, the reasons for using cash are primarily emotional or practical: low value purchases (40 per cent), enjoyment of using cash (29 per cent), budgeting (27 per cent) convenience (23 per cent) and digital privacy (22 per cent).
The study found that while contactless cards (42 per cent) and mobile payments (30 per cent) are now the preferred payment methods for most shoppers, 13 per cent of consumers still prefer to pay with cash in-store, rising to 16 per cent among over-55s.
LINK said late-2025 research found 77 per cent of retailers still accept cash, although 14 per cent had stopped doing so during the previous year.
The report also highlighted growing concern around payment system resilience. More than half of respondents said cash would be important during digital payment outages, while 15 per cent said they keep emergency cash specifically for major disruption scenarios such as cyber-attacks or power cuts.
Data from LINK showed UK consumers withdrew almost £80 billion from cash machines in 2025, equivalent to an average of £1,350 per adult.
Graham Mott, director of strategy at LINK, said cash continued to play an important role despite the rise of digital payments.
“Millions of people still rely on cash, not just for budgeting and day-to-day purchases, but also because they value choice, privacy and control,” he said.
“What’s interesting to see in the latest data is the growing role of cash in resilience planning. With rising public concern about threats like power outages, cyber-attacks and disruption to card payments, more people are prepping by keeping some emergency cash at home.”
Mott added that the new Cash Index would help track changing consumer behaviour and support efforts to maintain access to cash services across the UK.
Meanwhile, the government has launched an independent review into access to banking services amid growing concern over the impact of bank branch closures on communities and consumers.