As £1 Sees 30th Birthday, UK Cash Payments Decline

The UK recently paid homage to the £1 coin, as the sterling celebrated its 30^th birthday last week.

The UK government believed a coin would be more suitable form of currency when they first presented the pound in April of 1983. The coin had stronger durability with an average life of 40 years, in comparison to the one pound note which only lasted for an average nine months, as The Guardian notes.

A lot has changed since 1983 when the pound coin was first introduced. Back then a pound could afford a pint of lager for an inexpensive 93 pence. These days, finding a pint for an average price of 3.20 is considered a bargain.

Along with a significant change in price values, the UK Payments Council reported a decline in the pound’s circulation. According to their figures, 86 percent of British payments were attributed to cash in the mid-1980s. However, the latest report, issued in 2011, indicated a heavy shift to check and plastic reliance with only 55 percent of payments comprised of cash.

“The past 30 years have seen the cash and check generation, who were reliant on traditional payment methods, being joined by a new plastic and electronic generation,” a spokesperson from the Payments Council told The Guardian.

The debit card was introduced in 1987, only four years after the pound coin. In 2011, 19 percent of payments were done by credit or debit card. Online banking came a decade later in 1997, followed by the commencement of the Faster Payments Service in 2008. The service enabled people in the UK to conduct Internet and phone payments. There is still a dominant circulation and need for cash currency, although the numbers are continuing to decline with new technology constantly being introduced.

“Cash and checks are still very much with us, but with the greater range of payment options available to us their usage has dropped significantly over the past 30 years,” said the Payments Council spokesperson.

To read the full story at The Guardian click here.