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My comment regarding Lloyds using Brexit as an excuse still stands. I have no doubt that they need to close branches to survive, but they should be honest about the reason.

Dear Lloyds Bank, using Brexit as an excuse to close branches is criminal. You were going to close them anyway and Brexit has provided you with an excuse

Please tell me the signs of cash's inevitable decline in the United States, Germany and the Arab world, where cash is still king and does not show any signs of declining in the foreseeable future. It may be the case in Australia, where less than half of one percent of the global population resides, but in many large, and often sophisticated countries, cash is still the preferred apyment method.

Yet another survey predicting the end of cash, whilst the amount of money withdrawn from ATMs actually increased last year. A survey of 2000 people out of an adult population of the UK of 40,000,000 is unlikely to be an accurate basis to extrapolate from.

As a private individual in the UK with a regular UK bank account I have no problem in paying any individual or company immediately through faster payments, unlike most of the world, including the USA. So why all of this waffle? How about a few lines to describe the problem (and the solution) rather than 5,000 words.

In my mind GCC stands for Gulf Co-operation Council, a group of six countries in the Arabia Gulf, including Saudi Arabia & Kuwait. The GCC has existed for at least 40 years and is well known to anyone visiting the Gulf. Perhaps an alternative acronym might be appropriate.

I could not agree with Ainsley Ward more. No-one has an accurate figure for cash use, so making comparisons is pure guesswork. Whilst I accept that debit card useage is increasing - and I am greatly in favour - cash withdrawals from ATM's and cash in circulation are both on the increase. How do you explain that?

Excellent

To answer your question - Are traditional payments about to become obsolete - the answer is very much no. Even you admit to carrying a contactless card and cash. You are one of many doomsayers regarding the impending demise of credit cards, debit cards and cash, yet the amount of cash in circulation in both the US & the Euro area increased in 2015 which itself was an increase over 2014. Your quoted statistics start from a small base, compared to the value of transactions on debit cards, credit cards and cash. It is very easy to see a double digit growth from such a small base. What I would prefer to see, statistically, is the value of digital payments as a percentage of all payments, then I can evaluate your comments.

What an outstanding assessment. Most of the doom merchants predicting the demise of cash have a vested interest in cash replacement. Great statistics and great information.