Cash handling experts Volumatic are backing a new white paper from independent financial services consultants Enryo Consulting, which reinforces the vital role that cash continues to play in the UK’s payments infrastructure.
The white paper, Cash as a Payments Infrastructure, published in partnership with OneBanx in June 2025, argues that, despite forecasts of a cashless future, “cash continues to play an important role in the day-to-day functioning of economies around the world.”
The report highlights how cash supports economic activity, financial inclusion and acts as a crucial back-up payment method in times of crisis – a fact underscored by last year’s global IT outage and recent banking system failures in Spain and Portugal.
Far from disappearing, cash is showing signs of resurgence. Research from Nationwide Building Society earlier this year, shared by Volumatic, revealed that UK cash usage in the UK has risen for the third year in a row and now accounts for billions of payments made by UK businesses annually.
Government and industry bodies are also taking cash infrastructure more seriously, with the FCA and the Treasury Committee advocating improved access to cash and the banking sector expanding Banking Hubs to provide more face-to-face services.
Enryo’s white paper also points out that cash remains “one of society’s few levellers,” accessible to everyone and particularly vital for vulnerable individuals who rely on physical money to manage their finances.
The report makes three key recommendations to ensure continued access to cash and face-to-face banking services, including better support for those struggling with digital services, and stresses the importance of offering consumers payment choice.
Payment choice is something Volumatic has consistently championed. In 2021, Volumatic worked with Enryo Consulting, the Bank of England, and leading retailers to publish its own white paper, Consumers Demand Payment Choice, which found that while digital payments are widely used, many consumers actively prefer to use cash for certain transactions and dislike being forced into card-only options.
“Retaining payment choice is a right that everyone across the UK should have,” the report stated. “It is time to realise that cash is not a niche payment method used only by a small segment of society.”
Volumatic Managing Director James Harris welcomed Enryo’s latest report, saying: “Volumatic have worked with Enryo Consulting for a number of years, and we have supported each other in our quest to highlight the importance of cash and its place in the UK’s payment infrastructure. This new white paper highlights what we have all known for some time now – that cash is resurgent and far from disappearing; it is becoming increasingly important as the years roll by. This white paper serves as an important reminder to businesses of the relevance of cash in 2025 and is essential reading.”
Enryo Consulting Director David Fagleman added: “For too long the narrative around cash has been one of decline when in fact, in many countries, even the most digitally advanced, cash use is steady and continues to play an important role in people’s lives and supporting economic activity. Only very few people are completely cashless. Cash will be part of the payments landscape for years to come, which brings new opportunities for investment and innovation to ensure that the cash infrastructure remains fit for purpose and can continue meeting people’s needs.”
