Can you imagine ever not having to use this in shops?
A world without cash - it's hard to imagine isn't it?
Yet, half of people believe that coins and notes will become obsolete in the future and more than one in eight don't carry cash around.
The research from Barclaycard and Barclays finds that the average British purse or wallet contains just £23 and the more than half refuse to carry around one or two penny coins, with most giving away small change, either to charity, to children or by simply throwing them in the bin.
Two-thirds of people find carrying cash inconvenient with top reasons for avoiding cash including the nuisance of receiving a pile of coins back in change, the weight of coins, and the amount of space cash takes up.
"Although we are far from becoming a 'cashless society', it's clear from our research that cash is no longer king," says Dan Wass, Head of Current Accounts and Contactless at Barclays.
"Consumers are increasingly less willing to carry large amounts of change around with them and many believe that coins will become obsolete in the future. It is clear that shoppers are now looking for alternative methods of payment - such as contactless - which will allow them to avoid spendning time fumbling for change in a queue and will take up less space in their wallet."
The research also reveals that 41 per cent of shoppers have walked away from a small value purchase in the past because they didn’t have enough cash on them.
"For retailers, there is a real opportunity to seize the benefits that accepting card payments brings – especially new innovations such as contactless. Large and small retailers alike can take hold of the opportunity to adapt to consumer preference towards cards," says Richard Armstrong, Head of UK Payment Acceptance at Barclaycard.
"Over two-fifths of respondents from our research claimed that corner shops and independent retailers were the most reluctant types of outlets to allow card payments, and an increasing number of consumers are turning to cards as a way to manage their spending and avoid the burden of cash.”
So how long do you think it will be before coins and notes have disappeared from our purses and wallets.
Femalefirst Taryn Davies