Cash continues to be the most popular method of financial transaction, but an upward trend in contactless payments shows that cash may not be on top for long. 

Cash represented 44 per cent of all transactional payments made by consumers in 2016, according to UK Finance.

Less than 4 per cent of business transactions were made in cash. 

According to the data, contactless cards are becoming more and more popular, especially with millennials. 

Over the next ten years, the number of cash payments is set to decline by 43 per cent. 

Currently, 10 per cent of  25 to 34-year-olds make one or none cash payments each month.

'It is clear that over the past few years we have witnessed a significant shift away from cash use in this country with contactless cards undoubtedly causing a decrease in the use of notes and coins,' Adrian Buckle, chief economist at UK Finance told Breaking News.

'However we don’t believe that the UK is on the verge of becoming cashless, as some reports have claimed.'

'People will always want to choose the payment methods that best suits them and, for the foreseeable future, in lots of cases that will continue to be cash.'