No income tax, no VAT, no money back and no guarantee. And in the Peckham of today, no wallet either. Del Boy would be horrified, but Britons are turning their backs on wallets as the use of cash falls.
Fewer than half of people now carry a physical wallet, research published on Wednesday showed. While more than 80 per cent say they still own a wallet or purse, the growing popularity and acceptance of digital wallets, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, which allow payment via smartphones and watches, means that leaving the house without cash is becoming much easier and more common.
Young people are at the forefront of the trend. Link, the cash machine network that conducted the study, said that digital wallets were the default payment method for Generation Z and millennials. For older adults, debit cards remain king, but the gap is narrowing.
• Should you have a stash of cash in case of emergency?
The findings are part of a report that claims, while digital convenience is seductive, it leaves consumers exposed to system failures. Six in ten people said they had experienced digital payment failures. Many pointed the finger at technology and one in five had abandoned purchases because of them.
