The research, conducted by security and digital identity firm OT-Morpho, shows 62% say they have paid with cash much less often over the past five years, while 74% of people believe cash will be used much less in five years' time. Over a fifth (22%) predict they will never carry cash in five years' time, 16% believe shops will stop taking cash in that period and 14% predicted that society will become completely cashless.

At present, 59% of those surveyed most commonly use a card to pay while out and about, with just 35% using cash most often.

The research also reveals that 23% no longer use notes and coins at all, with 43% paying for something with cash ten times or fewer in the average month.

When asked about why they didn't use cash more often, over half (53%) said that it was because other forms of payment are much quicker to use, and a quarter (25%) said that it is because cash is an outdated form of payment. Other popular reasons included not liking having coins in one's pocket or purse (24%) and not feeling safe carrying cash (21%).

This research clearly shows that the future lies in more technologically advanced forms of payment. For example, this might involve authentication via biometrics – such as using fingerprint recognition rather than personal identification numbers. As so much of our everyday lives move away from physical documents, it makes sense that people are not only looking towards, but embracing a cashless society. Changing the material and design of the banknotes is not going to reverse this long-term trend away from physical to digital. We need to seriously think about how long we can keep updating a technology that is already thousands of years old.