Shoppers are using less cash to buy their goods than ever before, according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Online sales and contactless cards are behind the 14% fall in cash use over the past five years, while debit card use has increased by 11%, the BRC said.
Cash remains the most popular way to pay in terms of number of transactions.
The BRC said the survey also showed banks are still levying "unjustifiably" high charges for using cards.
It said the average costs to a retailer of processing a credit or charge card payment has increased by 18%, to 41 pence, in the past five years.
Debit card payments, on average, cost 8.8 pence to process up 4% over the same period.
"It is really disappointing that the average cost of accepting both credit and debit cards have increased over five years, while cash costs have gone down," said Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC.
The European Union is close to approving a plan to cap how much banks can charge retailers to process card payments.
Cashing out
Cash accounted for 53% of the number of transactions in 2013, with debit cards accounting for 32%.
In terms of the value of transactions, however, cards accounted for 50% of transactions.
The average transaction value of purchases made with cards has fallen, the survey found.
"Customers are taking advantage of new ways to shop and pay," said Ms Dickinson.
"The availability of contactless cards, handy express stores and self-service tills as well as online sales has increased the use of debit cards for smaller payments in place of cash.
"Cash use down 14% in the last five years is a milestone in the development of our digital economy".
Source: BBC news
