‘London isn’t like rest of UK – cash is not going anywhere in rural communities,’ says Lord Kulveer Ranger

For years I had a large jar or two loitering around the house for collecting the small coin shrapnel.

Or whenever I was out and about, those coins jangling in my pocket could easily be given towards a small tip or a charitable good cause collector wherever I saw one. But as the years have gone by both these activities have vanished. As has the usage of those coins in my life.

My pockets never now have coins. Those small pouches on wallets have become redundant. Now I only have a few contactless bank cards – that I haven’t yet migrated to my smartphone – and my driver’s licence.

Cash in both coin and note form has evaporated from my daily life. Don’t get me wrong, I keep cash at home for gifts in birthday cards and for donations at my local Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) but even here they have just brought in a contactless reader. So what does this all mean for the journey we are on towards a cashless society?

I remember working on the Oyster card system for London Underground which was launched in 2003. It was meant so people would be able to carry an electronic form of their weekly, monthly or yearly ticket more conveniently than in plastic dog-eared wallets that could easily get lost, left in the washing or even fade.

No, the contactless card could carry all your details and they were also backed up on the system meaning you could always easily replace it and add or renew tickets as it suited you on one piece of plastic. But the game changer was the prepay option. Top it up and use it as and when needed with e-money.

So I ask current Oyster users, when was the last time you bought a weekly travelcard? To be honest some people won’t even know what a travelcard is… an alien concept from a by gone era of ticketing.

Nowadays with your daily fare capped to give the commuter the best value for money, people just tap-and-go. Barely registering the beep and trusting that the system is working for them. Which I can tell you it is.

But this landmark technological change directly led to cash now not being used on the buses and by the vast majority of passengers on the London transport network.

However, London is not like the rest of the UK. Many older people, those who live and work in rural areas, and thousands of small businesses rely and still feel comfortable using cash and that is why it is not going to be going anywhere soon.

Unlike in 1984, which was the last time a piece of currency – the half-penny piece – was demonetised and disappeared from the nation’s collective purse, this time it is different.

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Then it was gradual inflation coupled with a sense of irritation with the teeny-tiny coin that led to it getting the chop.

Now, dare I say, we are getting ever more used to less jangle and more beeps when we pay for things and the Treasury’s lack of orders to the Royal Mint is a clear indication that it is us, not them who are losing interest in using this and most age-old forms of physical money.

However, for those, and there will be many who will feel concerned, there is good news. The 1p will not disappear.

The fact that many new digital banks and even payment terminals are still retaining the option to add, subtract or even save to the nearest penny should mean that the digital concept of 1p and more should remain with us for many years to come.

Enabling us to potentially take even better care not to waste small amounts of money, so that we can continue to carefully accumulate digital capital, maybe even in a digital jar.