Britons happy to carry lots of cash

17/06/11

By Stephanie Gonzalez

Cash is still king for many Britons, with the average person happy to carry around up to £200 in their wallets or purses, a survey shows.

Men are more carefree than women when it comes to carrying large sums of cash, only feeling nervous when they have more than £253 burning a hole in their pocket, while women begin to worry if they have more than £188, the Payments Council found.

For the average Briton, the point at which they begin to feel concerned about the amount of cash they are carrying is £208.

Nearly two thirds of those surveyed said they feel uneasy if they carry large sums of money, with more than half uncomfortable about withdrawing big sums from an ATM and two fifths unhappy about keeping cash stashed at home.

Consumers are less worried about the amounts they transfer online, with the average user happy to move up to £480 electronically.

However, around a third expressed concerns about whether banking online is secure and whether the websites they are using are authentic.

Nearly a fifth of people said they had experienced a sudden feeling of panic when they realised how much they had been spending, but only 5 per cent of people said they do not feel confident making transactions online.

Opinium Research questioned 2,039 people in April.