Cash is still the most popular method of payment in Britain, a survey has revealed.

According to research conducted by Ukash, 78% of Britons prefer using cash when making purchases of £10 or less.

The number of consumers using cash for purchases of between £10 and £20 has increased by 1% over the past year to 41%. The research also showed that the number of 18-24 year olds using cash for purchases of under £20 rose by 6% compared to last year.

Ukash marketing director Miranda McLean said the rise in other payment methods hadn’t deterred people from using cash.

“Our research clearly shows that Britain’s love affair with cash isn’t wavering despite an ever-increasing array of alternative payment methods open to customers,” she said. “The fact that cash is just as popular with the younger generation is also extremely encouraging, indicating that Britain’s affection for cash is sustainable and not just reliant on those that were brought up in a time before technology gave rise to the many alternatives we have today.”

Last summer, the Payments Council predicted a rise in alternative payment methods between now and 2022. It believes consumer card use will rise by 75% from nearly 10 billion payments in 2012 to nearly 17 billion in 2022, driven primarily by increased debit card use and acceptance, and the number of cash payments will fall from 21 billion in 2012 to around 14 billion in 2022.

It also predicted a rise in the use of mobile phones and internet banking for one-off payments from 356 million payments in 2012 to around 1.5 billion in 2022.