Banks have revealed that more than 50 per cent of payments in 2019 were made by card.
Trade association UK Finance announced that it was the first time ever that debit and credit cards accounted for the majority of payments in the country, with cash making up just 23 per cent of all payments.
Just a decade ago, cash made up 58 per cent of all payments.
Figures also showed that some 7.4 million people in the UK lived a primarily "cashless" lifestyle, most of whom were younger, while 2.1 million people relied on cash for day-to-day purchases and expenditure.
They also revealed that nine in ten people had experience of using online retail, including eight in ten older people - this made up a total of 48 million people who paid for goods and services over the internet in 2019.
While cards were used in 51 per cent of transactions, UK Finance also announced that more than 30 billion payments were considered to be "spontaneous" day-to-day transactions - buying food in a supermarket or a cup of coffee, for instance.
CEO Stephen Jones said the figures suggested the country had "inadvertently" become prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic.
"With consumers already using contactless payments and remote banking more than in previous years, these technological advances have allowed many people to shop and make payments safely from home or in store.
"The impact of Covid-19 may accelerate these habits for many customers."
