And finally…hard-y cash

A survey of 47 countries conducted by G4S found that cash in circulation relative to GDP increased to 9.6 per cent across all continents, up from the 8.1 per cent in 2011.

In Europe 80 per cent of point-of-sale transactions are conducted in cash, while in North America, where card payments are most regularly used, cash use still accounts for 31 per cent.

In Asia the rise of online purchases does not mean that cash is taken out of the equation, with more than 3 out of every 4 online purchases in a number of countries paid for by cash on delivery.

Only two countries showed a significant decline in cash payments.

In South Korea (cash use 14 per cent) the government has a project in place to reduce coin circulation, while in Sweden (cash use 20 per cent) electronic payments have seen a huge rise.

Chief executive of G4S’ global cash division, Jesus Rosano, said: “The evidence shows that contrary to popular opinion, demand for cash is growing in absolute terms and relative to GDP. People trust cash; it’s free to use and readily available for consumers, it’s confidential, it can’t be hacked and it doesn’t run out of battery power- these unique qualities continue to hold significant value to people living on all continents.”