In the end it won’t matter as more and more businesses won’t take it and it will be harder to get it in the first place 
Don’t want a smart meter, that’s fine but expect to be on a more expensive tariff.
Don’t want an electric car, also fine but expect to pay more tax.
Cash will phase itself out over time, but a good generation or so.
I have a Smart meter - no problem except for the monitor which packed up, but I mainly only used that to get the time.
I’d love an electric car but that is beyond my financial scope.
R-
Personally, I’ve virtually no use for cash any more, it’s quite literally dead in my eyes. That being said, I had a situation the other day where I needed a brand new tyre I’d bought online, mounted and the wheel balanced. So I know from experience, that some garages don’t mind taking a bit of cash for the ‘coffee boat’ for one off jobs. So off I went to one of my local cashpoint machines to find it out of service. Luckily, there is another one just around the corner, so I took out a tenner. Went to a local garage I’ve never used before and initially, they quoted me a tenner, then the cost suddenly went up to £22.40, at which point I told them to do one and went to another garage who took the tenner off of me and fitted and balanced the tyre which took the operator precisely six minutes to do the job.
Anyway, apart from the odd scenario above, I just can’t stand physical cash, it’s a massive PITA as far as I’m concerned and I’d be more than happy to see it go.
Probably, a great many of us would like to switch to an electric vehicle as soon as possible. In reality, electric cars cost around £20k at the very bottom end and so they are just too expensive for everyday people to purchase. I guarantee most of the current (see what I did there!) electric vehicle owners are reasonably well off, quite wealthy compared to most who are struggling to get by on a daily basis. I’m not on the breadline by any means, but I still can’t afford to replace my car with an electric vehicle.
I wouldn’t get an electric car just because it’s difficult to charge at home if you live in a flat or can’t park right outside your house. From 2030 I’ll have no choice but that’s fine. I have a mild hybrid at the moment so that’s a start 
I do expect though from 2030 the government will do more than just ban the sale of new ICE cars. If they don’t people will just hold on to their old cars for as long as they can.
Also someone from the government has said they plan to make tariffs that don’t have a smart meter unaffordable to force people to get one.
There will still be a large 2nd hand market
Appreciate we’re going slightly off topic with this, but I have a friend who lives in a 100 year old cottage. She asked her energy company if they would fit smart meters and when the fitter arrived, he refused to do the job, stating that effectively she would have to have the house rewired and the current old style electric meter moved to a different location. So, unless she can afford a not too insignificant amount to have all of the work done, she’s kind of stuck. At my old house, I had both meters changed to Smart meters, best thing I ever did. My brand new house has them fitted as standard, again, they’re perfect.
Yes apparently it’s something like a third of homes that can’t get one for multiple reasons. So no idea how they’re going to deal with that.
And of course any political party that says all ICE cars will be banned from X date, will probably find themselves not getting into Government because there are still millions upon millions of ICE cars still on the roads. It’ll probably take another 20 years before electric vehicles are the everyday norm for all families.
I don’t know how much they care about getting ICE cars off the road quickly but the net zero target is meant to be reached by 2050.
I don’t think this is going to be a deal-breaking issue for most by the time we near it. 2030/2050 targets can’t just be met with electric cars, it will be about invalidating the need for cars to exist with; remember that most of the pollution a car provides is actually from the production step.
It will be increased public transport timetables, getting rid of diesel lorries/SME vans, putting pressure on Shell/BP etc to severely limit access by 2029, ready for the 2030 ban.
Furthermore, I’d like to mention that the Net Zero “target” is legally binding. Any government willing to break this (i.e. by not banning cars at 2030) will find themselves committing unlawful actions; this can be permissible sometimes (i.e. our 0.7% of GDP spending target on foreign aid) but it can’t be deliberate.
The government of the time won’t have a choice.
Yes. A huge challenge - and unavoidable.
I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding about what I was trying to convey earlier. Petrol and diesel cars won’t all be off the road by 2030. What is happening, is that no more petrol/diesel cars will be allowed to be built. ICE cars can continue for as long as they can be maintained/run. As most ICE cars end up in the breakers yard on average within 14 years of build, then it won’t take long for them to disappear. Obviously, classic enthusiasts/motor museums will hang on to what they have for as long as they can.
Personally, I tend to keep my cars for around 12 years before moving them on. I had my last car for almost 13 years, it was a large 1.9 diesel engine car and am I thankful I got rid! My little 1.0 litre petrol car does me just fine and costs just 20 quid a year to tax.
Sorry for going completely off topic, so here’s something to make up for it:
I for one don’t feel I’m being forced to give up cash. For me, it’s a conscious decision because I can’t stand the stinking filthy drug and faeces contaminated notes spat out either at ATM’s or handed over by shopkeepers.
I swear I heard the Governor of the Bank of England says just those words. I’m sure I did 
Reading this article and it’s actually such rubbish, or really downplays the British Public’s intelligence.
“Forced into a cashless society against our will”. Yes, that would be the case if we used cash. But we don’t. The numbers show it’s dying off, that’s the whole debate.
If people think that, their IQ is in the low 70s at best; like it’s beggars belief. If you want cash to stick around, use it. If you don’t, you’re voting with your feet.
It’s the Torygraph - what did you expect? 
100 percent agree. It’s the same with bank branches, so many people have dumped going into branches, the banks have had little alternative but to close them through lack of footfall. One can’t expect banks to absorb the cost of keeping branches open, the only way to do that, is to introduce banking fees across the board to help pay for them.
As for cash, as has been said many times previous, the elderly are always dragged into the argument for keeping cash, it’s as if no one over the age of 70 for example, is fully capable of understanding modern tech. Ok, I agree, there are many without access to the internet, or who have the will or desire to move with the times, or who are sadly, so on the breadline that having access to digital banking is a problem.
I accept however, that cash, unfortunately in my opinion, will be around for some considerable time yet, but I still choose not to use it 99.9 percent of the time.
I expected an incoming 2024 tax cut, as our lovely chancellor has been able to bestow upon us thanks to solid fiscal discipline
Charge a fee for those who want access to them, maybe? Or ask the FCA to talk with the CMA in favour of allowing all banks to adopt a “common standard” of systems to interact with cash deposits from a “British Branch” organisation or something? Like the trials of multi-bank servicing branches.
That’s basically the banking at the Post Office model, and adequately serves the purpose of being a point of access for those who absolutely must use physical branches to deal with things like cash!
There just isn’t the demand for full service branches any more, so they will never be viable.
I couldn’t disagree more. I would imagine most people that use cash and want to continue doing that are older people. It doesn’t make those people stupid, though. They’ve simply grown up using cash rather than a plastic card or a phone. Naturally, as people get older, there will be fewer and fewer people reliant on cash. Why not just let it die out naturally rather than force it?
Age UK warned the elderly face being excluded from society if they are cut off from cash in the shift to online banking and retail.
Their own research shows around 59 per cent of over-65s use a smartphone compared with more than 90 per cent of 16- to 54-year-olds.