Businesses in the UK should embrace digital payments if they haven't already done so, as cashless payments show no sign of slowing down.

Research from UK Finance showed more than 2 billion online or mobile payments were made in the UK in 2018, up from 1.6bn in 2017.

According to the Telegraph in 2017, up to three million SMEs in the UK did not accept card payments, although that figure is estimated to have fallen since.

More than 8.5 million people paid for goods or services using online or mobile devices - such as smartphones, tablets or computers - by the end of last year.

The total volume of cash payments made in 2018 fell to 28%, down from 60% of ten years earlier in 2008.

Businesses could tap into this consumer trend by adopting technology to submit prompt invoices and potentially receive swift payments from customers.

Stephen Jones, chief executive at UK Finance, said:

"Consumers are taking advantage of new technologies to pay in a way that suits them.

"More and more customers are now opting for the speed and convenience of paying with their contactless cards, or make transfers while on the move.

"This rapid rate of technological change is set to continue over the coming decade, as people embrace the ever-widening number of ways to pay."

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