London 'will be completely cashless within 20 years'

London will be ready to go completely cashless within 20 years, according to research published today.

Nearly three quarters of Londoners surveyed believed virtual money would replace notes and coins by 2036.

The Mayor’s promotional company, London & Partners, carried out the survey of 2,000 people for the start of London Technology Week today.

MasterCard and Visa have reported big rises in the number of contactless card payments, fuelled by the use of smartphone payment apps.

Contactless cards are used for about one in every 10 payments in the capital and Visa predicts that by 2020 about half of all transactions by Londoners will be on mobile.

MasterCard said contactless spending in the UK had more than tripled in the past year.

Earlier this year the card company launched a “pay by selfie” feature which allows facial biometrics or a fingerprint to be used instead of Pins or passwords.