The huge changes that are underway in the payments industry make my internship an incredibly exciting one. I have had the chance to work at the very forefront of technological change in the financial industry, seeing some of the big changes to the regulations underpinning the payments industry - including around Open Banking.

One of the most significant changes in the payments industry has been the variation in how people are now choosing to spend their money. New payment innovations like Apple Pay, as well as greater acceptance of electronic forms of payment, have led to a significant decline in the use of cash as a form of payment. Indeed, in 2017 we saw debit cards overtake cash as the most popular form of payment in the UK. People are becoming more and more attracted to electronic forms of payments and, despite it being the second most used payment method, cash is no longer king in the UK.

People can save time and effort by using electronic forms of payment. For the financial industry itself, electronic alternatives to cash can save the industry millions of pounds in security and transportation fees each year. The move to electronic payments has also spurred on the growth of innovative payment technology companies which allow people greater information and more control over what they spend.

Sweden has seen an even greater decline in the use of cash than the UK, and has begun to experiment with e-krona. Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, wants to create an alternative to cash that keeps the payments system competitive if cash ever does fall out of use completely. Although the e-krona is only in the design phase, other countries are following suit: recently in the UK parliament, an inquiry into the potential use of digital currency was opened, which suggests that cash may struggle to ever regain its throne.

Despite these innovations, cash remains a very important payment method. It has unique properties that even the most complex and advanced electronic payment methods cannot match. Cash is tangible, it is anonymous, and it remains the preferred payment of millions of people in the UK - especially the most vulnerable members of society, in particular those who do not have a bank account. Cash will continue to be used well into the future. It may no longer be king, but it doesn't sit too far away from the round table either.