Where to stash cash in your house: As fears grow that AI could spark a global banking meltdown, experts reveal how to keep your money safe

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The days of walking into the local branch of your bank for help negotiating financial transactions aren't quite gone – but for many of us, a face-to-face conversation at the counter with a real human is increasingly something we used to do. 

A YouGov survey at the end of last year found that digital is already the default when it comes to personal banking, with 73 per cent of adults saying they'd used a mobile app to bank, compared to 31 per cent who said they'd visited a branch in person. 

Having access to finances 24/7 – at the touch of a fingerprint – means that personal banking is more convenient than it's ever been, but it also feels increasingly insecure.

Our banking system, say money experts, is vulnerable to a diverse suite of threats. 

Cyber attacks have been on the radar of major banks for decades and grow ever more sophisticated. 

And in June, the Bank of England (BoE) issued a report on climate change, indicating that the transition to protect the planet from ever more extreme weather could compromise monetary and financial stability if not carefully handled.

However, the most sobering warning yet surrounds Artificial Intelligence, with BoE governor Andrew Bailey and International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva both offering stark warnings on how the threat of AI could see faith in the global banking system crumble. 

Speaking at the 2026 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Bangkok this week, Ms Georgieva, who grew up in Bulgaria, referenced hoarding physical cash before the collapse of communism in Europe in 1989. 

She said: 'I was born and grew up on the other side of the iron curtain. We didn’t trust the system. What did we do? I would have my dollars in a shoebox under my bed.

'And I worry, today, that unless we figure out how to get ahead of this curve, given the speed, the scale and the cost of fraud growing up, we may end up with lots of people with shoeboxes under their beds.'

While the IMF chief's words are ominous enough to make us wonder whether it is indeed time to find a spare shoebox, does stashing cash at home leave you vulnerable in another way – to burglars? 

Residential security expert Bob Morrison, MD of SecTech, told the Daily Mail that while it may be prudent to keep some cash at home, there are ways to do it securely, without compromising the personal safety of yourself and your family. 

He says: 'Many people already have a small reserve just in case they need cash immediately but if you're considering keeping larger amounts at home, the best advice is to keep it a secret, because you're putting yourself at risk if anyone else knows you're storing a significant amount of cash.' 

Mr Morrison suggests that if recent discussions by the IMF have prompted you to take more control of your finances and mistrustful of keeping all of your money in one place, then take the same approach when storing any money at home. And don't even think about shoeboxes. 

The security expert, whose company provides round-the-clock security for houses worth around £40million, urges households not to 'put all your eggs in one basket, spread money about and use safes! There's no reason why you shouldn't have two or three safes in the house.'

How secure are home safes though? If you haven't bought one before, you'd be surprised, Mr Morrison says, at how inexpensive a decent home safe now is. 

He explains: 'You can buy a safe on Amazon for around £30, and it's a perfectly good one. Have two or three around the house, so if a burglar thinks they've found the only safe, they won't - because you've split the money across two or three locations, spreading the risk.'

Even simpler models are hard to crack into but how you install them is crucial, Mr Morrison explains.   

'They're not actually easy to break into. The golden rule is they've got to be properly anchored into a solid wall. Put them in a corner wall where you can get two holes in the back and two holes in the side. 

'You need good long screws with rawl plugs and then it's very hard to get them out - and to do it quickly. You'd need a crowbar and even when you've got it off the wall, they've still got to get into it.

'As long as it's well secured into the fabric of the building, it's not easy getting into them.'

What about location? 'What we've got to do here is take the obvious places - the office, the master bedroom - and reverse it and put it in the least expected places.' 

He adds that good security doesn't need to be complicated. 

'Our grandparents didn't used to lock the doors because there wasn't a significant risk. Now there is but if you've got decent locks on the doors, on the windows, and the window frames are well secured into the fabric of the building, then yes you're pretty safe.'

He thinks physical external signs of good security are important too. 

'A visible alarm box on the outside of your house is like an order telling the burglar: "Go next door or go somewhere else", but make sure it's in good condition, an old box suggests an old alarm system.'

Mr Morrison, who divides his time between London and Tenerife, says one of the most effective security prevention measures is one that has four legs and a wagging tail. 

He tells the Daily Mail: 'Here's a little story for you. My mother, who's no longer with us, lived up in Northumberland. I put signs on her front door and back door saying: Beware of the dog. She hated dogs! But I think it's still such a deterrent.' 

Aside from finances, the UK Government recently launched a page advising citizens on how to prepare for an emergency and best equip themselves for wider infrastructure failures. 

Tips include regularly checking smoke alarms work, knowing the number to report a power cut (105) and signing up to flood and weather risk alerts.

It also covers what you might 'prep' in an emergency kit of items including 'a torch, in-car phone charger, warm clothes and blankets, high-visibility clothing, jump leads, food and drink, and a shovel for snow'.