Could you go cashless by 2022? ME found that many Australians would be happy to

More than one in three Australians (35%) would ‘happily’ say goodbye to using coins and notes in as little as a year, new research from ME has found.

That was the major takeaway from a survey of 1,000 people recently conducted by the bank which delved into the attitudes held towards the idea of ‘cashlesness’. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger Australians were found to be the most open to a life without cash, with ME revealing that nearly half (45%) of survey respondents aged between 25-39 were ‘responsive’ to cashless economy followed by 40% of those aged 18-24. 

“It’s no shock that Australians, particularly the younger generations, are using less cash, but it’s surprising that one third would be willing to make the change as soon as next year,” said ME’s head of home loans and personal banking, Claudio Mazzarella. 

“A trend likely accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, over one third of Australians now only use cash ‘from time to time’ and ‘on the odd occasion’ respectively. And it seems the decline in cash will only continue, with digital convenience clearly king when it comes to payment methods for Australians.”

According to research from the Reserve Bank, Australia’s use of cash compared to other forms of payment has declined significantly in the last 15 years. 

In 2007 cash accounted for 69% of all payments, but that figure fell to just 27% in 2019 - the latest year that the RBA has figures for. And COVID-19 has likely pushed that figure even lower, with recent evidence suggesting that cash use in everyday transactions has fallen during the past year. 

A matter of convenience

So are there any reasons behind this reduction in cash use? As part of ME’s research, the bank asked survey participants what their top reasons were for not carrying cash. 

It turns out the major factor for many was one of convenience, as 50% reported that they found having to go to an ATM to withdraw cash inconvenient while 22% said that they didn’t like having to carry around a wallet. 

And, perhaps a further indicator of the ongoing legacy of the pandemic, 17% of respondents said that they didn’t carry cash because it is unhygienic.

While cash use has been decreasing, ME found that physical debit cards and credit cards are still very much a part of the mix, as they were the preferred payment method for 63% of people.

Digital wallets (like Apple, Google or Samsung Pay) were favoured by just 12% of respondents - a figure which surprised Mazzarella.  

“It seems the use of less traditional payment methods such as digital wallets and Buy Now Pay Later apps still have a way to go in terms of adoption by most consumers as a preferred way to pay for goods and services,” he said. 

“We expect to see this number grow significantly over the next few years as an increasing number of banks, including ME, finalise their digital wallet capabilities.” 

According to the latest figures from the Mozo database, a majority of the 140 personal bank accounts being tracked are now compatible with at least one of the three major digital wallets. Here’s the current breakdown:

However, ME also found that there were certain situations in which people would miss cash if it went away altogether, namely when giving it as a present or using it as a tool to teach children about money and finance.

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