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Will cash go the way of the dinosaurs post-COVID-19?
More than a third of Australians have declared they will use cash less often or not at all after the pandemic, according to new research.
Will cash go the way of the dinosaurs post-COVID-19?
More than a third of Australians have declared they will use cash less often or not at all after the pandemic, according to new research.
Analysis of a new survey from BankWest has suggested that the advent of coronavirus “could accelerate the decline in use of physical money”.
It also revealed that Australians were already altering their attitude to cash pre-2020, with a majority of respondents already preferring digital payment methods before the need for better sanitary behaviours.
This was driven more by ease of use (40 per cent) than it was to avoid handling money (13 per cent).
Since the declaration of the pandemic, the preference for digital has become even stronger, with more than a third (37 per cent) intending to either use physical money less or not at all.
ATMs also appear to be losing popularity, with 41 per cent indicating they would now use ATMs less, if at all.
The preferences picked up by the survey are backed by Bankwest customer data, with the bank highlighting that overall cash withdrawals saw a rapid decline from the end of March to the end of April – activity levels were around 35 per cent lower than they had been pre-COVID-19.
According to Bankwest’s chief customer officer, Paul Vivian, the responses merely “reinforce trends we’ve seen for more than a decade”.
He flagged how it will be interesting to see how behaviours do change after COVID-19.
“The decline in cash use could potentially accelerate because of this pandemic, not just due to consumers’ preferences, but as merchants continue to make it easier to pay without cash,” Mr Vivian commented.
But he argued that while a growing number of people are displaying an adverseness to cash use, “it’s hard to see physical money disappearing from Australia anytime soon”.
“Cash might become a niche payment method – if it isn’t already – but it remains popular with many people, and a common option for low-value transactions.”
One thing physical notes and coins do have going for them? There’s no need to rely on the internet or power.
Because of that, Mr Vivian touted it as “incredibly stable and an important system for those members of society who are less tech-savvy or more vulnerable”.
“So, while cash’s heyday is certainly a thing of the past and COVID-19 has rapidly moved us further from those times, many people will likely carry it in their wallets for some time yet.”
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