Some Countries Moving to Cashless Payments
The progress of 33 major economies toward cashless societies was tracked by a new MasterCard Advisors survey, which found that cashless transactions accounted for 66 percent of $63 trillion in total consumer spending in 2011. The report cited near-ubiquitous cashless payments in Belgium, France, Canada, Britain, Sweden, Australia, and the Netherlands, with the transition to cashless driven by adoption of new cashless payment technologies such as mobile, contactless, and EMV chip, and a modern payments infrastructure. Meanwhile, China and the United Arab Emirates are the nations moving most rapidly toward a cashless society thanks to government encouragement. MasterCard Advisors found the United States and Singapore to be nearing a tipping point to becoming almost completely cashless, with remaining cash use primarily the result of consumer habits. The research uncovered factors contributing to a country’s readiness to move to a cashless society, including accessibility and affordability of financial services, retailers’ scale and market share of retailers, the level of available technology, and consumer engagement in the formal economy. Still, cultural behavior appears to be keeping the use of cash higher than market conditions would suggest in nations such as Germany, Japan, Spain, and Taiwan.
From “Cash Ain’t Nothin But Trash—Well, Not Yet, but Some Countries Are Getting Close”
New York Business Journal (09/23/13)