Study: Cash-free society could be here sooner than you think

A cash-free economy could be here sooner than expected — and American consumers are leading the charge.



Slightly more than half (54%) of consumers in the United States expect to stop using cash for shopping by 2020, according to “Lost in Transaction,” a report from payments provider Paysafe. The study, conducted among 3,038 consumers in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, examines how cash is merging with digital formats.



There is already rapid movement in this direction, as 54% of American consumers only visit an ATM once a month, and one in seven said they rarely carry cash at all. Meanwhile, two thirds (63%) of people said they rely less on cash than they did a year ago.



American consumers are championing the adoption of new payment methods. In fact, 14% already use cryptocurrencies, and 31% use mobile wallets, such as Android Pay and Apple Pay. This high adoption rate is linked to the increased confidence U.S. consumers have in using their mobile phones for shopping (72%).



Despite leading the way in alternative payment technologies, Americans are still hanging onto some old-fashioned methods. For example, 50% having written a check in the last month, compared to 30% of British consumers, and 40% of Canadians.



The wider adoption of mobile wallets is likewise affected by concerns regarding people’s handsets. Nearly a third (30%) of American consumers said they worried about their phone being stolen, while a quarter did not even want to take their cell phone out to pay. This is despite nearly three fourths (72%) saying they are increasingly confident about using their phone for shopping, according to the study.



“Today, the American consumer experience is defined by a huge diversification of choice – in retail options, services delivery and payment methods,” said Joseph Daly, COO, Paysafe payments processing, North America.



“As consumer acceptance of a cash-free society grows, businesses are challenged to reimagine the shopping experience to allow for behaviors and payment models unthinkable a decade ago,” he added. “In a rapidly transforming landscape, the merchants who survive will have invested early in emerging technologies that enable them to meet a range of customer payments preferences and quell security concerns – from cash and debit cards to mobile payments and eventually biometrics and cryptocurrencies.”