By Cheryl Russell
Going Cashless
Coronavirus changing the way people pay ttitudes and behaviors do not often change
The shift away from cash in the US was well the underway
abruptly. Something big has to happen to
long before the first case of coronavirus, according to the
alter people’s habits, cause them to em-
Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Payment Choice.
brace new products and technologies,
In 2018, for the first time, debit cards had surpassed cash
and force them to do things differently.
and become the number-one payment instrument for
The coronavirus pandemic is that big thing, and change is
American consumers. Younger adults were leading the
under way.
transformation. People aged 25 to 34 used cash as their
Less than a year ago, Pew Charitable Trusts released a study entitled Are Americans Embracing Mobile Payments? They were not, the study found. Adoption of mobile payments made with a smartphone or smartwatch at point of sale was slow, below industry projections. That was before coronavirus, of course, when the great majority of consumers preferred to use debit cards, credit cards, or cash to pay for goods and services—all high-touch transactions. Then came the Spring of 2020. In a matter of weeks in March, debit cards, credit cards, and cash were transformed from mundane financial instruments to perilous vectors of disease, and so were touchscreens, signing pens, and credit card receipts. Six months ago, no one paid much attention to these exchanges. Today these exchanges cause consumers to recoil in fear, forcing them to change the way they pay for things. The majority of Americans (51 percent) are now using touchless payment methods, according to a Mastercard survey fielded in April.
payment instrument in just 18 percent of their transactions in 2018, while they used credit cards in 28 percent and debit cards in 34 percent. People aged 35 to 44 used cash in just 19 percent of their transactions, credit cards in 24 percent, and debit cards in 34 percent. Among people aged 55 or older, cash was still the preferred way to pay, accounting for 31 to 33 percent of their transactions in 2018. Americans of all ages are rethinking their payment preferences in 2020. Theoretically, the coronavirus can be transmitted on cash. Fear of contamination explains why the use of cash in the United Kingdom fell by 50 percent as the coronavirus pandemic spread, according to The Guardian. In the United States, 51 percent of consumers report using cash less often or not at all because of coronavirus concerns, according to the Mastercard survey. Debit and credit cards are no better than cash. The coronavirus can live on plastic surfaces for up to 72 hours, studies find, and cards often require the use of what has become one of the most cringe-inducing technologies—the touchscreen. In the months ahead, touchscreens will get a rethink, reports Investor’s Business Daily, as touchless payment systems become a necessity for retail survival. “The best way to keep contact with customers is to reduce contact as much as possible,” advises Forbes contributor Jon Bird, According to Bird, there’s a new mantra for retailers: “Zero is hero.”
AMERICANDEMOGRAPHICS.COM I MAY 2020
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