From the early days of bartering to the sophisticated digital payment methods of today…consumers have always had payment choice!
And this choice remains inherent in our payment DNA…we are regularly being told that the death of cash is imminent, but recent independent surveys are proving that this still isn’t the case and whilst we have the biggest payment choice available to us in decades…we do seem to have a love for the intrinsic tangibility cash gives us! Is the touch and feel of notes and coins something that bring back fond childhood memories or at its most basic level, is it the knowledge the money you have in your hand will allow immediate payment, with no reliance on electricity, broadband or technology?
Whatever the reason is, it would seem that cash still and will have a place in our society longer than the cash doom mongers would have us believe.
Our MD Ewan Ogilvie recently spoke with Scott Thompson of the IBS Journal about cash and its place in society. Ewan commented;
“Whilst we will see the coming of age for many new payment technologies, we can’t over-estimate its impact. Contactless spending adoption doesn’t seem to be the ‘go to’ choice for millions of consumers, and to put the statistics into perspective, contactless card transactions account for only one in every seven transactions within the UK, as Payments UK’s own report conceded, so we’re unlikely to see the death of cash anytime soon.”
And we asked Lee (17), who is currently with us on work experience about his stance on cash, he told us the following;
“I have got a bank card, but I don’t worry about not having enough in my bank account if I have cash in my wallet. It also makes me think about what I can spend and keeps me controlled so I don’t bust my bank account by buying online.”
So whilst there is every reason to embrace new payment technology, there is also every reason to believe cash will be with us for some time to come…let’s face it, cash is bullet proof and is still standing firm against the new payment technologies as the overall preferred payment choice.
