There are several reasons to dislike cash, but one way or another, we continue to use it in our daily lives. Currently, the share of cash payments in the world accounts for about 85% of the total number of consumer payments. This percentage is also observed in some countries where most of the population has access to non-cash payments. Nevertheless, the share of non-cash payments is gradually growing every year. MasterCard Advisors offers to take a trip around the "cashless world" and see how, under the influence of local factors, the world is gradually moving to electronic payment systems for purchases.
Each of the countries listed below is proof that it is actually possible to build a cashless society, and that once all the currently existing barriers are removed, any state can quickly switch to an electronic payment system for goods and services. Below is a ranking of the world's leading countries for implementing non-cash payment technologies.
Belgium has become one of the most progressive countries in the field of non-cash payments. Improving the efficiency of payment systems is one of the priorities of the Belgian Government. Most of the country's population is urban and has free access to payment services, modern payment infrastructure, and the latest technologies. It should also be noted that the Belgian government has imposed a limit on cash payments in cash, the maximum amount of which can not exceed 3,000 euros. However, this is not the only revolutionary payment solution. Belgium recently launched a new mobile payment system that allows you to pay for purchases using QR codes. The app created to manage the new wallet is called Sixdots. The mobile wallet is designed to work with the Android and iOS operating systems. The payment system is supported by many Belgian banks and the mobile operator Proximus.
France has made great strides in moving away from traditional payment methods thanks to a large number of banking customers (97% of the country's population), as well as a government program aimed at improving the efficiency of payment systems and financial accounting of payments. France is focused on introducing innovative approaches in the field of electronic payments, launching modern payment products such as mobile payment systems, contactless cards and mobile POS terminals to meet the needs of all French payers. On February 13, 2014, Visa Europe and French telecommunications operator Orange announced the launch of the Orange Cash contactless payment system in Strasbourg and Caen. These two cities hold the leading positions in terms of the number of contactless payment users in France. Orange has become the first French mobile operator to offer its customers its own contactless payment system.
Canada shows a high level of development of the payment system due to a high level of financial accessibility (96% of Canadians aged 15 and older have a bank account) and a government program aimed at optimizing the national payment system. Successful initiatives in the field of non-cash payments also include the timely introduction of POS devices and the rapid distribution of MasterCard PayPass cards, which gave impetus to the development of new NFC-enabled payment solutions. 78.1% of Canadian retail outlets are equipped with POS terminals, with an average of 2.13 POS devices per Canadian store. The market size of mobile POS terminals and devices designed to accept contactless payments is growing annually by 9.2% and 16.4%, respectively.
In the UK, cash is usually used for small retail purchases, but often even minor purchases are paid for using PayPass. Currently, there are not so many places in the country where only cash is accepted for payment. In the UK, there are more and more contactless card acceptance points in places where consumer interest in such solutions is greatest, for example, on toll roads and on public transport. Today, there are 1,326 and 333 POS terminals in the UK, and the share of mobile and contactless POS devices in the total number of POS terminals increases annually by 14.3% and 26.7%, respectively. The total volume of mobile payments made through the popular British Paym system exceeded 26 million pounds. Two-thirds (66%) of all Britons know about mobile payments, and more than half (52%) of them are familiar with the Paym system.
The country is seeing widespread use of debit cards for retail payments. Avoiding cash payments also comes at the expense of reducing the share of small purchases and introducing new technical solutions, such as PayPass and mobile apps for smartphone purchases. As Sweden has long set out to reduce the use of cash, the Swedish government has been striving to make electronic payments accessible, inexpensive, and ubiquitous. Currently, the volume of contactless payments in the country is about €9.5 billion. Leading Swedish mobile operators-Telia, Tele2, Telenor and Three-have launched WyWallet, a mobile payment service that already accounts for 97% of Swedes with NFC-enabled mobile phones.
In Australia, the fight against cash is being waged by reducing the share of cash payments in small retail purchases. Australia's payment systems, including MasterCard and EFTPOS, have recently introduced new tariff rates to attract as many customers as possible to make small cash purchases using electronic payments. Currently, the efforts of all Australian payment operators are aimed at capturing the market for small retail payments. The efforts of payment systems are not in vain. Australians are increasingly opting for contactless payment methods. Sellers are also showing interest in electronic payments by equipping their retail outlets with payment terminals. In July last year alone, more than 58 million Visa payWave payments were made in Australia. Between November 2013 and November 2014, contactless mobile payments accounted for 60% of all debit card transactions in the country.
Over the past few years, the number of cashless payments in Dutch supermarkets has increased significantly. This growth was the result of the national Hotspot project, launched in 2012 by the Foundation for the Promotion of Efficient Payments (SBEB). The goal of this initiative is to improve the security and convenience of making payment transactions by customers of stores equipped with terminals for accepting plastic cards. Last year, about 2.9 billion plastic card transactions were made in the Netherlands. The number of contactless payments also increased significantly, reaching 8.3 million in 2014.
After Apple introduced its electronic wallet, as well as along with Microsoft and other high-tech companies released a "smart" watch with payment capabilities in America, there was a significant increase in the number of non-cash payments.
Ken Chenault, CEO of American Express, said that he is not afraid of the loss of plastic cards as a type of payment instrument, moreover, Chenault does not exclude the fact that in the coming years ATMs will also become unclaimed.
The Munich Oktoberfest, widely known for its Dirndl and Lederhosen costumes, as well as drunken American tourists, has become quite an expensive event in recent years: last fall, a liter of beer at the famous festival cost about 10 euros.
A small consolation for the participants of the event was that they did not have to carry cash to pay for their purchases: to enjoy a mug of fresh Bavarian beer, it is enough to have a credit or debit plastic card with them. Non-cash payments are accepted via smartphones equipped with an EMV reader.
The popularity of non-cash payments in South Korea might have been higher, but social and government initiatives aimed at reducing the issuance of consumer loans by reducing the number of credit card users do not allow the republic to take a leading position in the non-cash payment market.
Currently, Russia is not among the leading countries in terms of non-cash payments, but in general, Russians do not lag behind the global trend. Residents of the Russian Federation are increasingly using bank cards when paying for purchases on the Internet and in traditional stores.
So, according to the Rosindex study by Synovate Comcon, as of the end of last year, 60% of adult Russians use bank cards. More than a quarter of Russians (26%) aged 18 and older have more than one bank card. Possession of multiple cards is typical for economically active groups of the population. So, at the end of 2014, more than two cards were owned by 32% of residents of cities with a population of millions.
The most popular transactions among Russian cardholders were cash withdrawals (85%), payment for Internet or mobile services (53%), as well as transfer of funds from card to card (41%) and payment for utilities.
Each of the countries listed below is proof that it is actually possible to build a cashless society, and that once all the currently existing barriers are removed, any state can quickly switch to an electronic payment system for goods and services. Below is a ranking of the world's leading countries for implementing non-cash payment technologies.
1. Belgium
- Share of non-cash payments in total consumer payments: 93%
- Percentage of Belgians with a debit card: 86%
Belgium has become one of the most progressive countries in the field of non-cash payments. Improving the efficiency of payment systems is one of the priorities of the Belgian Government. Most of the country's population is urban and has free access to payment services, modern payment infrastructure, and the latest technologies. It should also be noted that the Belgian government has imposed a limit on cash payments in cash, the maximum amount of which can not exceed 3,000 euros. However, this is not the only revolutionary payment solution. Belgium recently launched a new mobile payment system that allows you to pay for purchases using QR codes. The app created to manage the new wallet is called Sixdots. The mobile wallet is designed to work with the Android and iOS operating systems. The payment system is supported by many Belgian banks and the mobile operator Proximus.
2. France
- Share of non-cash payments in total consumer payments: 92%
- Percentage of French people with a debit card: 69%
France has made great strides in moving away from traditional payment methods thanks to a large number of banking customers (97% of the country's population), as well as a government program aimed at improving the efficiency of payment systems and financial accounting of payments. France is focused on introducing innovative approaches in the field of electronic payments, launching modern payment products such as mobile payment systems, contactless cards and mobile POS terminals to meet the needs of all French payers. On February 13, 2014, Visa Europe and French telecommunications operator Orange announced the launch of the Orange Cash contactless payment system in Strasbourg and Caen. These two cities hold the leading positions in terms of the number of contactless payment users in France. Orange has become the first French mobile operator to offer its customers its own contactless payment system.
3. Canada
- Share of non-cash payments in total consumer payments: 90%
- Percentage of Canadians with a debit card: 88%
Canada shows a high level of development of the payment system due to a high level of financial accessibility (96% of Canadians aged 15 and older have a bank account) and a government program aimed at optimizing the national payment system. Successful initiatives in the field of non-cash payments also include the timely introduction of POS devices and the rapid distribution of MasterCard PayPass cards, which gave impetus to the development of new NFC-enabled payment solutions. 78.1% of Canadian retail outlets are equipped with POS terminals, with an average of 2.13 POS devices per Canadian store. The market size of mobile POS terminals and devices designed to accept contactless payments is growing annually by 9.2% and 16.4%, respectively.
4. United Kingdom
- Share of non-cash payments in total consumer payments: 89%
- Percentage of British people with a debit card: 88%
In the UK, cash is usually used for small retail purchases, but often even minor purchases are paid for using PayPass. Currently, there are not so many places in the country where only cash is accepted for payment. In the UK, there are more and more contactless card acceptance points in places where consumer interest in such solutions is greatest, for example, on toll roads and on public transport. Today, there are 1,326 and 333 POS terminals in the UK, and the share of mobile and contactless POS devices in the total number of POS terminals increases annually by 14.3% and 26.7%, respectively. The total volume of mobile payments made through the popular British Paym system exceeded 26 million pounds. Two-thirds (66%) of all Britons know about mobile payments, and more than half (52%) of them are familiar with the Paym system.
5. Sweden
- Share of non-cash payments in total consumer payments: 89%
- Percentage of Swedes with a debit card: 96%
The country is seeing widespread use of debit cards for retail payments. Avoiding cash payments also comes at the expense of reducing the share of small purchases and introducing new technical solutions, such as PayPass and mobile apps for smartphone purchases. As Sweden has long set out to reduce the use of cash, the Swedish government has been striving to make electronic payments accessible, inexpensive, and ubiquitous. Currently, the volume of contactless payments in the country is about €9.5 billion. Leading Swedish mobile operators-Telia, Tele2, Telenor and Three-have launched WyWallet, a mobile payment service that already accounts for 97% of Swedes with NFC-enabled mobile phones.
6. Australia
- Share of non-cash payments in total consumer payments: 86%
- Percentage of Australians with a debit card: 79%
In Australia, the fight against cash is being waged by reducing the share of cash payments in small retail purchases. Australia's payment systems, including MasterCard and EFTPOS, have recently introduced new tariff rates to attract as many customers as possible to make small cash purchases using electronic payments. Currently, the efforts of all Australian payment operators are aimed at capturing the market for small retail payments. The efforts of payment systems are not in vain. Australians are increasingly opting for contactless payment methods. Sellers are also showing interest in electronic payments by equipping their retail outlets with payment terminals. In July last year alone, more than 58 million Visa payWave payments were made in Australia. Between November 2013 and November 2014, contactless mobile payments accounted for 60% of all debit card transactions in the country.
7. Netherlands
- Share of non-cash payments in total consumer payments: 85%
- Percentage of Dutch people with a debit card: 98%
Over the past few years, the number of cashless payments in Dutch supermarkets has increased significantly. This growth was the result of the national Hotspot project, launched in 2012 by the Foundation for the Promotion of Efficient Payments (SBEB). The goal of this initiative is to improve the security and convenience of making payment transactions by customers of stores equipped with terminals for accepting plastic cards. Last year, about 2.9 billion plastic card transactions were made in the Netherlands. The number of contactless payments also increased significantly, reaching 8.3 million in 2014.
8. USA
- Share of non-cash payments in the total volume of consumer payments: 80%
- Percentage of Americans with a debit card: 72%
After Apple introduced its electronic wallet, as well as along with Microsoft and other high-tech companies released a "smart" watch with payment capabilities in America, there was a significant increase in the number of non-cash payments.
Ken Chenault, CEO of American Express, said that he is not afraid of the loss of plastic cards as a type of payment instrument, moreover, Chenault does not exclude the fact that in the coming years ATMs will also become unclaimed.
9. Germany
- Share of non-cash payments in total consumer payments: 76%
- Percentage of Germans with a debit card: 88%
The Munich Oktoberfest, widely known for its Dirndl and Lederhosen costumes, as well as drunken American tourists, has become quite an expensive event in recent years: last fall, a liter of beer at the famous festival cost about 10 euros.
A small consolation for the participants of the event was that they did not have to carry cash to pay for their purchases: to enjoy a mug of fresh Bavarian beer, it is enough to have a credit or debit plastic card with them. Non-cash payments are accepted via smartphones equipped with an EMV reader.
10. South Korea
- Share of non-cash payments in total consumer payments: 70%
- Percentage of South Koreans with a debit card: 58%
The popularity of non-cash payments in South Korea might have been higher, but social and government initiatives aimed at reducing the issuance of consumer loans by reducing the number of credit card users do not allow the republic to take a leading position in the non-cash payment market.
And in what place is Russia?
Currently, Russia is not among the leading countries in terms of non-cash payments, but in general, Russians do not lag behind the global trend. Residents of the Russian Federation are increasingly using bank cards when paying for purchases on the Internet and in traditional stores.
So, according to the Rosindex study by Synovate Comcon, as of the end of last year, 60% of adult Russians use bank cards. More than a quarter of Russians (26%) aged 18 and older have more than one bank card. Possession of multiple cards is typical for economically active groups of the population. So, at the end of 2014, more than two cards were owned by 32% of residents of cities with a population of millions.
The most popular transactions among Russian cardholders were cash withdrawals (85%), payment for Internet or mobile services (53%), as well as transfer of funds from card to card (41%) and payment for utilities.
