Banking News

Digital Payments Boom Rolls On - BankWest

(4 July 2022 – Australia) The lasting impact of COVID on the transition away from cash is continuing as digital payments expand while cash deposit and withdrawal numbers slide.

While the volume of physical cash transactions declined, the average value surged Bankwest reports.

Bankwest looked at the trends over the past three years to identify how customers and the community adapted to the global pandemic and an environment in which people were encouraged to use contactless payment methods.

The data highlighted the pandemic’s acceleration of the trend away from physical money, with the volume of cash and cheque deposits in branches plummeting 45 percent from May 2019 (pre-pandemic) to May 2020 (pandemic).

The trend was similar for physical cash withdrawals, which fell 44 percent, and neither deposits or withdrawals have recovered since, remaining at 46 percent and 42 per cent, respectively, well below 2019 levels.

“Customers have consistently adapted to the evolving ways of life over the past three years, and the ways in which we use money has been one of the more significant shifts” stated Bankwest Chief Customer Officer Paul Vivian.

“People were encouraged to use contactless payment methods wherever possible once COVID-19 entered the community, significantly accelerating what was already a decreasing use of physical cash.

“These trends in payment preferences also don’t appear likely to revert to pre-pandemic behaviours, given there’s been no recovery in physical cash and cheque usage as public health measures have been unwound.

“However, the increase in the value of physical cash and cheque usage is interesting and indicates physical money has potentially become a niche payment method that is used for quite specific and high value purposes.

“That could include having a bank cheque issued to pay for a new car or withdrawing large amounts to pay for trade services or whitegoods in cash, but our everyday transactions now appear more likely to take place digitally.

“However, we’re unlikely to see physical cash disappear any time soon, as it remains a robust and stable payment method, with no reliance on the internet or power, and is important for less-digitally literate customers."