Report points to Australia becoming cashless by 2024

New data from FIS, forecasts that in the next three years, cash payments will dwindle to just 2.1 per cent of all transactions.

Amid lockdowns and shops being shut, people were forced to shop online, with COVID-19 accelerating “the pace of cash’s decline faster than even the most bullish projections,” the report said.

Phil Pomford, General Manager APAC, Worldpay Merchant Solutions at FIS, said: “Australian consumers are ushering in a new dawn of commerce as they embrace modern ways to pay, consume and engage with businesses.

"Further, fintechs and regulators need to collaborate to build new frameworks that allow for this rapid shift and use technology to boost financial inclusion for underserved communities."

Cash-in-hand has repeatedly been a concern of the Australian Tax Office (ATO), with the fear being that by paying workers in this way, employers were avoiding paying superannuation. They revealed this week that businesses doing cash deals were costing the community up to $50 billion in unpaid taxes.

The ATO revealed that in 2019 it received more than 230 tip-offs a day about people not declaring cash-in-hand income. Sectors which topped the tip-offs included cafes and restaurants, cleaning, hairdressing, beauty and construction.

The FIS report also predicts that Australia’s adoption of Buy Now Pay Later products will continue, with the market share projected to double from 9.5 per cent in 2020 to almost 20 per cent in 2024.

The FIS Global Payments report can be found here.

Date published 5 Mar 2021