Charted: The Death of Cash Transactions Around the World

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2 mins ago

on

June 26, 2024

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Cash Transactions are Becoming More Rare Around the World

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

As credit cards and digital wallets (e.g. Apple Pay, Paytm, Alipay) see increasing adoption around the world, the share of cash being used in transactions is plummeting.

The chart above looks at cash as a share of transaction value in selected countries at three time periods (2019, 2023, and 2027P). Highlighted in red is cash’s projected drop from 2019 to 2027. This data showing the death of cash comes from WorldPay’s Global Payments Report 2024.

Where Cash is King (For Now)

The prominence of cash for use in transactions is dropping in every country measured. This includes countries where cash was preferential method of payment in POS transactions.

One clear example is Nigeria. In 2019, over 90% of transaction value was still in cash payments. That number has now fallen to 55% today. Cash is still the leading payment method in Nigeria and a handful of other nations, but current trends indicate this may not be the case for much longer. For now, cash also remains the leading method of payment in various South American and East Asian countries.

Below is a full list of countries included in the report, along with cash’s share of transaction value in those countries.

CountryShare of POS Transaction ValueCash is leading playment method in country Nigeria55%✔️ Thailand46%✔️ Philippines44%✔️ Japan41%✔️ Mexico38%✔️ Spain38%✔️ Indonesia38%✔️ Vietnam38%✔️ Germany36% Peru35%✔️ Colombia34%✔️ South Africa33% Turkïye33% Poland32% Malaysia32%✔️ Saudi Arabia29% Argentina27%✔️ Italy25% Taiwan25% Brazil22% Chile22% Ireland18% India18% UAE17% Belgium16% Singapore15% United States12% France12% United Kingdom10% South Korea10% Hong Kong SAR9% Denmark8% Finland7% Netherlands7% Australia7% China7% Canada6%

Charted: America’s Shift to a Cashless Society

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2 hours ago

on

June 11, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.


Charted: America’s Shift to a Cashless Society

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

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A cashless society is one in which financial transactions are conducted primarily through digital means rather than physical cash, relying on technologies like credit cards and mobile payments.

While no country today has fully reached this concept, there are some (like China and South Korea) that have seen widespread adoption of mobile payment platforms and digital wallets.

To see whether the U.S. is also moving in this direction, we visualized data from the Federal Reserve’s latest Diary of Consumer Payment Choice.

Data and Methodology

This graphic shows the share of each payment method’s use for all purchases in the country.

These figures are based on the results of a nationally representative survey of U.S. consumers, which tracked purchases they made during an assigned three-day period (n= 4,453). The following table lists the data we used.

Year💵 Cash💳 Credit🏦 Debit🌐 Electronic
transfer❓ Other 201631%18%27%10%14% 201731%22%27%10%10% 201826%23%28%11%12% 201926%24%30%11%9% 202019%27%28%12%14% 202120%28%29%12%11% 202218%31%29%13%9%

The key takeaway here is that the use of cash has fallen from 31% in 2016, to just 18% in 2022.

Cash Use Fell During COVID-19 Pandemic

Cash usage in the U.S. fell during the COVID-19 pandemic due to several reasons:

Hygiene Concerns: Fear of virus transmission through physical cash led consumers and businesses to prefer contactless payment methods. Social Distancing: The shift towards online shopping and delivery services, which require digital payments, increased during lockdowns and social distancing measures. Banking Adjustments: Reduced access to ATMs and banking services during lockdowns made obtaining and using cash less convenient.

It’s interesting to note that based on the Federal Reserve’s data, cash usage was already trending downwards before the pandemic, suggesting that the pandemic merely accelerated a trend that was already happening.