ATMs and Millennials: Why Do Millennials Prefer Cash?

When the Great Recession hit, Millennials in their early to late twenties were some of the most impacted. Faced with ballooning student loan debt and seemingly long-term unemployment, they started thinking more about the money they have and how to spend it. When the economy started to stabilize, their perspective on debt had changed entirely: Instead of incurring additional debt, they avoided it. With this new-found ideology, Millennials are choosing cash over plastic.
 

Why DO Millennials prefer cash?

A survey by Bankrate.com found that young consumers preferred cash to credit and debit cards; that only one third of Millennials were found to carry a credit card. Of those, merely half used their cards at least once a week. Compare this to the 61% of seniors and you can see a tectonic shift in the way Millennials spend.

The reason is because youth in the 18 to 24 age range are just getting out in the world. They are either joining the job force with college degrees and debt, working on their degrees, or just starting school. They have very little, if any, income. Therefore, Millennials need to be resourceful and consider that purchases on credit only add to the debt they owe.

Cash, on the other hand, allows them to directly monitor their spending, side-steps merchant fees, and is more convenient than using popular peer-to-peer payment apps like PayPal and Venmo. Moreover, cash transactions are faster and far more simplistic than those done with card.

What does this mean for your business? 

An ATM at your location opens your business up to a larger, younger group of potential customers while generating passive income. These customers are more likely to use cash for smaller value transactions because most of their purchases are small value. This means that you can continuously provide them with they cash they need while expanding your loyal customer base.

NationalLink processes over 15,000 ATMs throughout the entire United States, so we understand the importance of getting customers the cash they need. We have a variety of programs to help you get the machine that is right for your business. Our full suite of services includes:

• FREE ATM Placement – We’ll put an ATM at your qualifying location for free or earn more revenue by owning a machine yourself.
• Branding – We offer wooden cabinets, ATM wraps, Receipt Couponing/Branding, and Digital toppers that are sure to make your ATM appeal to a younger generation.
• Cash Management – Take the risk out of handling cash and let trusted, armored, cash-in-transit companies bear the burden. Our Cash Management Program lets you collect passive income worry-free.
• 24/7 Technical Support – With a trained support staff always available, you can rest assured that help is only a phone call away.

Millennials need access to cash for their day-to-day purchases. Help them get the cash they need with an ATM from NationalLink.

Contact us today to see what we can do for you!