Friday, June 26, 2020
Shops that don’t accept cash deter 40% of shoppers from using them, according to a Next Payments/SurveyPlanet survey of 1,019 Australian and New Zealand based consumers. Results follow this release.
“Cash is not dirty, banks and card companies are profiting from fear,” said Tim Wildash, Chief Executive Officer of leading independent ATM supplier, Next Payments.
“This big survey shows that half of all Aussies and Kiwis are concerned about their transactions data being used in ways they know nothing about.
“I am concerned that banks could use all this extra data they have on to assess, or reassess mortgages and loans,” said Tim Wildash.
“Cash is private but banks, in particular, plus card and payments companies are profiting from my information.
“Not only do the card companies get my data, they charge my an exorbitant fee for each transaction.
“$500 of spending on a card can cost the consumer $8 in credit card fees,” said Tim Wildash
Reserve Bank of Australia documents released under Freedom of Information on the 3 June 2020 show the RBA has investigated the issue of virus transmission and currency and concluded cash poses no significant risk of carrying viruses. Debit and credit cards may carry many more germs than bank notes and coins according to recent American research. The Royal Australian Mint says there is no evidence linking cash to the transmission of COVID-19. Cash is sanitised before being delivered by cash companies to venues and ATM operators.