After several years of doom and gloom and many proclaiming the death of cash, the last 12 months have well and truly put that idea to bed. Despite many expecting the COVID pandemic to be the last nail in the coffin, four years later, cash is still in widespread use. The future looks bright. Recent figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) underscore the story of 2024… Cash is no longer on the way out and is set to remain a critical part of the payment ecosystem and economy for the foreseeable future.
What happened with cash?
The resilience and ongoing importance of cash to payments, finance, and the economy is down to two factors. Firstly, it’s clear now that consumers care. Recent research from PayComplete’s ‘Why won’t cash just die?!’ report found 89% of consumers view the ability to pay in cash as important to customer satisfaction. More importantly, when it is removed as a payment option, only 26% of consumers comply. Meanwhile, an even larger group (36%) vote with their feet and walk away without making a purchase.
It’s not just customer experience that’s impacted by the absence of cash as a payment option. Brand perception also suffers. Research findings discovered nearly half (47%) of consumers believe organisations that don’t accept it are putting profits ahead of customer satisfaction. Moreover, when denied the opportunity to pay in cash, respondents felt a range of emotions, including inconvenience (54%), outright annoyance (52%) and, for those who walked out without making a purchase, anger (16%). Failure to offer this payment choice is a big risk for businesses. It can negatively impact customer satisfaction, brand reputation, and lead to outright anger from customers.
However, the value consumers place on cash goes beyond it being a way of completing a transaction. It is also seen as critical to supporting local communities. Interestingly, the research found 65% of consumers know card payments incur charges for businesses, resulting in nearly a quarter (22%) actively choosing to pay in cash instead. In fact, over half (57%) of consumers want to help businesses save money by paying in cash, which jumps to 71% for small businesses, tipping, and personal services. Paying with cash, therefore, is not simply a way of transacting with a company. For many shoppers, it’s a sign of support.
Regulators and lawmakers protect cash
However, consumers continuing to care is only part of the story. Furthermore, an important factor has been the steps regulators and governments have taken to protect access to cash. In the UK, 2024 was the year that the FCA’s Access to Cash came into force. This made it a legal requirement for banks and building societies across the UK to provide a minimum level of access to cash. Across the pond, similar measures have been taken by Connecticut, Massachusetts, Colorado and Tennessee as US states move to enshrine access to cash into law. With lawmakers realising its importance, and creating regulations to protect access to it, the long-term future of cash is now secure.
What does it all mean?
2024 has been a watershed year for cash and its future. No longer are there debates and discussions about a cashless society. Instead, it is here to stay, and, with that certainty, it makes it far easier for businesses to plan for their own future. Businesses waiting to see what would happen with cash before deciding if it was part of their future now have a conclusive answer and can plan accordingly. Moreover, those who have already taken steps to move towards a cashless future will need to reverse course or risk facing consumer wrath.
The rise of CashTech
The good news for businesses is that cash management and handling technology hasn’t stood still these past few years. There is a combination of smart hardware and software to finally unify management, processing, and handling. CashTech is a new set of solutions that make it quicker, easier, and more efficient than ever before for businesses to handle cash. Combining hardware and software, CashTech solutions enable enterprises to digitise their handling. Making it easy to assess business-critical areas like cash flow management and better support accounting and business management processes. By automating handling, businesses can also avoid the unnecessary costs of discrepancies and inefficiencies from manual processes.
In the coming years, when we look back on 2024, we will see it as the year the future for cash was confirmed. Talk of a cashless future and the death of hard currency was wide of the mark. While cash may not usurp debit and credit card payments, neither will they bring about its end. With the future now clear, it’s time for businesses to adopt CashTech in 2025 and turn inefficient processes into a game-changing competitive advantage.
About PayComplete
PayComplete is the global leader in cash management solutions, combining bleeding edge hardware solutions with game changing software, unifying cash management with other key payments and operational systems. Dedicated to innovating self-service experiences and operations for both consumers and employees, The PayComplete IoT platform is made up of an adaptable set of SaaS and machine software, intelligent devices, and professional, technical and merchant services. PayComplete Connect unifies the management of transactions, users, devices, and data across the enterprise, bringing digital precision to cash transactions and systems. PayComplete serves a broad range of industries, including retail, transportation, financial services, vending, cash centers, mints and more.Industry leaders, work with PayComplete to make their cash transaction-based businesses more innovative, agile, and efficient.
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