Cash is easy to use

By removing frictions and the pain to pay, digital payments increase consumer spending, particularly on unhealthy foods.

Kevin Dowd, Professor of Economics and Finance at Durham University. gives a lowdown on the value of cash amidst the ongoing controversy over proposals to abolish it. Whatever the merits of digital money, the use of cash confers important benefits that digital money does not.

Mexico’s government is considering banning cash at gasoline and toll fee stations in a country where only 37% of adults hold a bank account while 75% of the population is underbanked.

A temporary power outage at Target that left customers unable to process their payments reminds us how a society driven by digital payments alone, could in fact cost the consumer more.

A recent study carried out by the Deutsche Bundesbank together with EHI Retail Institute reveals how Cash champions as the quickest and most cost-efficient payment method for Germany’s retail sector.

Spaniards love cash and pretty much the entire Iberian Peninsula has some at all times.

The US Consumer Payment Choice survey found that cash usage has remained stable in the US, second to the debit card. Cash is also the preferred payment method for settling dues between people.

89% of consumers surveyed worldwide admit using cash up to 25 times a month for in-store purchases and women tend to use it 6% more frequently than men, GlobalData study finds.

UK consumer rights group Which? is calling for an urgent review of LINK's plan to lower ATM fees to banks arguing that it will only further exclude residents of rural and remote areas.

Cash usage in India is back to pre-demonitisation levels despite the major digitisation push by the government and mobile payments app service providers.

Brink's is further expanding its global reach sealing the 7th deal in a race for acquisitions in less than a year.

The digitisation of payments is hurting those that rely on tips to complement their salaries. Not even P2P apps can fill the void as they are not universal, unlike cash.