The European Central Bank (ECB) published its latest Study on the PaymentA transfer of funds which discharges an obligation on the part of a payer vis-à-vis a payee. More Attitudes of Consumers in the EuroThe name of the European single currency adopted by the European Council at the meeting held in Madrid on 15-16 December 1995. See ECU. More Area (SPACE) in December 2022. CashEssentials published a summary of SPACE 2022 findings for the euro area here. This article explores cross-country differences within the European Union.
Graph 1. Euro Area: Share of Payment Instruments in Point-of-Sale (POS) Transactions, 2022
1. By Number of Transactions2. By Value of Transactions
Source: ECB (2022: 19).
Graph 2. Euro Area: Share of Payment Instruments used for P2P Payments, 2022
Source: ECB (2022: 26).
The use of cash declined in the euro area in 2022 compared with 2019 (see Map 1).
Map 1. Euro Area: ChangeThis is the action by which certain banknotes and/or coins are exchanged for the same amount in banknotes/coins of a different face value, or unit value. See Exchange. More in the Share of Cash Use in POS Transaction, 2019-2022
Source: ECB (2022: 20-21).
On average, people in the euro area had €83 in their wallets in 2022. Respondents in Austria, Luxemburg, Cyprus, Lithuania, Ireland, and Estonia reported having cash holdings of over €100 (see Graph 3). Respondents in the Netherlands (€46), Portugal (€53), and France (€61) had the lowest cash holdings.
Graph 3. Euro Area: Average Amount of Cash in Wallet at the Beginning of the Day, 2022Source: ECB (2022: 45).
Regarding the precautionary demand for cash, people in the euro area kept higher cash reserves in 2022 (37%) compared to 2019 (34%) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, and consumers’ budgeting practices.
Graph 4. Euro Area: Share of Consumers Keeping Extra Cash Reserves, 2022
Source: ECB (2022: 46).
While most people (85%) in the euro area received no share of regular income in cash in 2022, 6-7% of people in Latvia, Italy, Austria, Spain, Slovakia, and Ireland reported receiving up to a quarter of their income in cash; that figure increased to 11% in Greece (see Graph 5).
Graph 5. Euro Area: Share of Regular Income Received in Cash, 2022
Source: ECB (2022: 46).
As Graph 6 shows, obtaining cash from ATMs worsened the most between 2019 and 2022 in Belgium (12%), the Netherlands (7%), Luxemburg (7%), Cyprus (6%), and Spain (4%). The share of respondents perceiving access to cash withdrawals to be difficult decreased the most in Malta (6%), Estonia (4%), and Slovenia (4%).
Graph 6. Euro Area: Share of Respondents Perceiving Access to Cash Withdrawals to Be Fairly or Very Difficult, 2022
Source: ECB (2022: 49).
The highest shares of respondents preferring to obtain cash by the source of withdrawals (Graph 7) were
Graph 7. Euro Area: Sources of Cash Withdrawals, 2022
Source: ECB (2022: 50).
While fees for cash withdrawals vary across countries (see Graph 8), significant shares of respondents in Ireland (24%), Belgium (14%), Slovakia (10%), Estonia (10%), and Slovenia (9%) reported they always paid a fee when withdrawing cash, pointing to problems in the access of cash.
Graph 8. Euro Area: Share of Respondents Likely to Pay Fees for Cash Withdrawals, 2022
Source: ECB (2022: 50).
Across the euro area, 22% of respondents preferred paying with cash in 2022, down from 27% in 2019. By country (Graph 9):
Graph 9. Euro Area: Preferred Payment Instrument by Country, 2022
Source: ECB (2022: 41).
The preference for cash between 2019 and 2022 (Graph 10) increased the most in Belgium (9%), Estonia (7%), France (5%), and Austria (3%). It declined the most in Cyprus (-25%), Germany (-13%), Malta (-11%), Latvia, and Italy (both with -10%).
Graph 10. Euro Area: Preferences for Cash, 2019-2022
Source: ECB (2022: 41).
Most people (60%) in the euro area consider having the option to pay with cash very or fairly important (Graph 11). Support was more robust in Germany (69%), Greece (69%), and Austria (66%). Having a cash option was also crucial for pluralities in Slovakia (46%), the Netherlands (46%), and Estonia (47%).
Graph 11. Euro Area: Importance of Having Cash as a Payment Option, 2022
Source: ECB (2022: 39).
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