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🇦🇺 Australia /Economy & Trade

Australia Sees Slight Increase in Cash Usage After Decades of Decline

From ABC Australia · (3d ago) English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Cash usage in Australia has seen a slight increase in 2025, reversing a downward trend observed since before the global financial crisis.
  • While still significantly lower than two decades ago, the rise coincides with an increase in in-person transactions, particularly for leisure.
  • The Reserve Bank of Australia's survey highlights that older individuals and lower-income households are more likely to be high cash users.

In a surprising turn, Australia's relationship with cash is showing a slight resurgence, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2025 Consumer Payments Survey. After decades of decline, driven by the rise of internet banking and contactless payments, cash use has stabilized and even increased marginally. This shift, though small, marks a notable deviation from the trend that saw cash transactions plummet, especially for payments under $10.

The survey reveals that this uptick in cash usage is linked to a rise in in-person transactions, with leisure activities now topping the list of cash expenditures, surpassing food, retail, and transport. This suggests a nuanced consumer behavior where digital convenience is balanced with a continued preference for cash in certain contexts. The report authors attribute the decline in cash use for transport to the growth of ride-sharing services and digital public transport payment systems.

Australians have consistently used cash more frequently to pay for leisure.

— The surveyThe report authors highlight this is likely due to the use of contactless payments, growth in ride-share services, and the use of digital payments in most public transport systems.

Interestingly, the data indicates that cash remains a vital tool for specific demographics. Approximately 1.5 million Australians, or 7% of respondents, are identified as 'high cash users,' conducting 80% of their transactions with cash. These users tend to be older and come from lower-income households, underscoring the persistent role of cash in ensuring financial inclusivity. While the digital economy continues to expand, this subtle return of cash highlights that it is far from obsolete in the Australian financial landscape.

The share of respondents who did not use cash at all in the survey week was relatively stable between 2022 and 2025, at around 50 per cent.

— The surveyThe report found around half of Australians use cash on a weekly basis.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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