Change of payment habits predicted in Germany due to coronavirus
The study details that the proportion of cash payments by turnover could drop to 32% in 2025
Cash payments at German businesses could be heavily replaced in the long term by card payments due to the coronavirus crisis, according to consulting experts Oliver Wyman.
The specialists indicated that the pandemic is likely to accelerate the use of contactless methods, such as card or mobile phone payments. The study details that the proportion of cash payments by turnover could drop to 32% in 2025.
Compared to last year, estimates of this quota indicated a 47%. “A development that should take several years is now condensed to a few months due to the coronavirus pandemic,” observed Gökhan Öztürk, partner at Oliver Wyman.
Due to the current situation, retail chains, restaurants and stores are increasingly offering card payments instead of cash to prevent employees from contacting cash and possible contagions. The consultants anticipate that this method will lead to users becoming increasingly unaccustomed to cash payments.
However, most consumers continue to pay for their purchases as usual, from the start of the coronavirus crisis, as recent surveys by the Federal Bank (Bundesbank) show. Only 25% of about 1,000 respondents recently changed their payment behavior, and almost all who did pay less frequently in cash.
Source: dpa
