Cash dispensers: will they soon be obsolete?

The species is no longer fashionable. A new study by the comparator Panorabanques has just confirmed this trend and supplemented the data from the Banque de France.

On April 20, 2023, the Banque de France publishes a new report on “means of payment and fiduciary money”. The objective of the study is to know the habits of the French regarding financial transactions. What is the most used payment method? Contrary to public opinion, the species comes first. Cash and coins will represent 50% of transactions in 2022. Even more so, across the euro zone as a whole, this figure rises to 59%.

However, the Banque de France specifies that the use of cash is declining in France. In fact, more than one in two consumers prefers to pay by credit card rather than cash. “However, the bank card benefits from its practical side (speed and ease of use)”, specifies the bulletin. How to explain this decline, and this slight revival of its use in France?

Behind cash, 43% of transactions are carried out by bank card. According to the Banque de France, this slight increase in the use of small change could only be temporary. Indeed, the health crisis would have contributed to the loss of this means of payment. In 2019, 59% of transactions were in “cash”. The Bank therefore favored the pandemic as the main reason for this decline.

However, the increase in Internet purchases could also explain this drop. Thus, “in 2022, 20% (12% in 2019) of non-recurring payments are now made online in France, mainly and increasingly for purchases of basic necessities” such as food shopping, previously paid for in cash. In addition, 57% of consumers think it is important to have this payment method as an option when making purchases. The latter is particularly often used for local shops such as bakeries.

Nevertheless, the results communicated by the comparator Panorabanques complete the observation of the decline of cash accompanied by that of ATMs.

The Panorabanques comparator study carried out in collaboration with the Poll research institute

The average sum recovered at the counter is 48 euros in 2023. This price is explained by the use of cash by the French for specific purchases. As we explained to you, these tickets are used for local shops. More specifically, 60% is used to pay small traders, 56% is used at the market, 40% goes to flea markets and 36% is intended for tips.

The specific consumption of cash then led to the closure of many cash dispensers in France. Could this be a harbinger of the end of their use? What is the most used payment method today?

Between 2015 and 2021, 14% of ATMs were closed in France. This figure again confirms the gradual decline of ATMs and cash. This is also due to the arrival of new technologies facilitating financial transactions. Thus, many bank payments today are made by contactless payment, regardless of the age of the user.

81% of French people therefore use contactless payment. On average, 20 purchases are made by credit card each month for an average amount of 29 euros. Nevertheless, the French are still reluctant to pay via smartphone. Only 23% of them use it, compared to 63% who do not wish to use it in 2023.

Nevertheless, the overall trend of studies by the Banque de France and Panorabanques reveals the possible end of the era of the ATM.