STUDY: Only Two in Ten Americans Favor a Cashless Society

Although only 24% of Americans think going entirely cash free would be a great decision, 25% of Americans admit to paying in cash less often since the Covid-19 outbreak.

^{A mobile payment terminal, in Fornebu, Norway. Operated by NFC technology. Telenor. Photo: HLundgaard/Wikimedia.}

The argument for a cashless society has been around for a while, but the outbreak of the Coronavirus crisis has intensified the debate again amid concerns about banknotes and coins transmitting the virus.

In addition to this, the increasing decline of high street bank branches and ATMs has made the possibility of a cashless society in the next few years more likely than ever before.

Interested in financial transactions, global payments provider MoneyTransfers analyzed the latest data from public opinion and data company YouGov to discover which countries in the world would most be in favor of a cashless society. A cashless society includes use of electronic forms of money, which refers to debit cards, credit cards, Google pay, Apple pay, and other forms of electronic payment.

The international money transfer provider found that India is in number one spot as an overwhelming 79% of Indians would like to have a cashless society in their country.

In second position is Malaysia, where 65% of Malaysians are in support of having a cashless society in their country.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia are in joint third place, as 63% of citizens in each respective country believe becoming cashless will have a positive impact on their society and economy.

Vietnam (60%) and Singapore (56%) are among the other countries where over 55% of citizens are in favor of transitioning towards a cashless society, respectively in fourth and fifth position.

United States is in joint 15^th place (alongside Sweden), as 24% of Americans think going entirely cash free would be a great decision for their country.

Furthermore, 25% of Americans admit to paying in cash less often since the Covid-19 outbreak.

At the other end in 17^th position is France, where only 18% of French citizens would welcome their country being entirely dependent on electronic forms of payment.

United States rank joint 15th, as 24% of Americans would welcome transitioning to just electronic payments
Furthermore, 25% of Americans have paid in cash less often since the Covid-19 outbreak
India is the country most in favor of a cashless society as 79% of Indians believe going cashless would have a positive impact on their country
Malaysia (65%), UAE (63%) and Indonesia (63%) are among the other countries where over 60% of citizens would welcome their respective countries transitioning to just electronic payments

A total of 25,823 individuals were surveyed for the research, 1,198 from United States. The exact question respondents from each respective country were asked is, “Do you think it would be a positive or negative if your country became cashless, meaning only electronic forms of money will be accepted?”