By Gemma Simpson, 12 March 2007 15:50
NEWS
Cash is going to stick around for a long time to come, according to industry watchers - despite claims from payments giant Visa that notes and coins are on the way out.
Peter Ayliffe, chief executive of Visa Europe, said in an interview with The Independent on Sunday that by 2012 using credit and debit cards should be cheaper and more convenient than cash.
And he said some retailers could soon start surcharging customers if they choose to buy products with cash because of the greater cost of processing these payments.
But a spokesman from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) disagreed: "We don't foresee it [a cashless society] in the immediate time period. Cash is still very popular as a method of payment for a great many people."
Cash represents a very substantial part of total revenue for retailers - the second biggest after debit cards - and the BRC spokesman said: "I can't see that changing a huge amount in the very near future."
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Research from the UK's payments association Apacs predicts, by 2015, less than half of all worldwide payments will be by cash, with three-fifths of current payments using notes and coins.
A spokeswoman from Apacs said predictions about future payments methods are "crystal ball gazing" because it's not known how the public will take to such new technologies.
Visa launched a mobile platform that it said will "lay the foundation" for the commercial deployment of contactless mobile payments and near-field communications (NFC) services around the world last month.
Comments
There are 9 comments. Join the discussion
1. anonymous
the day I am compelled to purchase an ID card will be the day I stop using credit cards and debit cards except to withdraw cash from my account
I will then make all my purchases with cash
and if someone wishes to add a surcharge for dealing with cash or refuses to deal with cash then they should be prepared to have their name all over the front pages of the newspapers
2. Ian Sargent
Fourteen of us went out for a meal last week. We split the bill and it came to £20 each. Twelve people handed over cash and the other couple handed over plastic - which meant that paying the bill took that little bit longer.
Had everyone tried to way their share by plastic we would have been there and extra half an hour sorting it all out.
There's a time for plastic money but in many situations cash is easiest for both the person making the payment and the recipient.
3. anonymous
Cash will never go out of fashion, simply because of it's 'untraceable' nature and therefore it's uses in the black economy and for 'dodgey' deals. I can't see tradesmen all suddenly jumping to be paid by card...!
4. Nick Cole
Cash is still the most flexible way of paying for something. What happens when you want to give your children some money, or pay your neighbour for the half bag of potting compost or whatever?
And what happens when the data link between the card reader and computer goes down? Or you just want a loaf of bread?
All these predictions are the result of some people's preferences and limited vision of the future. Of course who will benefit from even more cashless transactions and their 3.5% cut?
Retailers and banks are not the be all and end all of society.
5. Andrew Meredith
I was given to understand the concept of "Legal Tender" would make the addition of a surcharge for cash unlawful.
For myself, I will be using folding readies until they come up with a true e-cash system. Contactless, low value debit cards are not the same thing. E-cash is comparable in every characteristic to folding cash, just electronic.
6. anonymous
With the longer time to process a chip and pin transaction, just imagine going to get a round of lemonade for you and your mates in the pub that you can no longer smoke or consume alcohol in.
7. Simon Allen
Currently, Visa & Mastercard get no cash from cash transactions.
Therefore, the bonus' of the V&M bosses depend upon getting more people to stop using cash and use electronic payments.
It is so simple.
I worked on the project that introduced on-line credit card authorisation in 1983 and I saw Visa at close quarters then - it does not look as if they have changed.
8. ADrian Jones
Funny.....for the customer it's a secure payment against the rest of their savings...no-one can get at your account if you pay by cash......it's too big a risk for me to use cards....banks moved the fault to me if criminals empty my account (I must have given them the details). I'll stick to cash, thanks and when they surcharge cash payments I'll shop wisely.
My only risk is I can be physically mugged instead of cyber-robbed.
9. Richard Marshall
Have the dim-witted numpties at Visa and Mastercard never been to a street market, a Coin-Operated launderette, or a corner shop...?
And if all that sounds too infa dig to be worth coming down from their ivory towers, maybe they should just watch East Enders once in a while.