Consumers spent €53million per DAY using contactless payments during the last three months of 2022, according to the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland.
Cash is no longer king, with €17.9billion spent via contactless transactions last year – an increase of 31.4 per cent on 2021.
As the Dail considers a Protection of Cash as Legal Tender motion we hear two opposing views for and against a cashless society.
YES
John Lowe, MoneyDoctors. ie
There is no doubt cash is being used less and less in our day to day transactions, much to the delight of the banks in particular.
Card payments were the most popular in 2021 accounting for 62 per cent of all transactions in Ireland.
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What’s more, e-money transactions through methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay saw a 1,700 per cent increase that year. It is easy to see why...
Mobile phones have taken over – we don’t need cameras, videos, recorders, we get absolutely everything on our smart phone. Mine now includes tap payments.
Consumers do not care in general about Big Brother, more its convenience – they do not even have to take their credit cards out when they can use a mobile.
Small cash businesses, including hospitality staff used to being tipped in cash, may be losing out.
But drug dealers will also lose out, and more importantly there is a record of all transactions.
So when looking for that mortgage or car loan, a statement will be needed; no bad thing since I can’t see the drug trade agreeing to a tap and go on the mobile.
As we demographically age in Ireland – three times the number of retired citizens in 25 years’ time – more and more senior citizens are becoming au fait with technology.
NO
Celine Clarke, Age Action Ireland
We want our society to be fair and inclusive, but cashless businesses push older people further to the margins.
It shouldn’t be difficult to buy tea on a train or to attend a GAA game. Yet simple activities like these are now unavailable for the many older people who continue to rely on cash.
They face barriers to socialising, travelling, and enjoying their hobbies and interests. It can also be a real knock to people’s confidence. People who rely on cash can feel unwelcome, unwanted, and disrespected.
Cash is reliable, safe, and promotes better budgeting of our personal finances. Continuing to use cash is a valid choice, yet people are being punished for it.
Going cashless means relying on online banking, which is not an option for many older people. Age Action estimates that six in ten people over the age of 60 are digitally excluded – they are not online or don’t have the skills to use the internet safely.
Pressuring older people to use technology they aren’t comfortable with leaves them more open to fraud and exploitation. Going cashless is a threat to older people’s well-being, inclusion, confidence, and independence.
Age Action knows that ageism is a serious problem in Ireland. Older people are under-valued, stereotyped, and excluded.
Going cashless is another example of ageism because it disregards the needs and preferences of older people.
We all want to live in a society that values, respects, and includes older people. This means doing more to protect cash.
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