According to research done by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) – Te Pūtea Matua, there has been a significant dip in the number of people using cash for everyday purchases. The survey found that just two-thirds of Kiwis were actively using cash daily, compared with nearly the entire population in 2019 and 2017. This was signified by 63% of respondents confirming their reliance on cash in late 2021, as compared to 96% six years before. Cash use was also found to be more prevalent amongst seniors, the poor, rural residents and the Maori.
The survey also found that more people are hoarding cash. This was partly attributed to expectations that people were naturally inclined to store cash during times of uncertainty, as with the pandemic. The number of people storing cash was found to have reached 46% in 2021, as compared to just 37% in 2017. There was also found to be a strong correlation between those that stored cash at home against future use and those who were regular cash users. However, even amongst those that did not use cash regularly, about 35% were hoarding some cash are home.
Ian Woolford, the head of Money and Cash at the RBNZ, added that the survey also found that people were faced with increased difficulty when it came to finding places to deposit cash. He confirmed that while ATMs and major retailers were a big help when it came to withdrawing, there were now fewer bank branches and ATMs. This reduction in accessibility is believed to be contributing to a fall in cash use and difficulty accessing currency. Woolford said that RBNZ was looking at ways to overhaul the cash system and improve cash use and acceptance. He urged more people to submit their views on the Cash System Redesign consultation paper that was published in November 2021 and will be closed to submission by 7 March 2022.
The decline in cash use may however also be attributed to the cashless and contactless payment systems that gained prominence during the pandemic as a measure to limit the spread of the virus. Contactless card payment rose to almost 40% of all points of sale (POS) transactions by 2020, up from just 24% in 2018.
The RBNZ is also moving forward in developing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) following another recently concluded public consultation. Governor Adrian Orr stated he was confident in the country’s tech capacity to deploy such currency, in hopes it would prove easy to use, ensure privacy and be free of major cyber or operational risks.
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