Is the future of shopping purely digital?
Wed, 1 November 2023 at 7:07 am AEST·5-min read
Campaigners have called on the federal government to step in to protect cash as an Aussie customer shared his fears for the future of cashless shopping at Coles.
Sydney DJ and music producer Tom Budin recently filmed inside his local Coles, where seven out of nine self-service checkouts were marked “card only”.
“Only two machines left that accept cash and, mark my words, these machines, in my opinion, will be gone by the end of the year,” he said pointing toward the cash tills.
“What a world we live in, ladies and gentlemen.”
FIND OUT MORE: Cashless Australia – here’s what you need to know
Move away from cash branded ‘big mistake’
Speaking to Yahoo Finance, the coordinator of Cash Welcome — a grassroots campaign to protect the right of consumers to use and access cash — said the supermarket giant was making a “big mistake”.
“I think everyone has noticed a reduction in checkout terminals that accept cash at Coles,” Jason Bryce said.
“In many Coles stores, staff ask: ‘Are you paying cash or card?’. The cash people always have to wait. The card people always skip to the front.
“This is a big mistake by Coles. Coles is literally pushing us cashless, against our will. People want to be able to choose. This is food and groceries we are talking about. Australians need the government to step in, like the UK, France and parts of the USA have done, and protect cash.”
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Bryce went on to question what would happen if the card-payment system failed.
“Coles can’t guarantee their EFTPOS system is reliable 24/7/365,” he said. “As soon as an outage hits, bedlam ensues and it’s entirely of their own making.”
Aussies divided over card-only checkouts
In response to Budin’s video, Aussie shoppers were divided over the move towards a cashless society.
“Coles doesn’t care about the customers anymore,” one viewer wrote.
“My Coles is like this too. I refuse to go into Coles now,” another added.
However, others urged cash users to “get with the times” in this “digital world”, defending the supermarket and praising the convenience of going cash-free.
“Is Coles pushing an agenda, or is it catering to how the majority of customers already pay?” someone asked.
“Exactly. If one out of 10 people only use cash, why would they put cash in every machine?” responded another.
Coles declined to comment but Yahoo Finance understands the supermarket giant has no intentions of removing cash options.
Cashless Australia: What you need to know
What you need to know about Australia’s cash situation, and why it matters.
·Head of Yahoo Finance Australia
18 September 2023·4-min read
Macquarie Bank (MQG) banning cash transactions from its branches has again raised the prospect of Australia marching toward a cashless society.
So, will pulling out a fiver for your morning coffee soon be a thing of the past? No more cheeky pineapples inside the folds of a birthday card from Nan? The answer Yahoo Finance is hearing: Not likely.
Is this the direction we’re headed? Yes. But it will remain a slow march unless the government decides to make a call to phase out bank notes, and there’s been no indication of that.
What you need to know
- Fewer people are using cash due to the convenience of paying with phones, watches and cards
- There isn’t a shortage of cash-withdrawal points, with around 20,000 ATMs plus supermarkets to collect from
- There’s about $100 billion in cash floating around Australia – or 2 billion notes
- The government has not indicated cash will be taken out of circulation
- The Big Four banks have all ruled out going cashless
- Average cash withdrawal has increased from $180 to $290
- RBA: ATM withdrawals dropped from 77.9 million in December 2008 to 29.7 million in June 2023
- Finder survey: 13 per cent of Aussies never use cash, 44 per cent use it once a week, and 42 per cent once a month or less
🤔 Why should I care?
Who still uses cash? The older generation who may not be across digital finances – one in five over 65 make up 7 per cent of Aussies who are still high cash users. People with a lower income and those in regional areas also more likely use physical currency. They would need to be considered if there was a cashless move.
What is cash used for? The RBA says leisure and service purchases like plumbing, hairdressing and babysitting. It’s common to use cash to try to get a discount.
Official data doesn’t account for things like buying items on Facebook Marketplace, the “shadow economy” or illegal activity.
There’s been an uptick in young people withdrawing cash as a method to control their finances. Tapping your phone doesn’t physically show your cash dwindle, while “cash stuffing” has yielded results.
- Also read: A cashless society is not coming, it’s already here
- Also read: Westpac’s major cash change for customers
- Also read: Common item big banks predict will disappear
How else do people pay and why? Most Australians are more likely to pay with a card, their phone or a smart watch than take the trouble to withdraw from an ATM.
Pros of cashless: Convenience, transparency and safety, reduction in costs for businesses handling cash (insurance, night safe), combats “underground economy” – aka the nefarious bad guys using cash for crime and misdeeds. Or tax avoidance, which pulls as much as $10 billion from the economy.
Cons of cashless: Impacts vulnerable Aussies like the old, socioeconomically disadvantaged, or those living in rural areas (more regional branches are closing, forcing communities to rely on Australia Post for banking). ATM charges.
Who is opposing? There are groups arguing cash should never be phased out. During COVID, this was heightened when places stopped accepting cash in an effort to reduce contact and risk of transmission.
But for right now, if they want cash to be king, no one is stopping them
🗳 What do you think?
comment by Nelle- it would be a very foolish move to stop using cash and if you research you would agree- I use cash whenever I am out and if stopped at a supermarket with a trolley full I would leave it there if they stopped me from paying with cash
Nelle's journey 