When discussing whether cash will persist or not, most studies focus on consumers. So far with a clear result: coins and banknotes remain important – especially in Germany. Regularly observing the population and their preferences is certainly interesting, but it only represents one of many aspects. The European Central Bank (ECB) also thought this, turned the survey tables, and directed its focus towards companies.
Cash usage by companies
How is the cash acceptance of businesses? What cash services, such as cashback services, do they offer? And what future do they foresee for cash as a payment method? These questions are answered by the European Central Bank with its first survey.
For this, it surveyed organizations employing at least one person in sectors such as retail, groceries, hospitality, arts, entertainment, film, and other industries – except the financial sector. However, the results presented below focus on four key sectors: retail, restaurants and cafés, hospitality, and the entertainment and leisure industry. And this for a simple reason. These sectors have the most contact points with private customers.
Cash – accepted and preferred
Nearly all companies (96 percent) accept cash as well as alternative payment methods. Over 85 percent offer credit card, 82 percent contactless card, and 80 percent debit card payments. But what about their own preferences? For this, the ECB asked participants which payment method they prefer to be paid with.
A good quarter chose cash, followed by contactless card (20 percent) and debit or credit cards (17 percent). Looking at country-specific responses, a significant difference emerges. The survey revealed stronger preferences for cash payment in Slovakia (45 percent) and Germany (36 percent) than, for example, in Finland, where only four percent of respondents indicated coins and notes as their preferred payment method.
Predominantly rosy cash prospects
Should cash continue to be offered as a payment method in the future? With almost 95 percent, the majority answered this question clearly: Yes! The remaining five percent, who previously accepted cash, doubted its future viability in their company and do not want to continue accepting coins and banknotes. According to respondents, this planned phase-out in some organizations is supposed to take place in about three to five years or later.
The cash skeptics cited various reasons why cash will no longer be contemporary for them in the future. The effort involved (32 percent), the infrequent use by customers (31 percent), or the cumbersome deposits and withdrawals (29 percent) were the three most common arguments. Looking at the comparison of cash with other payment methods, this is surprising. Cash previously did well on all points including total cost and ease of handling.
Digital cash operations – not yet a topic
The inquiries into cash operation automation could, however, provide the answer. Over 60 percent of companies said they do not automate cash processes. Also, 80 percent have no plans for modernizing the different processes. In comparison, only five percent have plans to introduce smart registers that function like normal ones but automatically count cash when it's taken in and out, and four percent plan to switch to other automation systems. Thus, they leave significant advantages on the table and close themselves off to the solution for the aforementioned problems.
Digital and automated processes, in particular, can bring enormous relief in many areas, especially in retail. For example, the cumbersome procurement of coins can be transformed into a simple and quick provision. Manual and thus error-prone processes can be digitized for automated management of cash logistics processes. Therefore, given the long future that they foresee for cash, companies should not shy away from such software solutions.
Conclusion
Cash is currently widespread and will remain so. A trend where organizations want to phase out cash nationwide cannot be identified, contrary to numerous speculations. On the contrary: every fourth company prefers cash over other payment methods. Only in the matter of digitization is there still room for improvement.
Do you accept cash in your company, but not the associated efforts? Then we will be happy to find the right solution for you!