Cash is the preferred payment instrument for retail and personal transactions. Payment cards (credit and debit cards) and electronic payments (over the LINX system) run second. Other payment instruments like cheques are relatively insignificant as a widely used means of payment by the public.
The table below represents the value of point-of-sale (POS) transactions and ATM cash withdrawals from 2010 – 2014.
From the table, we assume that cash withdrawn from the ATMs are for transactional purposes. In other words, ATM cash withdrawals are the main means by which the society obtains cash for transactional purposes.
Surprisingly, the use of cash has grown while the use of electronic transactions as a means of payment has fallen. In 2010, electronic transactions accounted for 51% of the payments value as opposed to 44% in 2014. At the same time, the use of cash rose from 49% of payment value to 56%.
However, the above data represents a micro view of the real business-to-consumer or person-to-person payment picture. The cash withdrawn via ATMs does not represent the total cash used for transactional purposes. For example, cash withdrawn over-the-counter at financial institutions is not included in the above data.
Consequently, the use of cash is higher and the use of payment cards lower than the above data suggests.
