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Report: Aussie smartphone users forecast a cashless future

A new study by Australian bank Westpac reveals that consumers Down Under believe cash could be history by 2022.

September 23, 2015

A new Westpac Cash Free Report reveals that more than three-quarters (79 percent) of Australians expect they soon will be making 100 percent of electronic payments by smartphone —  compared with 53 percent of electronic payments today.

According to the Westpac research, 33 percent of Australian smartphone users credit mobile apps for helping them to control their spending, while 21 percent think apps have made it easier to track their finances.

"In the last 12 months there has been a 200 percent increase in Westpac customers using their mobile to tap and pay," said Elliot Smith, head of consumer deposits at Westpac. "Cashless technology is the way of the future. ... To stay competitive and relevant in today's market, Australian companies need to be innovative and integrate digital solutions into existing offerings or risk being phased out of the market. More than four in five (83 percent) Australians agree those businesses that do not provide a digital offering will be left behind."

Key findings from the report:

• Australian smartphone users predict that most Aussies will be 90 percent cash-free by October 2027;
• when those who believe the nation will never be cash free are excluded from results, the date moves up to June 2022;
• 79 percent Aussie smartphone users believe that digital wallets will become standard;
• 53 percent of payments made by Aussie smartphone users are now cashless;
• 81 percent of Aussie smartphone users say the ability to use an app to preorder an item before picking it up will become the norm; and
• 51 percent of smartphone users report being annoyed when customers queued ahead of them take too much time to pay.

The Westpac survey was conducted July 24 through August 3 among 1,137 Australian smartphone users over the age of 18.