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Survey: 60% of Americans using touchless payments to avoid cash

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August 12, 2020

More than half, 54%, of Americans are worried about touching currency and coins due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and 60% plan to use touchless payments going forward to avoid handling cash.

Those are top findings of a Rapyd survey, according to a Fortune report, that polled 600 consumers about cash use during the coronavirus.

While many younger Americans rarely touch cash, favoring digital payments instead, several U.S. cities have introduced a law requiring merchants to accept cash as a payment option due to millions of unbanked or underbanked individuals without access to bank accounts or payment cards.

Regarding coin usage 45% want to see the penny phased out of circulation, while 5% want all coins to be eliminated, according to the Fortune report.

Currently the U.S. is facing a coin shortage due to decreased coin spending during the pandemic in laundromats, transit facilities and other locations that people generally use coins. The U.S. mint had scaled back coin operations in early spring due to health concerns regarding the coronavirus but has since returned to full production, planning to produce 7.4 billion more coins than last year.