The years of 2020-2021 have been interesting when it comes to payment choice. The media focus is mostly on card payments and new technology. In the most pandemic-driven areas, like grocery shopping, there has been a massive but temporary increase in online grocery orders with card payments. Despite that increase, cash has remained strong.
We are aware that fears over the role of cash in the transmission of COVID-19, and government measures, impacted cash usage, and that the population is holding on to bank notes. As a result, the use of credit and debit card payments, as well as new payment methods, continues to rise, but do these well-documented trends tell us the full picture?
A May 2021 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco shows that, although cash has a declining share of total payments, it continues to be the frequently used consumer payment instrument., especially for purchases under $10.
The amount of cash people carry in their wallets has increased. Whether they are truly carrying it around or if recent events have led people to hold onto cash, they have more cash as a payment option. Even with the ever-increasing digital landscape, financial experts still recommend always carrying $100-$300 in cash, or however much you are likely to spend in an average day.
Cash handling technology can deliver a short ROI – as well as major benefits in loss prevention, employee satisfaction and improve overall profitability. The reality is, that in many sectors, cash handling and related processes haven’t seen innovation in years. Even if cash only makes up 30% of the transactions, there have not been even a third of the advancements to cash that we have seen with card payments.
A 2017 survey by the ATM Industry Association, Retail Cash Management, found that some 36% of the US retail sector could benefit from investing in new cash handling technology. Yet they didn’t have anything in place.
Cash security and control will remain an issue to be addressed in the future as well as staff shortages. Having technology to save time on a task like cash counting that has to be done can give you back hours each week in personnel time. A product like our Tellermate Touch cash counter has training videos built into the device so staff can quickly learn how to use the tool. We also need to bear in mind that more cash payments are to be expected as all the increased cash in circulation eventually ‘wants’ to be spent.
What is the right cash handling solution for your business? Let’s find out. Not every cash management solution is right for every business. We want to listen to your pain points and create a solution that opens additional opportunities for your organisation.