The drop in the use of cash for payments has been widely reported today, with card use on the rise, replacing cash transactions.
There will be another beneficiary in the demise of the use of cash; mobile phones.
The BBC looks at the use of mobile phones for payments, particularly focussing on the PayPal iPhone app with its “bump” technology (as the article points out, the way it works is a bit of a gimmick, but it may help to spread its use, and it is easy for users to understand).
There’s another reason that card and mobile payments should continue to increase – accountability. Using card and mobile payments with a tool such as Yodlee (or one of the many Yodlee-powered personal finance managers) allows simple categorisation and reporting on spending.
Despite a plethora of spending tracking tools available online or on your phone, it’s still a chore keeping track of the small, manual transactions we regularly make with cash. With these transactions now increasingly being made by debit card, contactless card or mobile phone, you’ll get a better idea of where all your money is being spent, with little effort on your part.
Of course, this accountability is one reason that cash won’t completely die out – it is largely an anonymous form of payment, and will continue to be used where people would prefer not to have their spending traced, both legally or otherwise. “Cash in hand” will still exist.
photo credit: robin.hodson