NEWS: Contactless payment in Spain, until now, has never been so popular. The development from cash to contactless was accelerated by the corona pandemic. Research in Spain, Italy, Portugal, the UK and Latin America has also shown this change to be irreversible.
If there is a winner from the corona time in Spain, it´s contactless payment. Since the beginning of the pandemic, cash has been avoided en masse for fear of cross-contamination. This was especially true when the role of aerosols seemed even less important in the transmission of Covid-19.
Cash is a thing of the past
It is evident that cash has lost a lot of prestige. This is confirmed by Minsait Payments, a subsidiary of technology company Indra in Spain Minsait Payments, that reports on trends in payment methods. The survey combines opinions of more than 80 banking industry managers in 4,400 surveys from Spain, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom and Latin America.
70 percent of Spaniards pay less or no more in cash
This study shows that 70% of Spaniards pay less or even no more in cash as a result of the pandemic. The preference now is to use a contactless payment method. This is a direct result of the pandemic and is mainly out of fear of contamination. A majority of banking professionals expect cash to disappear by 2040. The number of contactless payments has also increased since the pandemic. At the moment, 78% of Spaniards already pay contactless.
Online shopping is also more common in the countries surveyed. 42% of Spaniards now shop online more often. Debit/credit cards are used by around 85% of Spaniards. This is followed by other payment methods such as digital gift cards or payment on account.
Looking forward to the future of payments in Spain
Research does not only look at the change seen in 2020 as a result of the corona pandemic. It also looks at current trends, such as competition from large technology companies that collaborate with banks. There are also other, newer authentication methods allowing people to pay digitally. More and more people are now paying with a smartphone by means of facial or fingerprint recognition.
Paying cash in Spain is unlikely to return
Experts from the study confirm that the development from cash to contactless payment has increased dramatically throughout 2020. Digitisation continues to play a major role in this, and that as a result, one day cash will disappear from our lives completely.
