Cash is dead: What does this mean for payment service providers?

It’s interesting as a leading payment service provider to see the trends surrounding cash. Despite there being more cash in circulation, the advances in contactless payment technology through cards, smartphones and wearables mean that the public is using it less than ever before.

According to statistics from UK Finance, cash only accounted for 40% of payments in the UK last year. Cash payments accounted for 87% of transactions in 1985, with the rate of decline accelerating since 2000. The Financial Times points out that the decline has been especially fast during this decade, you can see it better displayed in this chart by the BBC.

Contactless payments haven’t been the only contributor to the decline in cash payments. The rise in online shopping has also had a significant impact thanks to the digital nature of transactions. The decline in cash presents serious problems for retailers though; unless they adapt by working with experienced payment service providers, they could potentially be missing out on custom now and in the future.

Modernise your services with payment service providers

It’s essential to assess the way you currently deal with transactions and trends in your industry with a payment service provider to modernise and streamline your services, attract more customers and provide them with new ways to pay.

That’s not just to show your business is ‘part of the crowd’. You need to keep in touch with the ways your consumers use their capital for purchases, especially with more than half of the United Kingdom saying that they’d be happy if the country became a cashless society. Some commentators believe that the UK will be entirely cashless by 2050, too.

Some still prefer to use cash though, because it provides them with anonymity when it comes to purchases and is easy to carry around. The downward trend involving cash cannot be ignored though, especially if businesses are ambitious and are looking to grow.

The decline of cash presents retailers with numerous problems. Cash payments could actually be more valuable for them than digital transactions, they may not know how to navigate the nature of digital payments, they may have to introduce new security policies to deal with a contactless approach, and much more besides.

Create a new financial strategy with the right payment service provider

Working with an experienced payment service provider can help businesses to negate problems such as these, help them to streamline and modernise their internal and external payment processes, attract new customers by promoting the introduction of new payment methods, take issues regarding compliance and payment regulations from their shoulders, and much more besides.

As contactless payments become more relevant within society, more than half of Britons would like to be able to alter their contactless spending limits to better suit their financial needs. Contactless and digital payments are becoming an essential part of people’s lives, and businesses that don’t align with their customers’ paying habits could lose out on a lot of business.

Fibonatix is a specialist payment service provider that works with companies of all shapes and sizes to find them the best hardware, software and payment solutions for them and their customers’ needs.

Did you know that Fibonatix is also able to offer payment charges of just 1.5% when compared against Paypal’s 3.5%? Contact us today for more information.