We've got a lot less keen on using it - but yet more of us are hoarding it. Cash, that is.
The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) has just released the results of its 2021 Cash Use Survey
It shows that while nearly all of us were using cash in 2019, now it's just about two-thirds of us.
However, the proportion of us that have some cash stashed away has increased markedly, from 37% in 2017 to 46% in 2021.
The latest survey follows similar surveys conducted in 2017 and 2019. It's the first one since the start of the pandemic in 2020 and while there are lockdown specific questions in the survey, it doesn't seem to address the question directly of how many people might have permanently changed their cash usage patterns since the pandemic started.
(I say this because I, for one, DID change completely as of March 2020 from always having cash in my wallet and frequently using cash to never having or using cash. In response to a query with them, the RBNZ pointed out to me this work they published in 2021, which does indeed reflect a strong impact from the pandemic in terms of fewer people using cash)
RBNZ head of money and cash Ian Woolford says the drop in usage of cash was from 96% (that's people using cash at least sometimes) in 2019 to just 63% in 2021.
He said the proportion of Kiwis who appear to "rely" on cash remains steady at about 6%.
He says as with previous surveys the latest one shows that cash users are more likely to be older, poorer, living rurally, or Māori.
"Meanwhile, it is clear that having some cash stored away is increasingly important for many of us during times of uncertainty with the percentage of us doing so rising from 37% to 46% from 2017 to 2021," Woolford says.
According to RBNZ figures, there was about $8.9 billion of cash in circulation as at January 2022, compared with only about $7.3 billion of cash in circulation as of January 2020. And this is despite the drop off in the usage of cash since then.
The survey found that about a third of the people who never used cash had some cash stored. It also found that the amounts being stored had increased.
‘Access to money quickly’ and ‘emergencies’ were selected by 60% of respondents as reasons for storing cash. A similar category ‘I feel better for the unknown’ was the third most popular, selected by 41%. Saving for unplanned spending (28%) and saving for specific events (22%) were the fourth and fifth options respectively most. Keeping savings private and lack of trust in government were each reasons selected by around 5% of cash users.
"Our latest survey suggests cash users are finding it more difficult to find places to deposit cash, while ATMs and supermarkets are the main source of withdrawals," Woolford says.
"Having cash available, accepted in store, and readily deposited are key to both well-functioning local economies and communities where everyone is included. Closing bank branches, fewer ATMs, and reduced or removed cash services offered by banks contribute to falling use and difficulties."
The RBNZ is currently consulting on ways to improve the cash system and support cash use and acceptance.
"We encourage people to review our Cash System Redesign consultation paper, and will welcome all points of view. The consultation paper was published last November and closes for submissions next Monday, 7 March 2022,” Woolford says.
The Cash Use Survey 2021 was completed using a 'mixed method' approach, with respondents provided with the options of completing the survey online or on paper. The survey was live from 16 August to 24 October 2021, during which time completed questionnaires were received from 3107 respondents.
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