Russians cut their cash payments by half
Such conclusions are made in “The Russian Federation population’s attitude to cash”, a sociological survey carried out by the Bank of Russia
According to the survey, the share of respondents who prefer everyday payments in cash dropped from 59% to 37% in 2018. At the same time, the average price of a one-time purchase paid in cash increased by 76 rubles to reach 696 rubles.
Reasons why the cash payments are preferred:
• Cash payment is more customary (37% of respondents)
• Cash payment helps control expenses (27%)
• Cash is more readily accepted at retail outlets (18%)
• Cash payment is safer (14%), faster (13%), and easier (11%)
• Incomes received in cash (11%)
• Fear of technical failures (8%)
• Excitement of counting banknotes, holding them in hands (8%)
The population of Russia widely uses non-cash payments:
• 40% of respondents use bank cards supporting contactless payments
• 14% make payments with smartphones (mobile payment services).
The purchase amount began to play a less significant role for choosing non-cash payment. 45% of respondents pay for goods and services by bank cards, regardless of the payment amount.
The population of Russia use cards to pay for goods and services more often as compared to cash withdrawals at ATMs. The share of non-cash payment supporters significantly exceeded the share of those who prefer to withdraw cash from the card prior to making payments – 70% and 30% of cardholders, respectively, in 2018. The choice of bank cards as a payment method is determined by the convenience of their use and driven, in particular, by making unnecessary carrying around a large amount of cash (58%), speed (36%) and simplicity (36%) of card payments, as well as the benefits of loyalty programs (28 %).