Alternative digital payment methods are increasing to meet the needs of online shoppers, with eWallets and bank transfers leading the way in 2018. There are at least 140 different payment methods in use today across 36 countries, which has led to a decline in cash usage and ATMs worldwide.
An analysis of the most popular eCommerce payment methods reveals that eWallet is the most popular, followed by credit card, debit card and bank transfer. For POS (point of sale) transactions, cash remains on top.
Percentage of eCommerce transactions, paid for with cash:
The use of cash is in decline in every global region, with Worldpay predicting that cash will be supplemented by debit cards as the leading eCommerce payment method in 2019, before falling behind debit cards, credit cards and eWallets by 2022.
However, there are some areas where cash usage has risen. Poland has seen the most significant rise in cash payments over the past five years with a 9% increase, followed by Malaysia with a 6% increase.
Africa
Americas
Asia
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Europe
Popular eCommerce payment methods in 2018
More than half of the world’s ATMs are found in China, the US, Japan, Brazil and India. The first four countries experienced a drop in ATMs over the past year due to an increase in non-cash payments, branch closures and increased ATM sharing. In the UK, the number of ATMs dropped from 54,000 to 49,700 between January 2018 and July 2017 alone.
Japan has seen the most significant shift away from cash payments with a drop of 8%. Sweden is the first country featured to have eliminated cash on delivery as an eCommerce payment method in 2018. Debit card usage has also seen a sharp decline, dropping from 47% in 2014 to 30% in 2017.
The rise of bitcoin use globally
Along with the rise of digital payments, cryptocurrencies have grown in usage over the past few years. There are now 24.9 million more blockchain users in 2019 than there was in 2017, 1.356 million more Bitcoins in circulation and 3,896 more ATMs installed worldwide.
Global Payment Trends: The Impact of a Digital Society
Global Payment Trends dissects industry reports to see how digital payment methods have risen in popularity, and reveal how quickly we're moving away from cash. The report also looks at Swish, Sweden's mobile app, to see how many people are currently using digital banking and whether they're really ready to go cashless. Finally, the report sheds light on the members of society who would suffer in a digital society, due to their cash dependence. Focus throughout is primarily on Canada, Sweden, the UK and the US.
Data gathered from a range of reports, including Worldpay, Link, Riksbank, Swish, WHO and Mind.
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