The older generations grew up with cash. It was one of the very few payment methods available to them. But Generation Y, also known as the Millennials, grew up in the digital age. You know them as young adults and teens with birth years between 1982 and 2004. You know that they’re glued to their smartphones. You know that they’re always on their computers. There’s no other way to describe it—they’re tech junkies through and through. So you would think that they’d prefer digital payment options.
Various Payment Options Available to Millennials
The internet has transformed the payment industry. No longer do we have to pay with cash—we have many other options available now. We can use our credit and debit cards, which many of us do - often. We can use cheques as well. But we also have other digital payment methods, including Interac e-transfers, PayPal, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, Venmo, and more. In some stores, you can pay for your purchase directly from an app.
Many experts believed that the internet would do away with old-fashioned paper money in favour of any and all of these other methods of payment, that those who grew up with technology would prefer them. But boy were they wrong.
Results Are In: Millennials’ Favourite Method of Payment Is...
Even though Millennials love all things digital, their preferred method of payment is still good old cash. That’s right, cash is still king, even in this digital era that we live in.
In a recent GoBankingRates survey, 1,000 respondents aged between 18 and 34 were asked which method of payment they prefer to both pay with and to get paid back with. And the results were clear: 58% said they preferred bills and coins to the newer digital payment options.
However, not surprisingly, more than a quarter of the respondents did use payment apps like Google Wallet, Square Cash, Venmo, Bitcoin, and PayPal. A smaller percentage preferred cheques and e-transfers. It’s clear that Millennials definitely use a wider variety of payment methods, but cash is still king to this generation.
Wondering why cash is still the leading method of payment over digital options?
Why Cash Isn’t Dying Out
Even as our world becomes increasingly cashless, it isn’t at risk of dying out. That’s because it offers many advantages over digital payment options—advantages that Millennials love.
- Cash offers a finality of payment.
- Cash allows Millennials to keep track of their spending.
- It reduces the risk of careless or spur-of-the-moment spending.
- There are no processing fees or service fees for classic cash exchanges.
- Exchanging cash is convenient, simple, and quick.
- There is no risk of identity theft.
- Some stores don’t accept cards, but everyone accepts cash.
- They can ensure their spending habits aren’t tracked.
How to Adapt Your Business to These Results
Handling cash at your business is risky and costly. The true cost of cash is usually higher than you’d expect when you consider all of the hidden factors like the time commitment to handling it, counterfeit fraud, internal theft, robbery, and losses caused by human error.
But if you were hoping to be able to ditch cash as a method of payment in this digital world, think again. These new survey results prove that Millennials love cash. And cash is still the leading payment method in 2016.
But that doesn’t mean you have to keep taking on the costs and risks of cash management. You can integrate cash management solutions into your business to streamline your processes, increase efficiency and productivity, enhance security, and reduce your losses.
There’s no doubt customers still want to pay with cash, and will continue to want this option in the future. Take advantage of cash management technology to improve the cash handling process while still giving your customers the payment options they want.
