Cash use is declining in Europe – only not in Austria

The Cash use is continuing to decline in Europe. Germany and Austria still remain the cash strongholds: Austria (71 percent) and Deutschland (73 percent) are ahead in terms of the frequency of cash use, according to the new payment traffic study by the management and technology consultancy BearingPoint shows. 10,123 people were surveyed.

Young people also prefer cash

“Even in the digitally savvy ones younger age groups More than one in two people frequently use cash and therefore central bank money. As a connection between digital progress and security thinking in the current geopolitical situation, the Digital Euro can make an important contribution to the resilience and sovereignty of payment transactions in Europe,” comments BearingPoint partner Christian Bruck.

The most common use in both countries is in the 55 plus age group with 80 percent in Germany and 84 percent in Austria. Digitally savvy 18 to 24 year olds show a high frequency of use at 64 percent in Germany and 57 percent in Austria. The frequency of cash use is lowest in Northern Europe: cash is used less and less in Sweden (25 percent), Denmark (32 percent) and Finland (42 percent).

Austrians open to digital euro

While on average one in three countries would use the digital euro, the larger group of 42 percent is still undecided and shows the potential. The digital euro would be used most frequently in Austria at around 40 percent, and least frequently in the Netherlands at under 27 percent. In the north, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would be used as a cash supplement at 21 percent in Denmark and 22 percent in Sweden; in Switzerland the value is significantly higher at 37 percent.

As in the previous year, online shopping is the preferred use case with 37 percent for the digital euro and 31 percent for CBDCs. According to the survey, Ireland is the leader in the online shopping category for the Digital Euro with 44 percent, followed by Finland with 40 percent. Shopping in stores is cited as the second most important use case for the digital euro or CBDC, with a country average of 28 and 22 percent respectively.

Free use (41 percent) and general 24/7 acceptance (35 percent) remain the most important criteria for using the digital euro. House banks enjoy the highest level of trust in recording and storing transaction data – especially in the euro area: In countries with the digital euro, trust in one’s own house bank is highest at 41 percent and significantly exceeds trust in the ECB/central banks. Apple and Google would only trust four percent of those surveyed with their data when it comes to the Digital Euro/CBDC.