Nets report: 23 percent of brick-and-mortar stores are considering giving up cash in Finland

Nearly a quarter of Finnish brick-and-mortar stores are considering giving up cash, says a recent report.

80 percent of merchants still accept cash payments, but exactly 23 percent are considering giving them up in the near future. The majority are small and medium-sized companies, especially in the restaurant, service and taxi sectors.

Reasons for giving up are the difficulty of handling cash, security issues related to its storage, and the extra costs of cash.

This is evident from the latest from the payment service company Nets from the Nordic payment report. Last summer, a thousand consumers and about 500 merchants in Finland responded to the report.

Banknotes and the use of coins is more common in Finland than in other Nordic countries. 11 percent of Finnish respondents do not use cash at all, while in Sweden and Norway the corresponding share is already around 40 percent.

“Sweden is unquestionably a pioneer in the adoption of digital payment methods. In Finland, the development has not been as fast, but now we see a gradual change here too, with the use of cash decreasing steadily over the last few years,” commented Nets’ Finland country manager in the press release. Summer Ruoppa.

The report estimates that Sweden would have the best starting points to be the first cashless society, but the belief in such a thing is wavering in all the Nordic countries. The reasons are global uncertainty, possible faults in network systems and concern about the ability of the elderly to use new means of payment.

“The issue of keeping cash as a payment option is still a multi-faceted and sensitive topic throughout the Nordic countries. Cash still plays an important role in society,” Ruoppa says.

Cash according to the report, is most commonly accepted in grocery stores with a share of 86 percent. Public transport, taxis and refueling or charging cars rely the most on other payment methods, as they accept cash at 47 percent.

In Finland, cash took over from card payments, as about nine out of ten respondents paid by card daily or weekly. The majority of them are also made by contactless payment.

Nets interprets that the corona pandemic sped up contactless payment, because then you don’t have to touch the numeric keypad with your fingers.

Tax report was done now for the sixth time. A total of 6,000 people answered it in the Nordic countries.