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Cash Use in New Zealand - Public Survey 2019

High Level Findings

30 October 2019

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Contents 1. Background ..................................................................................................................................... 3

2. Methodology summary ................................................................................................................... 4

3. Summary of high level findings ....................................................................................................... 5

4. High level findings ........................................................................................................................... 6

Few people never use cash ................................................................................................................. 6

But New Zealanders do not use cash all that frequently .................................................................... 6

For almost 40% of cash users, their main reasons for using cash are markets and small payments. 7

85% of New Zealanders use electronic bank cards as their main way of paying ............................... 8

Eighty-nine percent of the population prefer not to use cash ........................................................... 8

Cash use increases with age ............................................................................................................... 9

Almost everyone who used cash in the previous seven days also used another form of payment in

that period ........................................................................................................................................ 10

Seventy-five percent carry some cash .............................................................................................. 11

Females are more likely to have cash on them ................................................................................ 11

Children under 13 are more likely to use cash than those between 13 and 18 ............................... 12

Most New Zealanders do not have cash stored outside the bank ................................................... 12

Most people get cash out once a week or less often ....................................................................... 13

About half of the population get between $20 and $100 cash out at a time .................................. 14

ATM’s are the most commonly used place to get cash .................................................................... 14

ATM’s are used most frequently to get cash out.............................................................................. 15

Younger adults are more likely to mainly undertake their banking online ...................................... 16

Undertaking banking online as the main way of banking increases with income ............................ 17

Most people are using just as much cash now as they were 12 months ago .................................. 18

Most people feel ambivalent about declining cash use in New Zealand ......................................... 19

A small number of people would not be able to cope without cash ................................................ 19

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1. Background

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In 2017 the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua (Reserve Bank) undertook

a Public Survey “Cash Use in New Zealand” to inform our understanding about how

New Zealanders use cash.

This was an input to the multi-year multi-phase programme now called the

Future of Cash – Te Moni Anamata.

In 2019 the Reserve Bank repeated the survey (with some question changes) to better

understand how cash use was changing and to inform the development of policy and

operational responses.

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2. Methodology summary

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The questions in the ‘Cash Use in New Zealand Public Survey 2019’ were largely based on the

same survey undertaken in 2017. Some questions were amended / added / removed to reflect

increased understanding of the public’s cash use gained from the 2017 survey.

The Reserve Bank engaged Research New Zealand to undertake the final survey design,

questionnaire development, sample design, statistical methodology, design of associated

materials, administration of the fieldwork, and data capture. Identical procedures were followed

where possible to ensure the survey was comparable with the 2017 results.

A random sample of n=12,500 people, stratified by specific age groups, geographic areas and

Māori/non-Māori ethnicity was drawn from the NZ Electoral Roll.

The survey was completed using a mixed method approach, with respondents provided with the

options of completing the survey online or on paper. Fieldwork was completed between 29th July

and 4th September 2019.

Postcard reminders were used to encourage participation of those who had not completed the

survey within the first 2.5 weeks. Targeted reminder follow up phone calls were used for all Māori

and those aged 18 – 44 who had not responded after 4 weeks.

Most respondents responded by completing the paper version of the questionnaire (2,681

respondents or 86% of the total sample), compared with the online version (422 respondents or

13% of the total sample).

Completed questionnaires were received from 3,103 respondents. This exceeded the target of

2,500.

The margin of error is +/- 1.8 percent at total sample/population level reporting. Margins of error

are greater for sub-sample/population reporting.

A separate document contains a more detailed methodology description, including the

questionnaire.

The electoral roll comprises New Zealand citizens and permanent residents. For the purposes of

this paper we will refer to the total population, of which the electoral roll sample represents, as

New Zealanders.

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3. Summary of high level findings

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This document summarises preliminary analysis from the ‘Cash Use in New Zealand Public

Survey 2019’. The purpose of the survey was to enable the Reserve Bank to better understand

the New Zealand public’s cash use and attitudes to changes in cash use and access to cash.

The 2019 survey will be compared with the 2017 Cash Use survey to highlight changes in

payment behaviour and attitudes. This preliminary analysis report does not compare the 2019

results to 2017 because additional work is required to confirm the validity and statistical

significance of differences in questions and results. This summary does not consider open text

responses. When all this work is complete an addendum and data set will be released.

The survey found:

1. About 89% of New Zealanders prefer to use a payment method other than cash.

2. Six percent had used cash and no other form of payment in the seven days before completing the survey.

3. Around 24% of New Zealanders did not use cash at all in the seven days before completing the survey and a further 40% of them used it only once or twice.

4. Seven percent of New Zealanders use cash as their main way of paying for everyday things while over 80% use electronic bank cards.

5. The most common main reason for using cash is to use it at a farmers market or roadside stall.

6. Older people are much more likely than younger people to have used cash in the last seven days.

7. Younger adults are more likely to do their banking mainly online while older people are more likely to do it in-branch or at an ATM.

8. Around 60% of children under 13 were reported to use cash for payments while 42% of teenagers were reported to use an electronic bank card and 25% to use online payment options.

9. A third of New Zealanders have New Zealand cash stored somewhere other than in a bank.

10. Around 60% of New Zealanders feel indifferent about the decline in ability to access and use cash.

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4. High level findings

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Few people never use cash

We asked people which of the different methods they used to pay for everyday things and

regular bills or payments (Questions 1 and 2). In total 3%, or 92,911 people do not use cash at all

for these.

But New Zealanders do not use cash all that frequently

We asked people who used cash, how many times in the previous seven days they had used it

to pay for everyday things (Question 3).

Total population distribution: cash use frequency in the previous seven days

Percentage of total

population

Not at all in the last seven

days

Once or twice

Three to six times

Seven or more times

Don’t know or no

response

24% 40% 21% 10% 5%

Almost a quarter of New Zealanders did not use cash at all in the previous seven days and 40%

of them used it once or twice.

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For almost 40% of cash users, their main reasons for using cash are markets and small payments.

Question 10 asked respondents to indicate why they use cash.

Using cash at farmers markets, roadside stalls and the like is the most important reason for using

cash for 23% of cash users. Reasons relating to managing finances (with cash I get a better idea

of how I’m spending, and I don’t get into debt using cash) only account for the main reason for

using cash for 12% of users.

Reasons for using cash

% of cash users

Most important

reason

Second most

important reason

`A market (e.g. a Farmers Market, roadside stall, etc.) 23.1% 13%

Some payments are so small I don’t like to use a card for them 15.2%

11%

With cash I get a better idea of how much I’m spending in a day, week, etc. 6.4%

4%

I give money to my family - it has to be cash 6.1% 5%

Payments are private – there’s no record of what I spent or where I spent it 5.8%

5%

A shop that only takes cash 5.5% 4%

I don’t get into debt using cash 5.4% 4%

Sometimes I buy something from a private person (not a shop) and I prefer to pay them cash 4.7%

7%

I find it convenient to use cash (please say why) 3.3% 2%

Can’t say / don’t know 2.9% 2%

For gifting, koha, meaalofa, etc. 2.8% 4%

I give cash donations to charities collecting in the street 2.0% 4%

Sometimes there is a charge for using a credit card 1.9% 4%

I feel safer using cash than other ways of paying 0.9% 1%

Sometimes there is a discount or reward for paying cash 0.7% 1%

I find that the other ways of paying are hard to use 0.4% 1%

Other reason(s) 4.1% 2%

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85% of New Zealanders use electronic bank cards as their main way of paying

We asked people to tell us about all the different ways they use to pay for everyday things in

Question 2.

Main way of paying for everyday things

Percentage of total

population

Debit card / EftPos

Credit card

Cash Mobile phone

Internet payment

Public transport

card Cheque

No response

60.4% 25.3% 7.1% 1.6% 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 4.2%

For the majority of New Zealanders debit card / EftPoS is their main way of paying for things, and

when combined with credit cards means about 85% of New Zealanders’ main way of paying is by

bank card.

Eighty-nine percent of the population prefer not to use cash

Eleven percent of New Zealanders prefer to pay using cash.

Looking at preferences and payment methods, most groups use their preferred method of payment most of the time, however a relatively high number of cheque users would prefer to use cash. Over 80% of New Zealanders who use electronic bank cards and cash as their main payment

option are using their preferred payment method.

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Cash use increases with age

Question 3 asked respondents about how often they use cash.

Although the differences in cash use frequency are not huge, this graph shows the younger you

are the more likely you are to be using cash less frequently, or not at all. Older groups are using

cash more frequently, and those over 45 years old are much more likely to have used cash in the

last seven days.

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Almost everyone who used cash in the previous seven days also used another form of payment in that period

We asked people who said they used cash about any other ways they had paid for things in the

last seven days (Question 4). Only six percent of the population had used cash and no other

form of payment in the last seven days.

There are small differences across the age groups in the proportion of people who only used

cash in the last seven days. Older people were less likely to have only used cash in the last

seven days than younger groups.

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Seventy-five percent carry some cash

We asked people if they currently had cash in their wallet / purse / pocket (Question 33). In total

75% of New Zealanders have at least some cash on them. The graph below shows older people

are more likely to have cash on them and the likelihood of not having cash decreases with age.

Females are more likely to have cash on them

Females (n=1753) are more likely to have cash in their wallet / purse / pocket then both males

(n=1327) and gender diverse people (n=10).

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Children under 13 are more likely to use cash than those between 13 and 18

In Questions 31 and 32 we asked people if they had anyone under 18 years old in their care and

to select which payment methods the young people use. Children under the age of 13 years old

predominately use cash while teenagers are more likely to use electronic cards and online

options.

Most New Zealanders do not have cash stored outside the bank

In question 16 we asked people if they stored New Zealand cash, and if they did, how much.

Sixty-two percent of the population have no New Zealand dollars stored while 33% have some

stored.

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In terms of the value of cash stored by those 33%, two percent of the population have more than

$5,000 stored outside a bank, over 70% have less than $500, and 37% have less than $100.

We also asked people why they were storing money (Question 18). The most common reasons

for storing cash were for quick access and for emergencies.

Reason for storing cash % of responses*

To be able to quickly get money when I need it 67.1% For emergencies 62.3% Other reasons 19.5%

I like to keep my savings private 3.7% I don’t trust banks 1.5% No Response 0.5% I don’t have a bank account 0.1%

*respondents could choose more than one

Most people get cash out once a week or less often

We asked people how often they got cash from anywhere (Question 7).

Total population distribution: how often people get cash

Percentage of total population

More often than once

a week

Once a week

Every two weeks or

more often

Once a month or

more often

Less often than once a month

Don’t get cash

regularly

Never get cash

Don’t know or no response

5% 18% 15% 18% 16% 20% 2% 5%

Only 23% of people get cash out weekly or more frequently. Around 20% do not get cash out

regularly.

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About half of the population get between $20 and $100 cash out at a time

We asked people who got cash how much they got each time (Question 8).

Of those who get cash out 74% get between $20 and $200 each time. Only 2% of people get

more than $500 a time, while 8% get $20 or less.

ATM’s are the most commonly used place to get cash

We asked people all of the places they get their cash out from. Supermarkets and other shops

are more commonly used than bank tellers. (Question 9).

*respondents could choose more than one answer

Ways of getting cash out

% of all

responses*

ATM 52%

Supermarket 23%

Other shop 10%

Bank teller 9%

Other people/family 4%

Other 1%

Don't know and no response 1%

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ATM’s are used most frequently to get cash out

While people access cash using a number of different ways, the most frequently used place to

get cash out is an ATM; 70% of people get cash this way. For 12%, the supermarket is where

they most frequently get cash out, while only 3% of people frequently get cash out from a teller at

the bank.

Cash users’ preferences for where they get cash out largely reflect where they most frequently

get cash out, although there is a small group who would prefer not to use an ATM and some who

would rather be going to a bank teller. From the three main ways of accessing cash, 56% of

people who prefer to get cash out at a bank teller are over 60 years old.

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Younger adults are more likely to mainly undertake their banking online

In question 13 we asked respondents to select the main way they bank and any other ways they

bank. Older people (60+ years) are more likely than younger adults to bank in-branch as their

main way, while no one under 29 years old indicated in-branch was their main way of banking.

Younger adults are more likely to use a wider range of banking option.

Combining the online ways of banking and the in-person ways of banking shows over 70% of

respondents under 44 years old mainly undertake their banking online while older people are

much more likely to mainly bank in branch. This analysis excludes respondents whose main

ways of banking are over the telephone or having someone else undertake their banking.

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Undertaking banking online as the main way of banking increases with income

Those who did not disclose their income are the group most likely to mainly bank in person (at

branches or ATM’s). Outside of that group, the likelihood of mainly banking in-person increases

as income decreases.

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Most people are using just as much cash now as they were 12 months ago

While most people’s cash use has not changed in the last 12 months, in aggregate slightly more

people indicated they had decreased, rather than increased, their cash use.

In terms of how people would like to be paying for things in the next 12 months, again over 55%

of people would like to continue using cash as much they currently are. Outside of that group, the

majority of people would like to decrease their cash use; 11% would like to decrease their cash

use a lot, while 2% would like to increase their cash use a lot.

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Most people feel ambivalent about declining cash use in New Zealand

Question 21 asked people to describe how they feel about cash use in New Zealand declining.

The vast majority indicated they felt neither good nor bad. Outside of those who were ambivalent,

in aggregate more people felt bad than good about declining cash use.

A small number of people would not be able to cope without cash

When asked about their ability to cope in future without cash almost 90% of people would be

able to manage, 5% would not be able to cope (Question 19).

Those who indicated it would be difficult or they were could not cope were asked to indicate why

in Question 20. The majority of those who could not cope selected “day to day life in general”.

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