Data from MWE Consulting, which specialises in debit and credit card analysis, showed that debit card ATM withdrawals per account fell about 6.3 per cent to 2.39 a month last year. That compared with 2.55 in the previous year and 2.62 in 2006, when monthly transactions peaked.
'We have been seeing a reduction in cash transactions on credit (card) for a long time . . . but what is significant is this (debit card) reduction, which accelerated in the last year,' said MWE managing director Mike Ebstein.
'I think that's a sign that Australians are beginning to move away from cash as their staple payment product.'
MWE estimates that between 65 and 70 per cent of all transactions in Australia were still cash. Typically, cash is used for transactions of less than $25.
For the first time, he said, figures showed a reduction in cash usage, indicating that "we are finally beginning to move towards a cashless society". ...more
