Cards are chipping away at cash and cheque use in Australia

Consumers made over 8.3 billion card payments in 2017, equal to 23 million transactions a day.

Australian consumers are hopping onboard the country’s cashless push as card usage soared to a rate of almost 23 million transactions a day, totaling to over 8.3 billion card payments in 2017, reports RetailAsia.

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On the other hand, the number of cheques used crashed by almost 20% to 89.7 million in 2017 whilst the number of cash withdrawals at ATMs dropped 5.9% to $610.1m, said electronic payments group AusPayNet.

High internet and technology penetration in the country is driving the digital pivot of Australian banking consumers as over six in ten consumers are embracing smartphones to make payments.

“This is driving uptake in digital payments and laying down a powerful base for the next wave of payments innovation,” said AusPayNet CEO Leila Fourie.

A significant chunk of card payments – 5.6 billion – have been made on debit cards as credit is used largely for more expensive purchases, the report added.