Overdependence on cash transactions harming competitiveness, warns IPSO

IRELAND’S overdependence on cash is harming the economy and the country’s competitiveness.

Although last year saw some improvement with the number of debit card transactions hitting 181 million, a rise of almost 80% since 2006, the use of cash in Ireland has been growing at 13 times the EU rate according to the Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO) in its annual review.

It said Ireland’s attachment to cash limits its ability to compare favourably with most other European countries.