Dermot Jewell: The future of cash in our digital society

We do not yet live in a cashless society and the value of the enormous support to the economy from those who choose to pay in cash is to be neither underestimated nor undervalued

The most frequently used payment method at the point of sale in 2022, in the euro area, for 59% of consumers, was cash.

Disappointingly, there had been no engagement or consultation with the consumer — the person who pays for the goods and services upon which business and our economy rely to survive — when it comes to cash payments and usage.

Notably and importantly, choice in the manner of payment is often denied to the payer, and determined by the preference of the seller. This has introduced an imbalance in the system for all parties.