Irish Examiner view: Beware of a headlong switch over to contactless payments

As well as considering the wishes of citizens who choose cash, we should bear in mind that almost three quarters of Irish consumers have been targeted by online fraudsters

A customer making a contactless payment.  File picture: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

We should save our breath before cheering too lustily for the upbeat welcome for the increase in contactless payments in Ireland. While supporters of the transition to the cashless society will parade the fact that Irish consumers now carry out €51m of payments every day, with average sums rising from €16.40 last year to €17.05 now, this is but part of the story.

The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) shows the volume of contactless payments rose by 17.6% year-on-year to €268.7m in the first three months of 2023, reaching 3m a day. The BPFI proclaims that this shows a “continued consumer preference”. 

Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they, given a vested interest in systems which come with all the contemporary trigger words attached: Accessible, frictionless, convenient, faster, digital...

Consumer preference can only be fully measured when there is a genuine choice available. Readers will know how regularly it is that card payment is the only means of completing a transaction. Values, also, are inevitably higher, given rampant inflation in life’s essentials.

Nor should we be surprised at claims that 86.3% of over-16s say they use internet banking being cited in support of consumer preference. 

A detailed breakdown by age and social class would take this survey beyond the realms of cheerleading.

It is worth keeping another thing in mind. Almost three quarters of Irish consumers have been targeted by online fraudsters. That figure is likely to increase as well.