Importance of Cash Confirmed in Australia

The 2025 Australian Consumer Payments Survey shows that cash use has stabilised in recent years ¹.

Key points are:

• Around 15% of payments were made in cash and around half of Australians used cash in a typical week.
• All demographic groups regularly use cash, but older Australians and lower income households tended to use cash somewhat more often than others for unexpected transactions or in case electronic payments are not available.
• The survey results highlight the important role of cash in an inclusive and resilient payments system.

The findings of the survey are particularly important because they are used by the RBA, and other cash stakeholders, to develop cash policy for the next three years.

A number of commentators have opined on the survey. Matt Sykes of the CPT Group posted on LinkedIn that the Consumer Payments Survey shows an increase in cash usage as a share of consumer payments from 2022 to 2025: