When Will New Zealand Go Cashless?

Source: Pixabay

The future of money is increasingly appearing to be the significant lack of money – in its physical form that is. A cashless society, or one that relies on modern methods of handling finances, is already being adopted by a wide range of industries and is fast becoming the chosen method for many people. Reports from 2018 indicated that New Zealand could indeed become cashless by 2028. The tourism trade would relish this – with many overseas visitors opting to pay digitally or withdraw money day-to-day rather than to plan ahead. Neighboring Australia is on track to go cashless by 2020 and has shown how it can harness the tourist trade to achieve this. So, could New Zealand go cashless?

Cashless Kiwis

36% of New Zealanders predict that society will be cashless in the next decade, and each move towards this will convert more people to this way of thinking. 42% claim it will take slightly longer – around 20 years. Financial information shows that Kiwis are already leading the way when it comes to cashless payments. Indeed, the most popular method of payment is a bank transfer – with at least 71% of people doing transactions opting for this method  – while online payments (64%), credit cards (40%), and Eftpos (39%) are also gaining popularity. Business officials suggest that SMEs in New Zealand should facilitate ways in which customers could pay without using physical money. The future of this cashless nature will be through wearable technology, which would allow us to pay for things – as Apple have with the Apple Watch, for instance. Larger companies possess a greater infrastructure for going cashless and can work towards developing links and connections with companies that could further this goal.

Source: Pixabay

Digital Payments on the Rise

The rise in alternative payment methods is an indication that a cashless society could be a real possibility. For example, as the online casino industry shows, many sites are offering deposits with real New Zealand dollars but withdrawals through a wider range of payment options. The industry is hotly contested, and each site is vying against a host of competitors to provide the best option for online gaming. So, by looking for the latest in payment options from Neteller and Skrill to Paysafecard and a variety of e-wallets, the industry uses these to showcase their dedication to the future of technology. If they’re offering the latest payment methods, customers are more likely to think they will be offering a whole host of modern methods in tech development, which extend to the games. Being a solely digital industry, it makes sense that online casino will lead the charge on going cashless and work to develop and legitimize ways in which this could be projected towards other industries.

Many people would opt to pay by card or even via their phones nowadays, and not being able to can feel almost provincial. Who even carries change anymore? While there are benefits to having loose change, the developments of cashless payments mean we have greater control of tracking and monitoring our finances. A cashless society may be somewhere in the future, but it is visibly in the distance, as opposed to lightyears away.