Is cash a dying dinosaur in the wake of the swing to more and more of us turning to the use of plastic – credit cards?
With the introduction of the new Chip and Pin credit card system, though initially brought in to fight the ever-rising cost of card fraud, which incidentally cost in the region of £4.3 billion in 2003 alone, with an out look of rising to £1 billion, something had to be done to stem the tide. Is now being heralded in some quarters as the beginning of the end of everyday money.
With the added security that it brings, it is believed that more people who don’t currently own a credit card will now take one in the knowledge that they can be a more secure way of dealing with our cash. Though it wont cut out the credit card not present fraud that is steadily on the rise, and becoming much more of a menace as more people turn to using the Internet for example, to purchase goods.
Don’t rule out the use of cash just yet though, as it’s better to purchase smaller items like a newspaper, bread or even a pint of milk, that you can’t currently do with a card. And cash is still the main form of paying by consumers according to The Association of Payment Clearing Services, who report that 76% of payments are still made this way, leaving cash at the top of the pile of importance, in the way that we do our dealings.
But with the expected up turn in the way that cards are to be seen in the near future, the APCS expect the number of us to pay this way is going to dwindle to around the 62% mark by the year 2009, as we get used to the idea of a thin piece of plastic in our pockets, replacing bulges caused by a load of loose change.
The Chip and Pin method of payment as well the added security that it brings, will also lead to other methods and uses for the chip that holds all the information that is required on your card, such as an electronic purse that will enable you to buy the everyday items that we take for granted.
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So is the Jurassic age going to be swamped by the New Age Chip? Well it’s going to be a battle, as the difference in punching power right now is very much in the favour of cash, with 25 billion transactions a year to the credit cards 3.4 billion, though it’s a fight that with the introduction of Chip and Pin credit cards, will start to address the balance of power.
