Cash, not cards, remains the most widely used payment instrument in Australia for low-value payments, a study for Reserve Bank of Australia concluded.
Cards, however, dominate midvalue payments ranging from $55 to $548.
Moreover, the use of credit cards grows relative to debit cards as the transaction value increases, according to Malcolm Edey, the central bank's assistant governor of financial systems.
Mrinalini Manral, an independent banking analyst in India, said the data implies that Australians would rather use bank cards for most purchases than make multiple visits to automated teller machines for cash.
Roy Morgan Research, an Australian firm, conducted the study, surveying 1,200 households in October and November.
Participants kept a diary of their payments over a one-week period and were asked about their attitudes toward newer payment methods not covered in the diary, such as contactless or mobile payments.
Only 3% reported having made a contactless payment in the previous month, and less than 10% had ever made a mobile payment, the study found.
Of the 90% of respondents who had access to the Internet, 80% reported having made an online purchase, 60% reported having done an online funds transfer and 60% said they paid most of their bills online, according to the study.
