Revealed: CO2 emissions to almost halve in a cashless society

• CO2 emissions caused by payment methods could drop by 45% if consumers switched from cash to contactless debit cards, new research shows. 
• Global Payment Trends reveals the financial and societal impacts of going cashless, as society shifts towards exclusively digital transactions in 2018. 
• If all banknotes manufactured over the last year were replaced by contactless cards, a staggering 3.380 billion g/CO2e would be eliminated. 
• PVC payment cards last for more than twice (2.33) the average lifetime of banknotes, and handle more than 20 times the transactions each year. 

Switching cash for contactless cards would almost halve the CO2 emissions resulting from the manufacture of polymer, paper and PVC plastic, new research shows.

Analysis shows that cash usage is declining in every region around the world, with eWallets, bank transfers and credit cards becoming the most popular payment methods in 2018, new research shows.

The UK has seen a significant decline in cash use, accounting for just 28% of overall transactions last year, or 7% of eCommerce purchases. This represents a 16% decrease from 2017 to 2018, and a 32% decline in cash payments since 2008.

Banknotes were used in 10.9 billion exchanges over the past year, while contactless credit and debit cards accounted for 7.3 billion. Measuring these figures against the 3.7 billion banknotes and 124 million contactless cards in circulation reveals that cards are used for an average of 60 exchanges each, while banknotes are used for three.

Manufacturing a polymer or paper banknote produces 10.75g of CO2 equivalent while making a PVC card with contactless chip produces 40g of CO2e. When this is mapped over the same lifetime, banknotes could produce 40.8 billion g/CO2e emissions, while contactless cards will produce 11.5 million kg.

If the number of exchanges made using banknotes and contactless cards stayed the same over the next year, and 1/7 of the cards in circulation were manufactured that year, CO2 emissions could drop by 45.15%.

Global Payment Methods collates official reports to reveal the potential societal repercussions of digital exclusivity, whereby coins, banknotes and cheques are replaced by eWallets, cryptocurrencies and bank cards.

Since 2015, digital payment methods have risen to meet the needs of online shoppers, with eWallets and bank transfers the most popular in 2018. Cash is forecasted to be replaced by debit card as the leading payment method by the end of this year.

Percentage of transactions paid for with cash in the UK

 

Country	2016	2017	2018	Total % change
UK	9%	9%	7%	-2%

 

This predicted shift would have detrimental societal impacts worldwide, with 1.7 billion adults without access to a bank account, 100 million people reported to be homeless and 617 million people aged 65 and over around the globe – many of whom will struggle to go digital.

There are 450 million people currently suffering from mental or neurological disorders according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with one in four people predicted to be affected by mental illness at some point in their lives.

These figures mean that a staggering 1.875 billion people could be isolated from a digitised society at any one time, due to mental health problems alone.

To read more about the impacts of digital exclusion in Global Payment Methods, visit: https://a2zcasinos.org/global-payment-trends