Closing the Gap
Hard Numbers: Americans use less cash, Africans heart mobile money, Indians accept fees, Norwegians cash out
Photo illustration of US dollar bills and coins.
Nicolas Economou via Reuters Connect
41: That's the percentage of Americans who say they don't use cash for any purchases in a given week, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Only 14% still pay for the bulk of their purchases with physical money, most of them likely low-income and unbanked.
70: Mobile payments might soon overtake card transactions in sub-Saharan Africa. The region dominates the global mobile money market, accounting for 70% of $1 trillion worth of transactions recorded last year.
90: Indians hate the often hefty "convenience fees" they pay for cashless transactions, even for government-related services. But 90% say they’d rather get charged a bit extra to avoid going to a physical counter.
2: Paying in cash is mostly a thing of the past in Norway. Only 2% of Norwegians now use bills and coins in a de-facto cashless society where virtually everyone has a bank account and cards.This article comes to you from the Signal newsletter team of GZERO Media. Sign up today.
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