Why cash has made an unexpected comeback in Australia: new study |
After two decades of declining cash use, Australians are handing over more banknotes and coins for regular purchases again, a new survey by the Reserve Bank has found.
The decline in the use of physical money had accelerated during the COVID pandemic, but bottomed out between 2022 and 2025.
Around 15% of payments in 2025 were made using cash. Cash is more likely to be used for small transactions, with a quarter of transactions below $10 paid in cash.
Cash therefore accounts for a smaller proportion (8%) of the total value of payments we made than of the number of payments.
One decision that may stabilise the use of cash is that since January 2026 the federal government has mandated that most grocery stores and petrol stations must continue to accept cash.
Who are the main users of cash?
About half of Australians use cash in a typical week, the survey........