Slow Adoption of Cashless Payments in Japan
Japan has long been a cash society. While cashless payments are beginning to spread, Japan lags behind other major economies, according to government data. A big reason for this seems to be the rapidly aging population.
In 2023, a little over 39% of payments were cashless in Japan, which was a record. (Pre-pandemic, the cashless payment use was only 26.8%.) This is significantly less than in other countries. In 2021, South Korea was at 95.3%, China 83.8%, Australia 72.8%, Britan 65.1%, and the US 53.2%.
According to the Japanese government, credit cards are the prefered option in Japan for cashless payments, at 83.5%, QR code at 8.6%, electronic money at 5.1%, and debit card at 2.9%. During the pandemic, cashless payments increased because people did not want to have physical contact, in addition to reward point programs promoting it.
I guess I am part of the aging population. I like using cash here. In the US, I never carried cash. I used a credit card for practically everything. If I paid by mail, I wrote a check. Now I only use a credit card for big payments, like an airline ticket, or if I order by mail (which is not often). It is very safe to carry cash here, which was something I was nervous about doing when I lived in the US.
What is your preferred payment method? Did that change during the pandemic?
3 comments:
I like both cash payments (you actually see the money disappearing from your wallet!) and electronic money (which is fast and smooth). In Sweden it is almost impossible to use cash, shops don't accept ready money. The reason is shops don't want their staff to be at risk from hold ups.
I often pay by smartphone payment and credit card through the smartphone company I have a contract with. When travelling by bus or train, I use an electronic money card called Suica. But I never go out without carrying cash. Some stores only accept cash. I don't know the true intentions of the Japanese government, but I think it would be good if everyone could choose the payment method they like.
That's interesting. I think sometimes we are more mindful of our expenses when we don't just flip them onto a credit card.
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