Cash’s Lockdown Hurts Financial Inclusion
Since the start of the pandemic, businesses around the world have drastically changed their operations to protect employees and customers. One significant pivot is discouraging the use of cash in favor of digital and contactless payment methods.
On the surface, moving away from cash seems like the safe, obvious thing to do to curb the spread of the virus. Also, the idea of zooming toward an innovative, digital-first, cashless society is indeed compelling.
However, going completely cashless may lead to some unintended consequences. The world has been forced online, causing a surge in e-commerce with online sales seeing a 45% increase in Q2 of 2020. From PPRO’s transaction engine, we’ve seen online purchases across the globe increase dramatically in 2020: E-commerce purchases of women’s clothing are up 311%, food and beverage by 285%, and health care and cosmetics by 160%.
Photo courtesy of blickpixel.
Source: PaymentsSource (link opens in a new window)
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- Coronavirus, Finance
