The rise of Covid has seen a parallel rise in the use of contactless payments as people have tried to avoid spreading the virus further. New research finds that the crisis has accelerated the move away from cash by four years.?
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According to Amadeus, 84 per cent of respondents to a survey of 5,000 adults who have travelled since the Covid-19 outbreak began said they now pay with non-cash methods like contactless or mobile payments when travelling. And 14 per cent of travellers said that when contactless payment options were not available, they would rather abandon the purchase altogether rather than risk the physical contact required to pay with cash.

However, the shift away from cash does not look like it will be a permanent move. The survey found that 55 per cent of respondents said that they plan to return to cash payments when the risk from Covid-19 has significantly reduced. For these travellers, the top reason to return to cash is a desire to know how much they are spending, indicating a possible backlash against foreign exchange fees and other hidden costs applied at the time of transaction.?

Bart Tompkins, managing director, payments, Amadeus commented: ¡°Contactless, digital and mobile payments have accelerated as travellers seek to reduce physical interactions, which is positive for all concerned. However, the industry needs to offer a more comprehensive range of new digital and local payment methods if we are to tackle long standing concerns around high fees. Offering transparency and choice is how we can make the digital payments shift permanent.¡±