Cash was meant to be dying. But new RBA data tells a different story
Cash use ticked up for the first time since 2007 — and one in three Australians say they'd struggle without it, according to a survey.
www.sbs.com.auHere’s the latest on Australian cash use:
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A prominent signal in 2025 shows cash usage ticking up, with about 15% of payments being cash and a notable share of Australians relying on cash in a typical week. This marked the first increase in cash use since 2007, suggesting a rebound rather than a continued decline. [Source coverage: multiple outlets referencing the RBA consumer payments survey and related analyses in April 2026 reports][1][4][7]
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The rebound is driven especially by older Australians, regional communities, and lower-income households, who continue to rely on cash for daily transactions. Surveys also indicate that roughly one-third of Australians would face hardship if cash access diminished.[4][1]
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The broader context includes ongoing public and media attention around “Cash Out Day” campaigns and debates about whether the cash mandate should be expanded or maintained to preserve access to physical currency.[3][1][4]
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Other sources note a historical backdrop: while cash use has declined for many years, the latest data show a stabilization and modest uptick, challenging the narrative that cash is dying.[7][4]
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For a quick snapshot, recent headlines describe cash accounting for around 15% of payments in 2025 (up from about 13% in 2022), with about half of Australians using cash in some form in a typical week.[10][1]
If you’d like, I can compile a concise timeline of the key data points from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 2007–2025 consumer payments series and provide a short glossary of terms (cash vs. non-cash payments, share vs. volume). I can also pull the latest official RBA bulletin excerpts if you want direct quotations.