Covid-19 has had an unprecedented effect on people’s lives. Analysing this through the lense of consumer payments, the lockdown measures have had a colossal impact on the majority of businesses as they were forced to shut and people remained indoors in an effort to fight the virus.
These measures suppressed normal behaviour and, as a result, suppressed normal spending patterns: people made fewer payments as there were significantly fewer opportunities to buy clothes, a coffee or sandwich, visit the cinema or pub, or socialise with friends and family.
This meant that in 2020 significantly less payments were made than usual. Combined with negative press raising hygiene concerns about cash and the virus, as well as shops and supermarkets encouraging people to use cards instead of cash, 2020 represented a turning point in cash use in the UK.
But did Covid-19 kill cash? How will 2020 impact future use? Based on the results of four quarterly surveys conducted across 2020, Enryo’s research provides some essential insights into the future of UK payments.
In April, Mike Chambers of Northey Point Limited talked to David Hensley and David Fagleman about Enryo’s research into the use of cash and payments in 2020 and explored the question ‘Did Covid-19 kill cash?’.
Did Covid-19 kill cash? A look at cash use in 2020 from Enryo on Vimeo.