One in five people in Ireland never carry cash, survey finds

Half of people in Ireland carry no more than €20 in cash in their wallet, while one in five people never carry cash, according to a recent survey by Royal London Ireland.

The Dublin based life insurance and pensions company is a subsidiary of the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited.

A survey of 1,000 adults across Ireland, conducted by iReach on behalf of Royal London Ireland, found that one in five people in Ireland never carry any cash, and of those that do almost one third carry €20 or less.

Fewer than one in five people carry more than €100 regularly.

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The survey also found that among 18-24 year olds, 50 per cent say they never carry cash, while just 10 per cent of people aged 55 or older say the same.

People in Leinster appear to be the least likely to carry cash, as 25 per cent of people in Dublin and almost a third of people in the rest of Leinster say they never carry cash.

By contrast, only 10 per cent of those living in Ulster and Connacht never carry cash.

The survey showed that men are more likely than women to never carry money, but of those who do, men tend to carry higher amounts on them than women.

It also found that the top reason people need to carry notes or coins regularly was to pay for small grocery items such as milk and bread (58 per cent), followed by paying service providers who prefer cash (38 per cent), buying lunch or takeaway coffee or tea (34 per cent), giving tips (32 per cent) and donating to charity (27 per cent).

Barry McCutcheon, Proposition Lead at Royal London Ireland, said that despite the increasing digital nature of Irish banking and payment systems in recent years, “cash still plays an important role in Ireland’s society and economy, with many people relying on it when going about their day-to-day routines”.

“In the Department of Finance’s published Retail Banking Review, a recommendation was made for legislation to be introduced to safeguard the reasonable access to cash. It is clear from our research that for many, there are times when only cash will do,” he said.

Mr McCutcheon advised that whether consumers prefer using cash or not, a Financial Broker can help to put a personalised plan in place to track and manage finances, which he said is important to planning a financial future.