CANBERRA, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Australians are withdrawing cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) at low levels not seen in 15 years, further highlighting the nation's slow drift towards a "cashless economy".
Figures released by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) showed that ATM withdrawals fell 7.7 percent in the 12 months to January, while the number of Australians taking "cash out" during debit transactions was also falling at record pace.
It's the third straight year that the number of ATM withdrawals has fallen more than 6 percent on the year before, prompting economists including CommSec CEO Craig James to declare "cash is no longer king" in Australia.
"Use of both credit and debit cards is soaring with more people using the cards for small purchases," he told Fairfax Media on Tuesday, following release of the figures on Monday.
He said that while ATM transactions had fallen dramatically over the past five years, the number of credit and debit card transaction had jumped to 13-year highs.
He said the advent of "tap-and-pay" technology, where users simply tap their card on the terminal instead of inserting it and typing out a PIN, had led to the increase in the use of cards for smaller transactions.
"The versatility of tap and go has caused people to use cards more often for smaller transactions but credit-card debt is still falling, compared with a year ago at a time when wages are up near 2 percent," James said.
Despite the trend of shunning ATMs for using cards, bank analyst Omkar Joshi said it was unlikely banks would shut down their ATMs as they are already installed.
"Banks don't save any money because they've already paid for the ATMs," he told Fairfax.
"You would not want to be the first bank to scrap them and have customers at your store protesting."
The latest figures also reinforce the RBA's decision to implement "real-time payments" from later this year.
Under the scheme, both consumers and businesses will be able to transfer funds online in real-time, eliminating the need for up to five days of waiting when transferring funds between different banks or over weekends and public holidays.
