Do Most People Carry Cash When Traveling? The world is progressively going digital, and it is not just the way we travel or do business is changing. There is also no need for travelling with cash as contactless payment, mobile wallets and credit cards are now available. But do most people still use cash while on a trip? In this article, let us know these overviews of the trends, advantages and disadvantages of cash during the travel.

The Shift to Digital Payments

There has been a strong move toward making payments through the use of the internet in recent years. Often, Mastercard has provided research revealing that globally, 80% of consumers have used contactless payments and the figures are trending upwards. Mobile payments tools available in the markets today include Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay have ensured that people do not need to have on them.

Benefits of Digital Payments

Convenience: Mobile and other forms of electronic payment platforms are effective because they enable people to make payments fast.

Security: Digital or online payments solutions are relatively safer than cash payment as the buyer or the payer has to necessarily put in a password, a fingerprint or use a password to unlock the payment.

Tracking: Alternatively, every transaction through the digital payment system provides the corresponding details, which are helpful in daily budgeting and expense tracking.

The Case for Carrying Cash

As the cases of digital payments are growing, there are still a lot of circumstances when it is handy to have some cash with you. Here are a few reasons why:

Benefits of Carrying Cash

Emergencies: What may be needed in an emergency like lost wallet, wallet stolen or power failure is to have a certain amount on you.

Local Markets: In many countries, local markets and street vendors may not accept digital payments, which remains the only available type of payment.

Tipping: Tipping is a common practice in some countries and, as is traditional with many business transactions, the preferred method is in cash.

Regional Variations

The probability of having with one is a form of cash when traveling is highly dependent on the area. In many countries, for instance the Asian giants of Japan and South Korea, people use cash less often because payments via ‘means of electronic transaction’ are more common. India, Pakistan, and dozens of other countries are still mostly using for the settlements.

Regional Trends

Asia: Thus, it is for certainty stated that digital payments have gained high popularity amongst Asians, and countries, especially China and Singapore, top the chart.

Europe: Many countries of Europe are used to contactless payments and some of them, for example Sweden or Norway is already in a process of denouncement of cash money.

Africa: Ghana for instance has adopted mobile payments where individuals like M-Pesa use their mobile phones to make payments.

Traveler Preferences

Well, then, do majority of people today prefer to pay when they are out traveling? This depends on the person, the kind of traveler he/she is and the general travel preferences. The same survey done in Travel + Leisure showed that while 62% of travelers prefer to pay partly in cash and partly by credit cards; 21% prefer to pay wholly by credit cards; and 12% prefer to pay wholly by cash.

Traveler Profiles

Adventure Travelers: Due to the uncertainty of accessing digital payment platforms when travelling to remote areas, such travelers are often bad cash customers.

Business Travelers: Such a pattern of travelling implies the utility of digital payments on behalf of those travelers as the latter have to monitor expenses and make transactions fast.

Budget Travelers: These travelers may prefer to carry cash, as they may be attempting to travel on a small amount of money and avoid additional charges including foreign transactions.

Conclusion

All in all, despite the fast growth of digital payment as a method of payment, people still prefer to have cash on them while travelling. The extent to which people should patronize or go for digital form depend on the region, mode of transport or experience desired. You can contact us here.

While today the opportunities of non-cash payments are growing and being popularized, the impossibility to exclude cash from the list of payment methods is quite obvious. This therefore mean that people traveling should select the best method or combination that can be adopted in the travel process bearing in mind that it will only make positive impacts and not the negative ones.

Recommendations

Research: It is advisable to find out which is preferred in a particular country payments or electronic payments before traveling.

Diversify: For safety’s sake, it may be wise to have digital tools so as to be ready for whatever may happen during the holiday.

Stay Informed: Please keep abreast the current payment trends and technologies to enhance client journey and covers all payment.