Austrians are particularly fond of cash, study shows

According to the study, Austrian consumers are skeptical of contactless payment methods. 47% of Austrians and 49% of Germans remain loyal to cash payments. The European average of people who still prefer to pay with cash when shopping is less than 30%. In Scandinavian countries the least amount of cash is used (Sweden: 9%; Finland: 15%; Norway: 14%), where card payment is also the most popular (Sweden: 72%; Finland: 70%; Norway: 67%).

Paying by smartphone is also uncommon for Austrian consumers in an international comparison. Although contactless payment is now possible in many places, only 7% of respondents in the country would use it. In the USA (13%), Great Britain (14%), Australia (17%) and the Netherlands (17%), on the other hand, mobile payment is more popular. Newer solutions such as payment by smartwatch (2%) and biometric technologies such as facial recognition or fingerprints (2%) are also not preferred by consumers in Austria. However, the study showed that 18-25 year olds and 26-35 year olds prefer innovative payment technologies. 13% of 18-25 year olds and 9% of 26-35 year olds say they prefer paying by smartphone at the checkout, whereas for  56-65 year olds this is only 4%.