Cash continues to be the preferred payment method for the population between 18 and 24 years old and for those over 64 years of age (60.3% and 53.0% respectively), which places this payment method as the alternative of financial inclusion for both segments of the population and especially in municipalities with less than 100,000 inhabitants, according to the latest ‘ National Survey on the Use of Cash ‘ carried out in 2020,
At a general level, the same analysis indicates that 35.9% of citizens stated that they use cash as the most common means of payment (37.5% in the case of municipalities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants), while the 54.1% opted for the debit card as their preferred means of payment.
Despite the preferences declared in the survey, the level of cash diffusion in Spain remains similar to that of two years ago. According to the Institutional Report of the same Bank of Spain, in 2020 the Bank of Spain delivered 2,761 million banknotes to credit institutions, for an amount of 87,395 million euros, -6.5% compared to 2019 but a similar figure to 2018 and well above 2016, a reflection of the important role of metallic money in society.
In fact, according to the survey, cash continues to have an important safe haven value and is an important safety factor, close to half of Spaniards (47.9%) keep amounts greater than 500 outside their bank euros.
With regard to access to cash, ATMs are the most common way for citizens to obtain cash (84%) and, of these, 42.4% use them at least once a week. However, due to the closure of bank branches, 5.9% of those surveyed who live in towns with less than 100,000 inhabitants state that the closest branch is located more than 10 km from their home.
Precisely, one of the population segments with the most preference for cash (those over 64 years of age) have been the most affected by the closure of bank offices, especially in their habit of obtaining cash at their windows and even a 44% of the population perceive restrictions in their bank to carry out cash operations at the teller window.
On the contrary, and despite these closings, the number of businesses that go to banks to guarantee the change has increased to 80.9% and most do so once a week.
