DESPITE years of efforts to get more Jamaicans using digital payment means, a new Bank of Jamaica commissioned study show cash remains king.

In fact, cash remains so dominant in transactions, that 72 per cent of respondents to a survey on cash usage report using it everyday, according to the National Financial Inclusion Final Report for 2023.

But the usage of cash is not evenly distributed as those with higher incomes tending to favour digital methods more than those at the lower end of the earning spectrum.

For example, the data show that those who identify as being upper income were less likely to use cash, 46.2 per cent, compared to the almost 75 per cent of lower income earners who say they used cash.

Digging deeper and the data show that even when digital means are available for payment alongside cash, both upper and lower income people still report preferring to use cash to conduct transactions. It was 94.5 per cent of lower income respondents who reported using cash in at least one activity compared to 57.4 per cent of upper income respondents.

But what were they using cash to do?

Self-reported behaviour on activities done in the past 12 months showed cash being used by the majority of working class and lower income respondents. Specifically, the majority of working class and lower income respondents reported using cash to pay bills in branch, make purchases in store, receive money and purchase phone credit.

In contrast, most upper income respondents reported using digital payment methods, and in particular debit cards, to pay bills in branch, make purchases in store, send money, receive money, and purchase phone credit.

And this is despite the country having a high level of penetration of digital payment methods.

Overall, the majority of banked respondents, 88.5 per cent, reported owning at least one method of digital payment. Debit card ownership at 86.9 per cent was the most commonly owned method of payment. Credit card ownership was significantly higher among upper income respondents, with about two out of every three people in this category owning one. Ownership of digital payment methods which do not require a bank account was even lower than credit card ownership. It was 11.8 per cent of respondents who owned a mobile wallet and 5.6 per cent who owned a prepaid debit or credit card.

The study also found that despite differences in penetration of the various digital payment methods, there was no rejection of any method. Primary reasons for not owning any method were a general lack of interest by 30 per cent of the respondents. In addition to that, some 12 per cent say they had never heard about prepaid cards and mobile wallets.