Moving away from cash

The prospect of a cashless society is starting to become a very real option in today's world. Traditional payment methods including cash and cheques are increasingly being seen as cumbersome, insecure to carry in large amounts and not always available at the point of need. APACS figures, released in February 2009, reiterated this consumer preference for card payments with the number - as well as the value - of card payments growing by 7.4% (6.8% by value) in 2008 over 2007 and the share of debit cards increasing to 73.5% from 71.7% in 2007. Alongside this, cash payments, which have been declining over several years, remained flat between 2007 and 2008. William Lorenz, chief operating officer, EntroPay, reports.