A survey of a Research Institute of the Central Bank of Japan shows that about one-fifth of Japanese households use electronic payment for small purchases, an increase from last year and an indication that the culture of hoarding-money is changing.
In the survey released Monday, conducted between June and July, 18.5% of households said they use electronic payment systems such as smartphone and credit card apps for shopping, spending 1,000 yen ($9.17) or less, up from 15.4% last year.
The rate was significantly higher among single-individual households, 43% in their 20s and 30s, at 35.6%, suggesting that the government's efforts to push the Japanese to abandon the cash payment system may be beginning to bear fruit, at least among the younger generation.
Despite the growth of electronic payments, the "cash is the king" mentality remains dominant, with the survey showing that 84% still use banknotes and coins for small purchases.
For payments in excess of 10,000 yen and up to 50,000 yen, the survey showed that 48.5% of households pay cash, and 3.4% online.
Low crime rates, years-long low interest rates and a network of ATMs across the country have left little reason for citizens to switch to cashless payment systems.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing for the Japanese to switch to cashless payments to allow stores to automatically calculate sales estimates and banks by reducing the number of costly ATMs.
Shoppers have recently been encouraged to give up cash payments and switch to e-payments, after the government introduced a reduction program to ease an increase in sales tax, effective October 1st.
By Craig Melon November 19, 2019
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