BEYOND Bank have released research showing Australians are increasingly choosing to use tap-and-go to pay for purchases instead of visiting an ATM and carrying cash around.

“We recently conducted a survey that showed 86 per cent of consumers are currently using contactless payments such as payWave and PayPass, and for more than three quarters of Australians this is their preferred option,” said Beyond Bank Australia State Manager, Chris Blight.

“While the data looks at Australia as a whole, it reflects trends we are seeing in Canberra, particularly in terms of frequency and volume of ATM transactions. These new ways of paying mean nearly 70 per cent of Australians now carry less cash and over 80 per cent think we will soon be a cashless society.”

“Based on the findings, people using tap-and-go in Canberra are most likely to be doing so to buy their groceries or a coffee.

“This is what tap-and-go is designed for – small purchases that we want to pay for on the spot, but not necessarily have cash on hand for.

“The current $100 threshold for tap-and-go is the perfect limit for the majority of users.

“Despite some misinformation about how safe these cards are, they are really quite secure. Every time you use your card, the chip sends a unique code to the bank. If someone intercepts this information they can’t reuse the code they have obtained as it is only good for that purchase.

“Of course, if someone else gets hold of your card, they can use it for transactions of up to $100 – at least until you report its loss. However, the $100 limit itself is a deterrent to theft. At the moment, anyone who steals your card would have to make multiple transactions to make the theft worthwhile, and with every transaction they are increasing their risk of getting caught.

Mr Blight’s final piece of advice for those embracing the tap-and-go phenomenon is to remember that while you don’t have to physically hand over cash, you are still spending money.

“When you had to withdraw cash, it was probably easier to keep an eye on how much you were spending and stick to your budget. Now that we just have to wave our card to make a transaction it can be harder to keep track.

“There are a number of ‘personal financial management’ resources out there that can help you keep on top of what you’re spending. For example, Beyond Bank has a Beyond Finance Manager, which is user-friendly, lets you keep on top of your spending and saving, and can even categorise outgoings based on expense types.”