One in three Norwegians expects notes and coins to disappear as a means of payment
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
(Oslo, 1 Mars 2010) More than one in three Norwegians believes that we will
eventually stop using cash as a way of paying for goods and services. This
finding comes from a study of payment behaviour carried out for EDB ErgoGroup by
the market research company Synovate.
People are increasingly using electronic forms of payment such as cards and
mobile phones rather than cash. In parallel with this, figures from EDB
ErgoGroup show that cash withdrawals from minibanks have fallen by 25% over the
last five years.
"In just a few years' time, mobile phones will be very much the dominant payment
method. We have so far seen just the beginning of technological development in
this area, and we expect explosive growth over the next few years. Thanks to the
variety of wireless technology now emerging, payment by card and payment by
mobile phone are beginning to merge into one payment method. The mobile phone is
becoming our new wallet. In the future, when we want to make a payment in shops,
street kiosks, restaurants and the like, we will simply wave our mobile phone
past an electronic reader", explains John-Arne Haugerud, who is Deputy CEO of
EDB ErgoGroup and is responsible for business development.
EDB ErgoGroup is one of the largest Nordic IT companies, and provides solutions
and services for a major part of the Norwegian banking sector, including
internet banking, minibanks and various forms of payment technology. EDB
ErgoGroup is also a major supplier of services for the telecommunications
industry.
Many Norwegians have already stopped carrying any cash in their wallet
34% of respondents answered 'yes' to the question: "Do you expect to see notes
and coins disappear as a means of payment?" Analysing the response by gender
shows that 37% of men and 31% of women expect to see the use of cash disappear.
This is one of the results of a study of payment behaviour carried out for EDB
ErgoGroup by the market research company Synovate. 64% of respondents did not
expect to see cash disappear, while 2% were undecided.
45% of respondents said that they normally carry either no money or less than
NOK 200. 11% said that they usually did not carry any cash at all. The
proportion of respondents who carried no money was higher for men (13%) than for
women (8%). The age group with the highest proportion of respondents carrying no
money was 25-39 (18%).
"These people form a group of the population that has already got used to a new
cashless reality, and they can be seen as pioneers for the payment methods of
the future. This is the same trend that we saw when we launched minibank
systems, internet banking and the like: a small group of the population was
quick to adopt the new technology, and the rest of the population then followed
on. In the same way, we expect to see the majority of consumers become cash-free
in the near future", says John-Arne Haugerud.
New technology offers new opportunities and a new reality for consumers
Consumers can look forward to exciting times ahead for the way they shop and
make payments. The process of developing new types of payment card has for quite
some time included work on making it possible to use cards for more than just
making payments.
In addition, technology has been developed for prepaid cards that allow the user
to transfer a specific amount to a card that can then be used without a PIN code
or any connection to a bank account. Examples of prepaid cards include gift
cards and cards for small payments without using a PIN code.
The latest smart phones now incorporate technology for high-speed wireless
communication over short distances (Near Field Communication or NFC).
This makes it possible to use a handset to make a payment simply by waving the
handset past a payment terminal in the shop. However, the practical use of these
solutions will be dependent on upgrading or replacing the electronic
infrastructure currently in use.
"It is only a matter of time before this happens. Technological development has
already progressed so far that Norwegian consumers have little need for notes
and coins. Even at a toll station on a road in the middle of the mountains, or
when buying a soft drink or chocolate bar from a vending machine at the station,
you can now pay electronically rather than using notes and coins. Cash in the
pocket, at least in the form of notes and coins as we know it today, will
disappear as the new technology becomes available and enough customers are happy
to adopt it", says John-Arne Haugerud.
Increasing use of internet banking
The number of customers holding internet banking account agreements with
Norwegian banks is now close to 5 million. This figure is estimated by EDB
ErgoGroup on the basis of the company's statistics for use of the various
banking channels in Norway in 2010. Over 4.9 million internet banking account
agreements were in place at the end of 2009, while the comparable figure for the
end of 2003 was just 1.7 million. Over the intervening years, virtually the
entire Norwegian population have become internet banking users.
Over the last 10 years, the age of the average user has increased from 30 to
42.5 years. Monday is on average the busiest day for internet banking, with the
busiest times between 10:00 and 11:00 and between 21:00 and 22:00. The busiest
month of the year for making payments is March.
The busiest single day for internet banking in 2010 was Tuesday, 24 June, which
was the day when the tax authorities refunded over-payments for the previous tax
year. The oldest internet banking user in Norway is a man of 102 years, and the
youngest is a boy just one year old. The number of bills paid by internet
banking increased by 5.6% in 2010, and well over 90% of bill payments in Norway
use internet banking.
Fewer cash withdrawals from minibanks
Just over 70 million withdrawals were made from Norwegian minibank terminals in
2010. This represents a decline of 25% since 2005. However, the average amount
withdrawn continues to increase. The average cash withdrawal in 2010 was NOK
1,276 kroner as compared to an average of NOK 1,239 in 2009.
Friday afternoon is the busiest time for Norwegians to use their cards to
withdraw cash. On Friday, 14 May, cash withdrawals from Norwegian minibanks
reached NOK 501 million, making this the busiest day for cash withdrawals in
2010.
"We are very keen to offer new services through minibanks in pace with these
changes in consumer behaviour. Examples of this are top-up services for mobile
phones, paying-in services and ATMs designed for people with disabilities", says
John-Arne Haugerud.
Mobile banking users
More and more Norwegians are also using mobile banking services, such as mobile
phone banking, banking applications (apps) for iPhones and other smart phones,
as well as SMS services, to supplement their internet banking.
"We have seen strong growth in the use of banking applications for smart phones
since we launched the service about a year ago. The mobile banking application
was top of the list for financial apps downloaded to iPhones for quite some
time", explains John-Arne Haugerud.
While internet banking is used most in the morning and evening, usage of mobile
banking services is spread more evenly throughout the 24-hour day. The busiest
period for mobile banking is between 16:00 and 17:00 on Fridays. The busiest
single day of 2010 for mobile banking was Thursday 9 December.
About EDB ErgoGroup's annual statistics
EDB ErgoGroup is responsible for IT operations for the major part of internet
banking and minibank traffic in Norway. EDB ErgoGroup also develops and provides
operating services for a range of other banking applications. EDB ErgoGroup's
statistics relate to traffic handled by EDB ErgoGroup's systems, which
represents a large proportion of the total number of transactions carried out in
Norway annually. EDB ErgoGroup has estimated total figures for Norway based on
EDB ErgoGroup's market share and the assumption that the remainder of the market
has experienced the same trends as those seen for the transactions handled by
EDB ErgoGroup's systems.
For further information, please contact:
John-Arne Haugerud, Deputy CEO, EDB ErgoGroup.
Tel: +47 901 15 337
Torgeir Kristiansen, Information Director, Corporate Communications, EDB
ErgoGroup.
Tel: +47 901 27 909
About EDB ErgoGroup
EDB ErgoGroup ASA is one of the leading Nordic IT companies, with some 10,000
employees and annual turnover approaching NOK 13 billion. The company is listed
on the Oslo Stock Exchange and operates from headquarters in Oslo with major
activities in both the Norwegian and Swedish markets. In all, the company
operates from 135 offices in 16 countries around the world.
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: EDB ErgoGroup ASA via Thomson Reuters ONE
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Datum: 01.03.2011 - 07:47 Uhr
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