Thanks to the Coronavirus, Cash May no Longer be King

Cash may no longer be king, thanks to the coronavirus. Almost half (46%) of Americans have been using cashless payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent YouGov survey. The shift comes at a time when many essential businesses have stopped accepting cash or have moved to online operations entirely.

Roughly a quarter (26%) of Americans said they've been using cash and cashless payments about the same as they did prior to the outbreak and about one in 10 (12%) said they've been using cash more. About a third (36%) of Americans who generally like to use cash when making purchases are using cashless methods more, while those who have reported an income of between $40,000 and $80,000 are also more likely (53%) to use cashless payment methods.

The data reveals those who are very or fairly worried of becoming seriously unwell or die as a result of COVID-19 are more likely (48%) to have been using cashless payments more frequently in the last two months.