Fewer than 1 percent of Australians paid for consumer goods with cryptocurrency in 2019, according to a study published Thursday by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Australiaâs central bank.
Revealed in RBAâs triennial Consumer Payments Survey (CPS), the findings from about 1,100 respondents shows that while consumers are largely embracing digital and alternative payment methods over cash, theyâre just not paying in crypto. RBA conducted the survey in October and November 2019.
The low usage comes in spite of respondentsâ overwhelming awareness that cryptocurrency can be used to pay for goods. Over 80 percent said theyâd heard of crypto, making it the third-most recognized âalternative payment methodâ the bank surveyed for, behind only âbuy now pay laterâ services and âtap and goâ mobile payments.
Crypto was by far the least-used alternative method, falling behind those as well as AliPay and WeChat Pay, bank-owned âPayIDâ and âBeem Itâ services, and in-app mobile payment options. Crypto had the worst usage-to-awareness ratio by far, the survey showed.Â
âAlthough many respondents had heard of âcryptocurrenciesâ, very few had used a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin to actually make a consumer payment over the past year,â RBA said.
The bank has previously cast doubt on cryptoâs potential to overtake existing payment rails.
This appears to be the first time that RBAâs CPS survey asked respondents about cryptocurrency. The survey had been conducted on five previous occasions.
RBA found that cash use in Australia is down in 2019, especially among younger demographics such as those under 40, who paid by cash in just 15 percent of recorded transactions. Even older groups are moving away from cash, the survey found. But it remains the most popular payment method for those 65 and up.Â
The survey also found that mobile payment methods are on the rise. That growth is being driven by younger demographics as well.Â