People around the world are expected to make 726 billion transactions using digital payment technologies by 2020, according to a study released Monday.
The research, by consultancy giant Capgemini and bank BNP Paribas, found that emerging markets were leading the upward trend, and predicts tech innovations such as connected homes, contactless bank cards, wearable devices and augmented reality will drive cashless transactions in the future.
“Non-cash payments have increased in volume due to the rise in adoption of digital payment services across all market segments,” Christophe Vergne, cards and payment practice leader at Capgemini, told CNBC via email Monday.
“Curiously, though the number of transactions continues to rise at a rapid rate, the average USD value per transaction has decreased slightly, as digital establishes itself as a growing rival to cash for low cost purchases.”
Based on analysis of payment trends during the years 2014 and 2015, the study said that debit cards accounted for the highest share of non-cash payments at 46.7 percent, while credit cards trailed behind at 19.5 percent.
Non-cash transactions between 2014 and 2015 rose 11.2 percent, the highest growth of the past decade.
Contactless cards are seen as “the new normal,” especially in Europe, the study said. In France, the circulation of Visa contactless cards doubled to 40 million in 2015 from 20.3 million the previous year. The U.K. was the biggest market for contactless payments in Europe, with cards in circulation reaching 106.9 million in 2015.
But cash still remains the mainstream means of payment, especially for low-value transactions.
“Though digital payments are on the rise, reports of the death of cash are likely exaggerated,” Vergne said.
He added: “There are specific situations where one or more of the attributes of cash — speed of exchange, universal acceptance, anonymity, absence of record and free of charge — are not yet matched by digital payments.”
