Why cash is still king for most Australians

As frustration grows over the ongoing digitisation of daily buying and selling, a new poll reveals paying with cash remains the overwhelming preference for Australians.

The latest nine.com.au audience poll of 989 readers revealed just 15 per cent of respondents said they “rarely or never” used cash, while most Australians made sure to carry at least $20 in their wallet.

It comes as the battle over cash payment rights heated up again throughout 2026.

At the start of the year, the government’s cash acceptance mandate kicked in, which forced major retailers of fuel and groceries to accept payments of up to $500 in cash, between 7am and 9pm.

And more recently, the Coalition announced its “cash is king” bill, which would scrap the time window, increase the payment limit to $2000, and expand the mandate to cover chemists, hardware stores, department stores, restaurants, and fast-food chains.

October this year also saw card surcharges banned in Australia, with calls from the government for banks to absorb the costs and keep them from being passed on to consumers.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission warned that businesses forced to absorb the cost would likely pass them onto customers via higher prices.

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But it seems cash is still the preferred option in the community for a number of reasons, with just 23 per cent of poll respondents saying the surcharge ban would make them more likely to pay by card.

Asked why they continued to use cash for their transactions, 35 per cent of poll respondents said it was simply their preference or habit.

Other reasons included not being vulnerable to tech or bank outages (32 per cent), supporting small businesses (28 per cent), controlling spending (20 per cent), and privacy reasons (15 per cent).

Just 15 per cent said they mostly avoided using cash.

And only 7 per cent of respondents said they habitually carried no cash in their wallet.

Another 11 per cent said they kept less than $20 cash on them, compared to 24 per cent for $20 to $50, 30 per cent for $50 to $100, and 28 per cent for more than $100.

The surcharge ban has also sparked concern among small businesses that they could be forced to absorb costs, with financial experts speculating they could offer incentives to pay by cash, including shop discounts.

The ACCC has introduced rules permitting this practice.

And Australians back the idea, with 53 per cent saying they would take their business to a discount-for-cash store whenever possible.

A further 32 per cent said they would do so if the savings were worthwhile, compared to 11 per cent who said they rarely would, and just 4 per cent who said they still preferred the convenience of digital.

The nine.com.au poll, which runs once a fortnight, canvases the views of the Nine audience on 9Nation, which is an online community of our readers and viewers.