The threats to the amusement industry presented by an increasingly cashless society is recognised not just in Europe, but in Australia too.
According to the Reserve Bank of Australia there is a continued decline in the use of ATMs - it is now at a 15-year low and has been declining at between six and 7.7 per cent annually for the past three years.
The RBA has now joined in a consortium of companies to launch the so-called New Payments Platform. The new app will permit the transfer of money to anyone, individuals or businesses, in real time and at any time of day or night. The app will also identify the receiver by email address, telephone number or a business number.
Australians are already adapting to tap-and-go systems such as those offered by Apple Pay and Android Pay. The removal of cash from Australia’s society has many benefits, not the least that it will help deter the "black economy" that is all-cash and estimated at between two and 15 per cent of the gross domestic product.
Research from Westpac, the Australian bank, reckons that society will be largely cash-free within seven years.
