COVID-19 pandemic causing permanent change in payment habits

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated changes in the use of payment methods in Finland. Nearly half of Finns have reduced their use of cash during the pandemic, and most believe that their use of cash has decreased permanently. Contactless and mobile payments as well as online shopping had already grown in popularity, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic people have begun to use them more widely. Nevertheless, even today cash remains an important means of payment for many people, and it still serves as a fall-back in the event of disruptions to electronic payments.