Is cash still king? Change may be coming

Saturday, 25 July 2026

Jarrod Wood is better known to Wellingtonians as the eclectic, saxophone-playing busker who dresses as a tree, and whose music and cheerful personality have for years have been on show around the capital’s streets.

But over the past two years, donations have declined by more than two thirds.

The culprit? No-one carries cash now.

“A few weeks ago, I performed for four hours on a Saturday and made only $60. Three years ago, it would have been closer to $300,” he told The Post this week.

Busking is Wood’s sole form of income. Just a few years ago, he was making enough to support himself, but these days he is struggling to get by.

“I remember having to strengthen the attachment of my donation box where it hangs on my costume because it had such a weight of coins inside it. But now it’s just bouncing around.”

People on the streets simply apologise and say they aren’t carrying cash. While Wood has a QR code to an online payment portal, he said people were generally wary of using it.

Wood would be “heartbroken” if he had to quit, but he worried being a street performer would soon become impossible.

“With the cost of living crisis and the encouragement of people to do everything digitally, there’s less cash in people’s pockets and it really affects buskers.”

Across the country, many businesses, charities and even banks have moved away from cash.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s 2023 Cash Use Survey 2023 found that 10.3% of respondents primarily used cash for everyday transactions, and nearly 18% relied on cash to pay their regular bills.

“Cash is still important in New Zealand, but cash can only remain useful if cash services are available and easy to access,” a spokesperson for RBNZ said.

RBNZ is currently seeking feedback on Keeping Cash Local, a proposal that would require banks to provide a minimum level of cash services across the country.

The consultation, which closes on July 31, has received more than 5000 responses.

But as New Zealand moves further into the digital era, it begs the question: is cash still king?

The Post spoke to several groups traditionally reliant on cash.

At Harbourside Market on the waterfront, most vendors have been using contactless payment methods since the Covid pandemic. Across roughly 50 stallholders, only two were fully reliant on cash.

Manager Fraser Ebbet said it didn’t seem to affect business. “People get used to it,” he said.

In the hospitality sector, bar and hotel owner Jeremy Smith said cash was undeniably becoming more obscure, but it wasn’t obsolete.

While people under 35 seldomed carried cash, businesses that catered to an older market, such as traditional sports bars, still saw a decent cash flow.

Smith said while most New Zealanders opted to pay with debit or credit, many international visitors still paid the old-fashioned way.

“You don't want to miss out on a sale, so most businesses will still take cash and I don't think that'll disappear too soon. But the need to do so or the need to have a big float is somewhat limited these days.”

But the loss of cash comes at a cost to businesses.

Smith said that while banks charged a fee for counting cash, it was often much cheaper than the charges from credit card companies.

“In a business that's turning over say $25,000 a week, you're looking at about $2500 to $3000 a month in card fees. If you can't pass that on to the end user it's a big expense that businesses can't really afford to carry.”

Charities have also had to make changes to the way they fundraise.

Blind Low Vision discontinued street collections in 2025, citing society’s shift towards digital and cashless transactions making the effort required for street collections “no longer sustainable”.

Since then, they have moved almost entirely into digital fundraising, continuing to accept cash donations only through bank deposits.

Gwen Green, the charity’s general manager of engagement and marketing, said cash donations through street appeals were never a major part of the overall income.

“Rather than being limited to a single moment of giving, digital fundraising helps us engage with people in more meaningful and targeted ways,” Green said.

Wellington Free Ambulance, on the other hand, still relies heavily on cash donations.

The charity must raise a minimum of $9.5 million each year to keep emergency ambulance services free of charge.

While online donations had continued to increase, cash remained an important way the community chose to support them.

Notably, cash continued to make up half of all donations during the annual Onesie Appeal Street Collection.

But while New Zealanders adapt to an increasingly cashless society, a large demographic of consumers say cash won’t be dethroned any time soon.

64% of people over 60 continue to use cash for regular bills and everyday purchases.

Grey Power president David Marshall said many older people relying on cash were not computer literate, with some not even holding bank accounts.

Others were hesitant to move online out of concern they would be targeted for scams - something Marshall himself had fallen victim to.

In his view, a cashless society could cause older people to lose their financial independence, forcing them to rely on other people to do their banking.

Many people were already handing over their credit cards to neighbours to do their shopping, occasionally resulting in theft.

But it wasn’t just older generations being impacted by the loss of cash. Marshall said cash still played a vital role in communities.

“Fundraisers for schools, Scouts, cake stalls, market days … and all those sorts of things. An older person getting a teenager to mow their lawn usually gives them cash for that.”

With so many people dependent on cash, he said making cash more accessible should be a priority.

New Zealand has lost 40% of its bank branches in the past decade, with rural areas being hit the hardest.

“Accessibility to cash has gotten less and less and you can't even go into each branch and get cash if you're not a customer of that specific branch. When there's only one available that is close to you, if you're not a customer that's another barrier.”

Grey Power was supporting the Reserve Bank’s proposal to make cash more accessible. Marshall said.

“It's not just older people, it's a wider community thing and even though cash is much less used and we're moving that way, there's still a need for it to be there.”