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Cashless Countries
The Coronavirus pandemic has seen many countries across the world step up their cashless and contact-free payment methods. But what does this mean for the future of banknote?
Using data from the World Bank and the largest debit and credit card providers, money.co.uk can reveal the most cashless economies in the world.
We indexed the following five factors to give each country a score out of 100 and to find out which ones are banishing the banknote in exchange for e-wallets and electronic transactions:
% of population (aged 15+) with a credit card
% of population (aged 15+) with a debit card
Contactless payment limits
Number of major e-wallet operators available
Number of ATMs per 100,000 adults
Thinking of going cashless? You may want to consider applying for a new credit card.
What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of a cashless economy?
Moving to a cashless society means all transactions would be executed through electronic formats rather than using banknotes and coins. Although several countries are rapidly moving towards an entirely cashless economy, we’ve considered some of the pros and cons of a life without cash.
The advantages of a cashless society 👍
Digital paper trails: Money laundering and tax fraud will be harder to hide as digital transactions will create a record of every payment made and received.
Convenience abroad: Debit cards, credit cards and e-wallets allow for quick and easy payments when travelling.
Time: Handling, storing, transporting and depositing paper money takes time and resources so less cash in circulation saves time and money.
Reduced crime: Illegal drugs trade and modern day slavery rely heavily on cash to facilitate and disguise payments. Although some will turn to the dark web, less cash in circulation could help reduce crime rates.
The disadvantages of a cashless society 👎
Tech-lag: For those who are unfamiliar with technology or unable to afford compatible mobile devices, there is a risk they will be left behind in a cashless world.
Access: Vulnerable people and those unable to have access to credit and debit cards may have no way to pay for goods and services.
Reliance: In a cashless society, everything will be online and glitches, outages, and innocent mistakes could cause problems.
Cyberattacks: Hackers are the bank robbers of the electronic world. In a cashless society, you could be more exposed to cybercriminals. Check out this guide here on what you need to know if you’re hacked.
Overspending: When all transactions are completed by tapping, swiping or punching in a PIN number it may be harder for some individuals to keep track of day-to-day spending. Find out more on how to manage your money in our budgeting guide.
Online Fraud: With more data online there is a higher risk of being victim to security leaks, Trojan horses, phishing scams, viruses, worms, fraud, data swapping. Further information on UK fraud can be found here.
What are contactless payments?
You can make a contactless payment using your debit or credit card by holding your card, or even your phone or other NFC enabled device, near to or on a card reader. It makes paying much quicker because you do not have to enter your PIN.
Currently in the UK you can use contactless to pay for transactions of up to £100.
You can make far larger payments using a secure contactless device such as an iPhone or one of the new biometric cards being released.
How does contactless work?
Contactless cards have a small antenna inside them, which transmits the digital information a card reader needs to process a payment. Your card will then be debited in the same way it would for any other transaction. You have to enter your PIN the first time you use contactless.
What are e-wallets?
E-wallets or digital wallets are a type of electronic card which is used for transactions made online through a smartphone.
It’s very similar to making a contactless payment with a debit or credit card, but it uses your smartphone instead.
In our analysis of cashless countries, we looked at the availability of 5 major e-wallet providers:
Apple Pay
Google Pay
Samsung Pay
M-Pesa
Alipay
Despite not being in the top 15 most cashless countries, India was the only country we analysed which had all 5 digital wallets in operation.
In addition to digital wallets, you can also pay through banking and credit card apps. Check with your banking provider to see if this option is available for you.
Contactless payment limits around the world
These numbers are correct as of May 2021, however as exchange rates change over time these may differ. All exchanged values have been rounded to the nearest whole value.
On October 15 2021, the contactless limit in the UK will rise from £45 to £100. The information in the maps and tables below have been amended to reflect this.
Select a range to highlight the countries or hover over to see the contactless payment limit in GBP, USD, EUR and the local currency.
The five countries with the highest contactless limit in the world:
Canada (£147)
Japan (£130)
China (£110)
Australia (£110)
Singapore (£107)
Contactless payment limits in Europe
Select a range to highlight the countries or hover over to see the contactless payment limit in GBP, USD, EUR and the local currency.
The five countries with the highest contactless limit in Europe:
United Kingdom (£100)
Switzerland (£63)
Liechtenstein (£63)
Russia (£48)
Bulgaria (£44)
Contactless payment limits under £20 around the world
| Country | Limit in GBP | Limit in EUR | Limit in USD | Limit in local currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iran | £3 | €4 | $5 | 200,000 IRR |
| Malawi | £5 | €5 | $6 | 5,000 MWK |
| Ghana | £6 | €7 | $9 | 50 GHS |
| Pakistan | £7 | €8 | $10 | 1,500 PKR |
| Turkmenistan | £10 | €12 | $14 | 50 TMT |
| Chile | £12 | €14 | $17 | 12,000 CLP |
| Nepal | £12 | €14 | $17 | 2,000 NPR |
| Vietnam | £12 | €14 | $17 | 400,000 VND |
| Tajikistan | £12 | €15 | $18 | 200 TJS |
| Uzbekistan | £17 | €20 | $24 | 250,000 UZS |
| Czech Republic | £17 | €20 | $24 | 500 CZK |
| Fiji | £17 | €24 | $20 | 50 FJD |
| Sri Lanka | £18 | €21 | $25 | 5,000 LKR |
| Poland | £19 | €22 | $27 | 100 PLN |
Contactless payment limits between £20-£30 around the world
| Country | Limit in GBP | Limit in EUR | Limit in USD | Limit in local currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moldova | £20 | €23 | $28 | 500 MDL |
| Georgia | £21 | €24 | $29 | 100 GEL |
| Turkey | £21 | €24 | $29 | 250 TRY |
| Kyrgyzstan | £21 | €24 | $30 | 2,500 KGS |
| Slovenia | £22 | €25 | $30 | 25 EUR |
| Kenya | £23 | €27 | $33 | 3,500 KES |
| Botswana | £23 | €27 | $33 | 350 BWP |
| Tanzania | £25 | €29 | $35 | 80,000 TZS |
| Bangladesh | £25 | €29 | $35 | 3,000 BDT |
| South Africa | £25 | €29 | $35 | 500 ZAR |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | £26 | €31 | $37 | 60 BAM |
| Brazil | £27 | €31 | $38 | 200 BRL |
| Uganda | £27 | €32 | $38 | 135,000 UGX |
| Armenia | £27 | €32 | $38 | 2,000 AMD |
| Egypt | £27 | €32 | $38 | 600 EGP |
| North Macedonia | £28 | €32 | $39 | 2,000 MKD |
| Belarus | £28 | €33 | $39 | 100 BYN |
| Serbia | £29 | €34 | $41 | 4,000 RSD |
Contactless payment limits between £30-£40 around the world
| Country | Limit in GBP | Limit in EUR | Limit in USD | Limit in local currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | £31 | €37 | $44 | 4,500 ALL |
| Trinidad and Tobago | £31 | €37 | $44 | 300 TTD |
| Morocco | £32 | €37 | $45 | 400 MAD |
| Sweden | £34 | €39 | $48 | 400 SEK |
| Thailand | £34 | €40 | $48 | 1,500 THB |
| Montenegro | £34 | €40 | $48 | 40 EUR |
| Kosovo | £34 | €40 | $48 | 40 EUR |
| Romania | £35 | €41 | $49 | 200 RON |
| Hungary | £36 | €42 | $51 | 15,000 HUF |
| Ukraine | £39 | €45 | $54 | 1,500 UAH |
Contactless payment limits between £40-£50 around the world
| Country | Limit in GBP | Limit in EUR | Limit in USD | Limit in local currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | £40 | €46 | $56 | 350 HRK |
| Greenland | £40 | €47 | $57 | 350 DKK |
| Denmark | £40 | €47 | $57 | 350 DKK |
| Kazakhstan | £41 | €48 | $58 | 25,000 KZT |
| Azerbaijan | £42 | €49 | $59 | 100 AZN |
| Norway | £43 | €49 | $60 | 500 NOK |
| Iceland | £43 | €50 | $60 | 7,500 ISK |
| Spain | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Slovakia | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Portugal | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Netherlands | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Monaco | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Malta | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Luxembourg | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Lithuania | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Latvia | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Italy | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Ireland | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Greece | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Germany | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| French Guiana | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| France | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Finland | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Estonia | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Cyprus | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Belgium | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Austria | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Andorra | £43 | €50 | $60 | 50 EUR |
| Malaysia | £43 | €50 | $61 | 250 MYR |
| Mauritius | £44 | €51 | $61 | 2,500 MUR |
| Bulgaria | £44 | €51 | $62 | 100 BGN |
| Falkland Islands | £45 | €52 | $63 | 45 GBP |
| Russia | £48 | €56 | $68 | 5,000 RUB |
| India | £48 | €56 | $68 | 5,000 INR |
Contactless payment limits between £50-£70 around the world
| Country | Limit in GBP | Limit in EUR | Limit in USD | Limit in local currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan | £55 | €64 | $78 | 55 JOD |
| Oman | £55 | €64 | $78 | 30 OMR |
| Saudi Arabia | £57 | €66 | $80 | 300 SAR |
| Qatar | £59 | €68 | $82 | 300 QAR |
| Kuwait | £59 | €69 | $83 | 25 KWD |
| Switzerland | £63 | €73 | $88 | 80 CHF |
| Liechtenstein | £63 | €73 | $88 | 80 CHF |
| Israel | £65 | €75 | $91 | 300 ILS |
Contactless payment limits between £70-£99 around the world
| Country | Limit in GBP | Limit in EUR | Limit in USD | Limit in local currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States of America (USA) | £71 | €83 | $100 | 100 USD |
| Philippines | £74 | €86 | $104 | 5,000 PHP |
| Taiwan | £76 | €89 | $107 | 3,000 TWD |
| Hong Kong | £92 | €106 | $129 | 1,000 HKD |
| Bahrain | £94 | €110 | $133 | 50 BHD |
| United Arab Emirates (UAE) | £97 | €113 | $136 | 500 AED |
Contactless payment limits over £100 around the world
| Country | Limit in GBP | Limit in EUR | Limit in USD | Limit in local currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £100 | €116 | $141 | 100 GBP |
| New Zealand | £102 | €119 | $144 | 200 NZD |
| Singapore | £107 | €124 | $150 | 200 SGD |
| Australia | £110 | €128 | $155 | 200 AUD |
| China | £110 | €128 | $155 | 1,000 CNY |
| Japan | £130 | €151 | $182 | 20,000 JPY |
| Canada | £147 | €170 | $206 | 250 CAD |
Methodology and sources:
We scored each of the following five factors out of 20 to give each country a score out of 100. We used these scores to determine the most cashless countries in the world.
We only analysed the countries which had reported the % of the population with a credit and debit card in the latest World Bank data collection.
For ATM data, where the latest data was not available for 2019, we used the last reported information.
% of population with a credit card: World Bank
% of population with a debit card: World Bank
Number of ATMs per 100,000 adults: World Bank
Number of major e-wallet operators available: Apple, Google, Samsung, Vodafone, ePayments
Currency conversions from local currency to GBP, USD and EUR were made on 14/05/2021.
Contactless payment limit sources:
https://www.nfcw.com/2020/03/26/366173/table-contactless-payment-transaction-limit-increases-around-the-world/
https://merchantmachine.co.uk/contactless-limits/
https://www.hsbc.com.cn/en-cn/help/faqs/debit-cards/
https://www.bankwest.com.au/help/cards/contactless-payment-limit-increase#:~:text=Contactless%20payment%20%2D%20PayPass%C2%AE%20limit,physical%20contact%20with%20payment%20terminals.
https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/82670/mobile-contactless-payments-on-the-rise-in-singapore---visa
https://www.citibank.com.hk/english/credit-cards/FAQ.html#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20transaction%20limit,HK%241%2C000%20in%20Hong%20Kong*.
https://www.nfcw.com/2020/06/09/366788/taiwan-to-issue-stimulus-credits-to-contactless-cards-and-mobile-phones/
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/07/26/public-square/mastercard-raises-payments-limits-for-ph/746059/#:~:text=The%20contactless%20symbol%2C%20which%20is,P5%2C000%20starting%20July%2017.
https://www.godsavethepoints.com/contactless-payment-limit-increasing-due-to-virus/
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200915005888/en/Oman-Cards-and-Payments-Opportunities-and-Risks-Report-2020-2024---ResearchAndMarkets.com#:~:text=The%20Central%20Bank%20of%20Oman,)%20to%20OMR30%20(%2478.02).
https://www.arabbank.jo/docs/librariesprovider2/default-document-library/en-terms9b2d64ae60c367ec9513ff5c007b40dd.pdf?sfvrsn=cee039f_0
https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en-uk/newsroom/press-releases/en-gb/2020/may/contactless-continent/
https://natbank.co.mw/media-centre/328-national-bank-of-malawi-launches-contactless-card-payment#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20default%20maximum%20amount%20a,be%20inserted%2C%E2%80%9D%20explained%20Tepelunde.
https://together.bunq.com/d/27058-increased-limits-for-contactless-payments
https://www.ocbc.com.my/assets/pdf/Cards/FAQs_Contactless_CreditCard.pdf
https://www.oenb.at/en/Payment-Processing/Card-Payments/Current-Trends.html#:~:text=Austrian%20customers%20are%20now%20able,terminals%20and%20provide%20their%20PIN.
https://barbadosgazette.com/2020/04/30/mastercard-study-shows-consumers-in-lac-make-the-move-to-contactless-payments/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_payment
https://www.jbklutse.com/banks-in-ghana-embrace-contactless-payment-cards/
https://n26.com/en-it/blog/contactless-payments-limit-doubled
https://www.credorax.com/blog/corona-update-mastercard-visa-increase-contactless-payment-limits-in-europe/
https://www.nfcw.com/2020/08/25/367586/azerbaijan-doubles-contactless-transactions-limit/#:~:text=The%20Central%20Bank%20of%20Azerbaijan,100%20manats%20(US%2458.80).
merchantmachine.co.uk/contactless-limits/
https://www.mtb.ua/en/personal/packages/item/kartka-dla-otrimanna-zarplati-classic
https://www.visa.co.th/en_TH/run-your-business/small-business-tools/payment-technology/visa-paywave.html
https://republictt.com/personal/republicbankonecardvisadebit
https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en-uk/newsroom/press-releases/en-gb/2020/march/mastercard-enables-contactless-limit-raise-across-29-countries-and-champions-permanent-increase/
https://labsnews.com/en/news/business/contactless-payments-new-limit-brazil/
https://www.nedbank.co.za/content/dam/nedbank/site-assets/Personal/Card/Policy%20Documents/FAQS%20Contactless%20cards.pdf
https://www.lankabangla.com/contactless-emv-cards/
https://botswanaunplugged.com/17041/stanbic-bank-botswana-launches-contactless-debit-and-credit-cards/
https://www.intesasanpaolobank.si/en/prebivalstvo/o-banki/novosti-in-publikacije/aktualne-objave/brezsticna-placila-brez-vnosa-pina-do-25-evrov.html
https://www.micb.md/noutati-en/103919/
https://www.fijione.tv/news-posts/tap-and-go-with-anz-contactless-payments-in-fiji/#:~:text=ANZ%20customers%20can%20'tap%20and,insert%20their%20card%20when%20required.
mastercard.com/news/europe/en-uk/newsroom/press-releases/en-gb/2020/may/contactless-continent/
http://ven.vn/vietnamese-consumers-discover-the-ease-of-contactless-payments-38790.html
https://ictframe.com/nepal-rastra-bank-increases-the-limit-of-digital-payment/
https://business.com.tm/articles/201/turkmen-bank-begins-issuing-contactless-payment-cards
finextra.com/pressarticle/45884/mexico-city-goes-contactless-with-banamex-and-mastercard
https://www.bankalfalah.com/personal-banking/cards/bank-alfalah-tap-pay/tap-and-pay-faqs/#1499409321691-e31f374d-8ae4
https://www.rfigroup.com/global-retail-banker/news/latam-contactless-credit-cards-arrive-argentina
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/06/13/1868219/0/en/Iran-s-Payments-Landscape-Market-2019-with-Detailed-Analysis-of-Strategies-Adopted-by-Banks-Other-Institutions-to-Market-Debit-Credit-Cards.html
https://www.paymentscardsandmobile.com/contactless-card-limits-around-the-world-mapped/
https://www.post.gov.tw/post/internet/U_english2/index.jsp?ID=3515010501
About James Andrews
James is our senior personal finance editor and has spent the past 15 years writing and editing personal finance news. He has previously written for ReachPLC, was money editor of Mirror Online and Yahoo Finance UK, and has recently been quoted in City AM, Liverpool Echo and Daily Record as well as featured on national radio shows TalkRadio and the BBC.
View James Andrews’ full biography here or visit the money.co.uk press centre for our latest news.
If you're interested in more facts and stats we have created a new resource page; credit card statistics with facts and statistics from 2022 surrounding credit card use in the UK, consumer spending habits, credit scores, fraud, and more.
About James Andrews
James has spent the past 15 years writing and editing personal finance news, specialising in consumer rights, pensions, insurance, property and investments - picking up a series of awards for his journalism along the way.