With the prominence of online banking and cashless payments in the United States, it can be easy to forget that cash was once king. There are still millions of people around the globe that frequently use cash as their primary means of payment. Even in the US, cash transactions account for more than one hundred billion dollars each year.
If you are planning on traveling this summer, then you should be well informed about which countries tend to be more reliant on cash. Below is a list of the top five countries that prefer physical cash as the primary payment method.
Top Five Countries Most Reliant on Cash
- Romania: With 78% of all payments using cash, Romania still heavily relies on cash daily transactions every business day.
- Egypt: With nearly 70% of the country not using a bank account, Egypt’s citizens regularly use cash.
- Kazakhstan: With nearly 12 million residents relying on the Kazakhstani Tenge, the economy of Kazakhstan thrives off of cash payments.
- Bulgaria: The 73rd largest economy in the world is able to boom thanks to 63% of residents using cash on a daily basis.
- Ukraine: With one of the highest ratios of ATMs to residents, the Ukrainian people are frequently using paper to cover their expenses.
As you can see, Eastern European countries in particular have a high interest in the use of cash currency. It is possible that their use of cash may decline in the future, but for the time being, billions of citizens around the world will be relying on physical currency and notes.
If you are in possession of any of these interesting foreign currencies and you need money now, then come to your nearest WSCE location!
