The Covid-19 outbreak could lead to people using less cash and more card transactions.
Four out of ten people have stopped using cash since the outbreak began, according to a study from Bank of Ireland.
Instead, customers are starting to use contactless facilities with their debit or credit cards.
Behavioural scientist at the ESRI, Dr Shane Timmons, says there are factors which could lead to people changing their habits permanently.
“One of them is the length of time you’re building this habit up in, and the context. At the moment, we’re only spending when we go out to the supermarket or pharmacy, so it could be a case that you forget to check your cash on the way to the supermarket because it’s been so long since you needed to do that because you’ve transitioned to cashless.”
