Nearly 20% of Japan households using e-money but cash still king

A shopper checking out at an unmanned cash register with using her mobile phone at convenience chain store Lawson in Tokyo, Japan. Despite the growth in electronic payments, Japan's "cash-is-king" mentality remains entrenched with the survey showing 84% still use notes and coins for small purchases. — Reuters

TOKYO: Almost a fifth of Japanese households use electronic money for small purchases, a survey by a central bank-affiliated research institute showed, up from a year ago and a sign the country's cash-hoarding culture is changing.

In the survey published on Nov 18 and conducted between June and July, 18.5% of households said they use electronic money, such as smartphone apps and debit card payments, on shopping trips where 1,000 yen (RM38) or less is spent, up from 15.4% in the previous year.