Experts are urging Britons to not stop using cash following yesterday’s global IT outage which saw bank payments thrown into disarray and the economy being hit.
An update rolled out by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike resulted in businesses, airports and banks being put offline around the world.
Analysts have warned it could take weeks for systems to recover following the global IT outage with many warning of the lack of resilience within the payment industry.
As such, experts are reminding the British public that “cash is not dead” and it could be useful if these errors become more common.
Scott Dawson, the head of Sales and Strategic Partnerships at DECTA, called for the payment industry to find a way to “prevent problems like this” happening reguarly.
He explained: “The problem itself doesn’t come from the payment industry, but the payment industry is being disproportionately affected and the knock on effect is significant.
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“Given the severe consequences of businesses being unable to accept payments, even for a short period of time the need for the industry to be providing reliable services that can withstand adverse circumstances continues to be of the utmost importance.
“Resilience is going to be a key issue going forward as systems become more complex, and companies like DECTA, who are taking a long view, are going to be vital for preventing problems like this from being a common issue.”
Research conducted by Lopay has found that the vast majority of people in the UK have swapped physical cash in favour of using cards and phones.
This suggests that millions could be struggling to pay for goods and services following these outages
Some 66 per cent of adults opt to use debit or credit cards for all their everyday purchases, with 19 per cent using either ApplePay or GooglePay.
In comparison, only 12 per cent of Britons surveyed shared that they regularly use cash.
Furthermore, four per cent of the 2,000 adults polled use bank transfers and no one uses cheques any more.
Around 37 per cent of respondents revealed that they have not used physical banknotes or coins in the last months with 53 per cent preferring cards or phone.
Multiple banks were impacted by yesterday’s global IT outage
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Richard Carter, Lopay’s founder and CEO Richard Carter, outlined why access cash should continue to be a priority despite the societal move to contactless payments.
He explained: “Cash is not dead and probably never will be, but it is very much on its last legs and gasping for breath.
“The vast majority of people just don’t want the hassle of getting and carrying cash any more when it’s so much easier to use a card or phone.
“But it does mean that small shops with minimum card limits, and small businesses who don’t take cards are almost certainly losing custom now, and risk losing more in the future.”