BE RELEVANT – why eCash is essential for neobanks to become the primary banking partner
Apr 19, 2022If you run a highly digitalised business, you might not think about offering cash as a payment or an account deposit method for your customers. In the discussion with Greg Williams, Deputy Global Editorial Director at WIRED, Robert Albrecht, Head of Paysafecash, explains why it can make you more open towards the needs of your existing customers and help target new ones who are partially or completely cash-reliant.
Digitalization has been an unstoppable process for many years, and everything points at its further acceleration. This is a good prognosis for many industries, especially financial services and particularly banks, who are turning into fully digital operators. And yet, despite the race towards omnipresent digitalization, those that act inclusively will consider those communities which aren’t going digital as quickly as the trend might suggest. Who are we talking about? Cash-payers.
There are many aspects that are influencing the customers’ decision about choosing cash as their preferred means of payment: security, convenience, access. And even if in recent years the number of ATMs in Europe has constantly been decreasing, from over 420,000 at their peak in 2016 to roughly 376,000 in 2021, the amount of cash in circulation has been increasing. This suggests that the death of cash proclaimed by newspapers for years seems to be further away than expected. The key to a smart digital development of financial services points to a transition to digital payments but not at the expense of cash but instead of a convenient integration of cash into the digital world.
The inclusion of cash in the digital payments landscape plays a crucial role for challenger and neobanks. By offering cash deposits and withdrawals for online bank accounts, they extend their services to a significant group of cash-reliant clients without forcing them to abandon their preferred payment method. This has an enormous impact on other online businesses as well. eCash solutions convert physical money for use in the digital world for online purchases, invoice payments and entertainment.
How can financial and other online services benefit from eCash? What are the potential risks? And how does eCash support financial inclusion from a regulatory perspective?
Watch the full video below and contact us if you have any questions about your individual business case.
