Card payments can make you spend more than cash

Paying by card is a habit that can have consequences for your spending.

For many shoppers, it has become an entirely routine gesture. At the supermarket checkout, they simply take out their bank card to pay. But this seemingly harmless habit may not be without consequences. Indeed, several studies have identified an unexpected effect linked to this behaviour. Here is why.

It appears that paying by card alone can lead us to spend more than we would if we paid in cash. In a study published in the Journal of Retailing in 2024, Australian researchers examined 71 studies conducted across 17 countries, involving 11,000 participants.

A “small” but “significant” effect

The findings do point to a “cashless effect”: digital payments result in higher spending than cash transactions. The authors describe this effect as “small”, yet “significant”.

Why card payments can increase spending

What explains this pattern? Speaking to L’Internaute, which reported on the BBC, Richard Whittle, an economist at Salford Business School, said: “The ease of paying by card can lead consumers to spend without thinking and buy things they do not really need”.

Cash offers an immediate reminder of spending

Stuart Mills, a lecturer in economics at the University of Leeds, makes a similar point, adding: “Cash gives immediate and visible feedback on what we spend”. It is precisely this uncomfortable feeling of handing over cash that can stop some customers from making a purchase.

Researchers now hope their findings will become widely known. Academics, consumers, professionals and even policymakers should all consider the influence of cashless payments on spending.