RBA reveals that 80% of Australians know about crypto

According to a recent study conducted by the Australian central bank, the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia), around 80% of Australians know about cryptocurrencies. However, the bank also claims that fewer than 1% of the population is actually using them.

The new findings were revealed in the bank's recent survey, known as the Consumer Payment Survey (CPS), which gathered input from 1,100 respondents. That doesn't mean that they are not embracing the crypto industry over cash — they are — but they are still not making crypto payments.

The survey was conducted in late 2019, throughout the months of October and November.

Cryptocurrency adoption progresses extremely slowly

The low usage comes as a bit of a surprise, considering that the awareness of the fact that cryptos can be used for paying for goods and services is quite overwhelming. As mentioned, more than 80% have at least heard of digital currencies, which makes cryptos the third most-recognized alternative payment method. The only two that are more widely known in the country are buy-now-pay-later services, and tap-and-go payments via mobile devices.

While these services are only slightly better known their usage outperforms that of crypto by far. In fact, cryptos are even falling behind the likes of WeChat Pay, AliPay, and other similar services. Its usage-to-awareness ratio is the worst by far, as the study reveals.

The bank seemingly expected such results, as it said in the past that it doubts cryptocurrencies' potential to replace existing payment channels. However, this is still the first time that the bank's CPS asked Australians about crypto, so the results were highly anticipated. The survey itself was conducted five times before this, although it never included digital coins in the past.

Another interesting finding is that the use of cash within the country dropped significantly in 2019, particularly when it comes to those below 40 years of age. This demographics has been using cash in only 15% of recorded payments, and while those above 40 are still using it, even they appear to be moving away from cash payments.

As for those above 65, cash is still the most popular option, although this is expected to change in years to come, as digital payments users continue to fill these demographics.

Mobile payment methods are on a major rise in the country, as driven by the younger population, and it appears that this will be the most popular method of making payments for quite a while yet.