Last year, for the first time, cash payments overtook smartphone payments, making Apple Pay and other digital wallets more popular than old-fashioned banknotes.

Thanks to the pandemic, overall cash usage fell by 10% globally in 2020, with in-store cash payments falling by more than half in Canada, the UK, France, Norway, Sweden and Australia. According to a new FIS study, mobile payments are growing faster than even credit card payments. Is this the end of cash?

“Today, in the face of a global pandemic, digital payments are more ubiquitous than ever,” Laura Nadler, CFO of Afterpay, told Lifewire via email.

“Consumers are going online for everything they need, from clothing and personal care products to groceries. And as retailers and restaurants reopen, merchants are not only discouraging the use of cash, they’re also encouraging ‘contactless payments’ such as digital wallets on smartphones and contactless cards.”