Globally, the financial inclusion agenda has focused on migrating consumers, providers and governments to digital payment instruments, in a bid to reduce the cost of payments and to allow for the digitisation of other services for which payments are required (e.g. savings, credit and insurance). However, despite the increasing focus on and availability of digital or electronic payments, very few adult consumers in the initial six MAP countries were found to be using digital instruments to meet their payment needs and cash remains the preferred payments options.

The king is not dead: Why digital payments are not replacing cash (Note 5) further explains why consumers still use cash, despite the availability of digital payment instruments and the energetic advocacy efforts for the adoption of digital options.