The trend is not new, but it is getting stronger every year: the French pay less and less in cash. According to the latest Panorabanques survey*, 49% of respondents say they make less than one ATM withdrawal per month. Among them, 7% even say they never do it. In detail, a third of those surveyed also say they withdraw cash between one and two times a month, 14% three or four times a month and only 4% more than 5 times a month.
As expected, the French use their cash mainly in small businesses (55%), in the market (54%), in flea markets (39%) and for tipping (39%). However, 6% of them say they never pay in cash. Let us remember that, although the total amounts spent with a bank card have long exceeded those spent in cash, the number of purchases made has remained lower for a long time. But last year the curves crossed. 48% of payments were made by card and only 43% in cash, according to the Banque de France.
The use of checks, a French specificity
Although it has almost disappeared in the rest of Europe, the check continues to resist in France, although its use has also decreased in recent years. France is today the origin of almost 9 out of every 10 checks issued in the EU, while the French issue an average of 5 checks a year.
More specifically, 38% of them say they still write checks several times a year. 16% also use this payment method at least once a month. 9% of those surveyed, for their part, say they do not have a checkbook and many others have one but never use it. In reality, check use appears to be generational: 38% of people between 18 and 34 do not use their checkbook, compared to only 10% of those over 66.
The French still distrust the artificial intelligence services offered by banks
In addition to the decline of traditional payment methods, new payment methods are increasingly attractive to the French. Three-quarters of them (76%) use instant transfers, for example. A proportion that has increased 8 points in one year, undoubtedly thanks to the free transfers in force since January 2025. 27% of respondents also use mobile payment (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.), compared to 23% a year ago. Finally, 22% use a virtual bank card (+5 points) and 28% use cashback platforms (+2 points).
However, the majority of respondents remain distrustful of the artificial intelligence services offered by their bank (63% do not want to use them). The rest (37%) are in favor, in particular, of simulating a loan or a savings project (15%), managing their budget and expenses (13%), managing their transfers and automatic payments (11%), or receiving investment advice (11%).
*Survey conducted by Discurv for Panorabanques using a self-administered questionnaire from May 2 to 8, 2024 and from April 15 to 23, 2025 with a sample of 2,000 French people representative of the French population aged 18 or over, constituted using the quota method.
Source: BFM TV
