Cash or Card: Consumer Perceptions of Payment Modes - Scholarly ...

Proposition Two that- where consumers access their personal savings to pay for transactions,
the mode of payment selected will affect their purchase behaviour. Three of the ancillary
propositions – that the amount spent and the number of items purchased is less when the cash
mode is used and that debit card users are more likely to buy manufacturers labels are
supported. Less difference is noted when comparisons are across the type of product
purchased- in this instance food/ non food items. The variation lies with the purchase of
personal products and kitchen items with the debit card user buying more in terms of value.
The comparisons across the various payment modes selected in the control group shows that
cash users spend less than both debit and credit card users and debit card users spend less
than credit card users. However it needs to be remembered that the control group sample size
is too low for any definitive conclusions.
There is some support for proposition three- that there is a link between the cognitive and
emotional associations that people have with specific payment modes and their payment
mode choice? When the factor means are compared only four show significant variation- the
two emotion factors, gratification and money as gift. Relating to the emotion factor those
who prefer debit card consider that the debit card allows them to feel more relaxed confident,
secure and affluent than does cash and they find using the card pleasurable. Those who
prefer the cash mode associate cash with feeling relaxed confident, secure and affluent and
find using cash pleasurable. Though the gift mode factor showed a difference, the basis of
this difference is how a gift of $100 to a debit account should be spent. The cash group would
spend it on something special whereas the debit group think it would probably be used for
non-specific purposes. Both groups perceive that debit card use impairs their ability to
manage their money and that the use of cash helps to reduce spending. Both groups agree
that when they have cash in their wallet- it is money to be spent.
One observation that can be made is that people who prefer to use cash- associate it with a
pleasurable activity so that the assumption that the use of cash translates to an experienced
psychological pain may need to be reassessed. Though Zellermayer’s work is influential, in
that he introduced the notion of psychological pain, the focus of his study was on bill
payments in relation to time of payment and the source (products purchased). In this context
he observed that ‘choosing how to pay may be more a function of habit than by immediate
hedonic considerations’. He does not clarify what is meant by hedonic but implies that when
132