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

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� Debit card users spend more on personal care and kitchenware items than home
cleaning product. One possible explanation could be cleaning product is necessity and
so use (and therefore purchase) is not discretionary. There is no significant difference
across the payment modes on distributor’s brand; however debit card users spent
significantly more on manufacturers’ brands.
The overall conclusion reached is that when cash is used less money is spent and fewer
products are purchased per transaction than when a debit card is used. However the type of
card also has an influence in that when a debit card is used the volume and value per
transaction is less than when a credit card is used.
The finding of this study contradicts with Bounie and Francois (2009) notion that transaction
size determines the choice of payment mode. Since, participants were assigned to cash and
debit card condition- they knew before they engaged in shopping task which payment mode
they would be using- thus eliminating the transaction cost as factor in payment mode choice.
Research Question Three: Is there a link between the cognitive and emotional elements that
people associate with payment modes and payment mode choice?
To address this question, participants who also participated in the supermarket purchase study
by providing their shopping dockets (N=118) also completed a payment mode perception
questionnaire. The score on the scale item “I prefer to and normally use cash” was used to
identify their preferred payment mode. The composite mean score of the identified factors
was compared across cash and debit card users. When the factor means are compared only
four show significant variation- the two emotion factors, gratification and money as gift.
Essentially, participants consider that their preferred mode allows them to feel more relaxed
confident, secure and affluent and gives them a sense of pleasure when using the token.
Perceptions associated with receiving the same amount of money as cash or paid into a
saving s account differed. The preference is for a gift of money to be given in cash especially
if it is a small amount (e.g., $50/$100). If cash is received the participants agreed that they