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

Participants feel money as gift in the form of cash is preferred over a direct debit. Cash
conveys a personal and closeness whereas money as gift received in debit card seen as cold
and impersonal. The consensus is that money deposited into a bank account is utility money
and does not evoke emotional attachment to the gift. This supports Belk and Wallendorf,
1990, findings that cash remains sacred and money as gift in debit card becomes profane.
5.7: Proposition One Evaluation
The overall conclusions from the information supplied by the participants of the focus group
sessions is that there is enough evidence to conclude, at least from the sentiment of these
participants, that Proposition One is supported: the cognitive and emotional elements that
people associate with the payment modes does indeed differ. There is also evidence that the
participants’ perceptions of how they keep a mental tally of expenditures differ across cash
and electronic card payment modes. The evidence for the proposition that the perceptions of
the price- benefit analysis of expenditures will vary across cash and debit card payment
modes is equivocal. Though evidence is not strong at least two or more people in each focus
group did express the thought that they got more enjoyment out of the purchases paid by
cash; but this was only in the context of ‘special’ purchases. However a few did express a
general discontent with purchases when they used their debit card. There is evidence that
people perceive their ability to tally expenditure is better when they use cash. For example,
participants voiced in focus group that:
� I really see the cash going out of my pocket when I spend cash
� I really notice how much I have spent, I really try to track my purchases but
never with a card
� Yeah, because it’s visible and I spend it and I feel it’s less but in the card it
doesn’t really feel like that
With cash how much is spent is known, but not with a debit card. Following quotes provide
evidence in support that mental tally of expenditures do differ across cash and debit card
payment modes:
� And it’s just a number on a (eftpos) screen isn’t it?
� More likely to spend more money with card
� Although I might probably notice more, maybe I might be more conscious of a
budget
� if I had cash in my wallet because I would think I will just try and spend the cash,
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