Cryptocurrency payments to ransomware attackers hit $449.1 million in the first half of 2023. (Reuters)
100 Mind-Blowing Payments Facts
Two new forms of currency launched in the 21st Century: Mobile payment technology and virtual currency are two new forms of currency that launched in the 21st Century. Mobile payments are used to pay for products and services through a smartphone or tablet, while virtual currency is a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange. It is not controlled or regulated by a central bank.
Only 8% of the world’s currency is in cash: The vast majority of the world’s currency exists in electronic form. Economists estimate that coins and banknotes make up just 8% of the world’s currency. The rest sits on a computer hard drive in electric bank accounts all over the world. Because of the worldwide acceptance of the Internet and online payments, people are making and spending money without actually touching it.
Only 8% of the World’s Currency Is Physical Money: Interesting money fact: With mobile banking and electronic payments becoming more and more common, people are earning and spending money without having to even touch it. Economists estimate only 8% of the world’s currency is literal cash with the rest existing on computer hard drives in electronic bank accounts.
In Ireland, we are moving out of money and into debit and credit cards. For the quarter up to June 2024, 85.5% of point-of-sale payments were contactless. In 2023, there were 4.1 billion payments made – 11 million payments per day – the majority of which were through payment cards and mobile and online banking, while cheque usage in 2023 fell to less than half the volume in 2019.