Payment Resilience in an Uncertain World Australia

Australia is one of the world’s most cashless major economies, and its retail and hospitality sector is increasingly reliant on card and digital payments. Just 44% of surveyed customers regularly carry cash.
But card and digital payments depend on a complex chain of power, terminals, processors and systems. Any breakdown can interrupt transactions at the point of sale, which could have serious consequences.

This report combines proprietary survey data with economic modeling and outage pattern analysis to quantify the commercial impact of payment disruption across Australian retail, hospitality and leisure.
The research is based on two nationally representative surveys conducted in June 2026:

• A consumer survey of 2,000 Australian adults


• A business survey of 200 retail and hospitality store and
  venue managers weighted by business size and format
  to reflect the structure of the industry