Hard Numbers: Americans use less cash, Africans heart mobile money, Indians accept fees, Norwegians cash out

Photo illustration of US dollar bills and coins.
Photo illustration of US dollar bills and coins.
Nicolas Economou via Reuters Connect

41: That's the percentage of Americans who say they don't use cash for any purchases in a given week, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Only 14% still pay for the bulk of their purchases with physical money, most of them likely low-income and unbanked.

70: Mobile payments might soon overtake card transactions in sub-Saharan Africa. The region dominates the global mobile money market, accounting for 70% of $1 trillion worth of transactions recorded last year.

90: Indians hate the often hefty "convenience fees" they pay for cashless transactions, even for government-related services. But 90% say they’d rather get charged a bit extra to avoid going to a physical counter.

2: Paying in cash is mostly a thing of the past in Norway. Only 2% of Norwegians now use bills and coins in a de-facto cashless society where virtually everyone has a bank account and cards.


This article comes to you from the Signal newsletter team of GZERO Media. Sign up today.

More from GZERO Media

Finnish President Alexander Stubb smiles during an event with a blurred "World Economic Forum" background. The text art reads: "GZERO World with Ian Bremmer—the podcast."

Listen: In Davos, world leaders face a new reality: Europe must rethink its Trump strategy. Finnish President Alexander Stubb joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a leader of the democratic opposition of Belarus, is seen here in Krakow, Poland, in 2022.

Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Reuters

Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko has been in power for more than 30 years and just won another election widely regarded as rigged. Why are the streets of Minsk quiet? Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who continues to advocate for democracy and increased Western pressure on the Belarusian regime from Lithuania, talked to GZERO’s Alex Kliment about the road ahead.

Thousands of people take part in a protest against CDU Leader Friedrich Merz and his action to vote with AFD to tighten immigration policy in Duesseldorf, Germany, on January 30, 2025. The poster reads "Hey Merz, Judas would be proud of you!"
Ying Tang/NurPhoto

Friedrich Merz cooperated with the Alternative for Deutschland party in order to pass new limits on immigration.

Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, January 30, 2025.
Photo by Allison Bailey

Kash Patel faced intense questioning on Thursday during his Senate confirmation hearing for FBI director and attempted to distance himself from past controversial statements and to address concerns about how he would run the powerful law enforcement agency.

Salwan Momika, an anti-Islam activist, gestures as he speaks, in Malmo, Sweden, September 3, 2023.
TT News Agency/Johan Nilsson via REUTERS

5: At least five people have been arrested in Sweden in connection with the murder of Salwan Momika, an Iraqi Christian extremist known for burning Qurans in public and leading anti-Islam protests.