She buried the checkbook and the cash, but her turn could soon come. The physical bank card is starting to be shunned by French consumers. In any case, this is the result of the study carried out by YouGov for BforBan. It reveals a radical change in our relationship to means of payment since more than one in two French people (55%) now use a virtual bank card, more than a third of whom use it regularly or daily. This massive adoption, particularly marked among younger generations, outlines a future where the physical card could become as obsolete as the checkbook.
Generation Z is clearly the most won over by the virtual card: 75% of 18-24 year olds have already adopted it and almost a third use it daily. These “digital natives” embrace this technology which corresponds to their connected lifestyle and their quest for practical and instant solutions.
What advantages does the virtual card bring?
The dematerialization of payment methods is not just a simple technological development. Nearly one in two French people (45%) identify significant advantages to using a virtual card. The practical side comes to the top of the arguments: 23% of users appreciate no longer having to manage physical mediawhich in turn avoids the inconvenience linked to the loss or theft of their card.
Security constitutes the second pillar of this revolution: 22% of respondents consider that the absence of physical support strengthens protection against fraud. A real added value at a time when cybercrime is becoming more and more sophisticated.
Finally, the organizational aspect is cited by users: 15% favor the possibility of distributing their expenses across different virtual media while maintaining optimal traceability. This unprecedented flexibility allows for more detailed and personalized management of personal finances.
The physical card is resisting, for the moment
Despite this strong trend, certain strongholds still resist. 17% of French people remain attached to their physical cardmainly out of habit or for aesthetic reasons. This resistance is particularly marked among those over 55, 21% of whom express a clear preference for the traditional format, in which they have more confidence. 47% of seniors feel more reassured with a physical card than with its dematerialized version.
These reluctances could gradually fade away, as was the case for other technological innovations, contactless payment in the lead. The health crisis played an accelerator role, in particular with the raising of the ceiling for contactless payments to 50 euros in May 2020. This measure, initially thought to be temporary, has definitively changed consumer behavior.
The banks have understood this and are adapting their offer accordingly. BforBank, Revolut and even N26 (to name a few), now offer hybrid solutions allowing customers to benefit from both a physical and virtual card, thus facilitating the transition to all-digital.
The disappearance of the physical bank card may not be imminent, but its decline seems inevitable. Like the check which now only represents a marginal fraction of transactions, the plastic (or metal) card could well become a vestige of the past in the decades to come.
- More than half of French people already use a virtual bank card, with massive adoption among 18-24 year olds (75%)
- The main advantages are practicality (23%), security (22%) and organizational flexibility (15%)
- Although 17% of French people remain attached to the physical format, the trend towards dematerialization seems irreversible, accelerated by technological developments and post-Covid behavioral changes.
