Show Me How You Pay and I Will Tell You Who You Are – Socio-Demographic Determinants of Payment Habits

This study is intended to assist in understanding the current payment habits of Hungarian households and examine the extent to which these habits are affected by age, education, activity, income or residence. Our research analysed a representative household survey with a sample of 1,000 respondents using various statistical tools. The percentage of households holding bank accounts and bank cards is high and has not changed since 2010, while households' use of cash has moderately declined in recent years. The socio-demographic variables under review have a limited impact on the use of cash-based payment methods. Accordingly, in terms of both number and value, a similar proportion of households pay their bills via postal cash payments, irrespective of age and income. The preference for the use of electronic payment methods is largely driven by education level. While the use of electronic payment methods generally increases in line with income, cash usage is still strongly over-represented among one fourth of households with higher-than average income levels. Age, activity and residence also exert a significant impact on the adoption of electronic payment methods, but the payment habits of users of different electronic payment instruments do not generally show differences on the basis of these features