You have to reckon with them: Many seniors insist on paying in cash.
A close, and therefore real, example: the journalist's mother.
She is an octogenarian, intelligent and curious about everything, and has no cognitive problems. But she never owned a computer and couldn't master the Internet, an electronic tablet, or even a cell phone. She has been paralyzed by the cloning she suffered over ten years ago, and rarely uses a bank card anymore. Her annual credit card transactions can be counted on one finger: the annual maintenance on her car, which she has kept for more than 20 years and which she recently sold.
Except for two or three times in the presence of one of her sons, she never withdrew money from the ATM. Every three weeks she makes a withdrawal from her branch – always at the counter, presenting a bank book that wouldn't look out of place in an environmental museum.
Everything is paid in cash: groceries, clothes, purchases from the pharmacy. Even the dentist.
She spends little, it's true. But almost always in cash.
She's not the only one.
“Some seniors in a certain age group, without being biased, are used to cashing out money and are not familiar with computers,” points out Gisèle Tassie-Goodman, President of Réseau FADOQ. “In a restaurant for coffee or cake, they would rather pay with a $20 bill than take a credit card or simply pay offline.”
In this connection to banknotes, we discover an element of loyalty to tradition, but we also implicitly recognize a reassuring connection to tangible things.
Gisele Tassie-Goodman draws the analogy of manipulating the pages of a real book rather than running her finger across the smooth, cool surface of a tablet.
“People control the $20 they have in their hand, in their wallet,” she describes.
The use of money is not limited only to banknotes. You also have to take into account (with) the currency.
Scene taken in mid-June at a supermarket in eastern Montreal: An energetic septuagenarian pays cash for a few items at the checkout counter. The cashier counts the money and takes from the customer's outstretched hand exactly the coins that will make the payment.
“I do this a lot, and it makes me happy,” says Danielle, the treasurer.
There is no shortage of technology here: the man carries a smartphone in a case hanging from his waist.
For many seniors, this is less a bias against tickets than a bias against electronic payments.
Image provided by Faduk
Giselle Tassie Goodman
It is understandable that some people have reservations about new digital technologies, especially regarding their personal finances, with the frauds we report in online banking, ATMs, credit card transactions, etc.
Giselle Tassie-Goodman, President, FADOC Network
“These are things that scare some seniors and they prefer to pay with cash rather than pay with a credit card or go to the computer to pay their Hydro-Québec bill or telecommunications bill.”
Others fear that technological foolishness will lead to digital blunders.
“There are a lot of barriers: not understanding how to work, not trusting the technology, being afraid of making a mistake, not knowing what to do if a problem occurs, or even being afraid of other customers waiting behind you,” says Brigitte Gilbert, a science specialist. Clinical neuropsychologist specializing in geriatric medicine: “You pay at the cash register.”
“We must not forget that for some elderly people, going to the bank is also an opportunity to socialize,” she adds.
The issue of literacy
“We have a negative perception about older people regarding their digital capabilities, but in fact, with the right support and the right approach, these people are able to use digital technologies,” says Patrick Poésy, full professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke and researcher at the Center for Research on Aging. In CIUSSS Estrie-CHUS.
“But they will use it to do the things they want to do.” »
In particular, he is conducting research on telehealth with older adults, some of whom have had to acquire the digital skills necessary for their full participation.
“There is a whole education system in the first two weeks to get them to the level of digital literacy that is appropriate for what we do. I think the bottom line is that digital literacy is specific to what you want to do.”
Older people often have electronic tablets, asserts Patrick Boissy, “but what do they do with their tablets, except reading? Journalism ? In a certain way, we have to support them, make them see the benefits in an activity, so that they can implement it and gain confidence.
Regarding banking transactions, he gives the example of compensatory payments made to participants via Interac transfers.
“Of the 35 participants, there were probably eight people who had to be issued a check,” he says.
“The good news is that three of these eight people were able to accompany them and accepted the Interac transfer. They are now handling electronic transfers from Interac.”
The digital generation gap is no longer what it was before the pandemic, which has encouraged, if not forced, many older people to learn computer technologies.
“There are fewer and fewer people who will face these situations, but there is a group of older people currently who suffer from digital exclusion in the case of banking applications, clearly,” he emphasizes.
Live and let the reward
Regardless, cash payment remains a valid and relevant option.
“These people have customs, and we must respect that,” says the head of the Faduk network. We should not exaggerate this point and imagine that everyone will resort to new information technologies. »
“You know, it's important to emphasize that older people are increasingly connected,” she adds.
That's right, and the numbers show that in the next tab.
“I'm happy to see progress on this front. But for those who don't want it, I say to myself: Let's accept this situation, we are all different, this is where we are.”
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