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Good point.  It also says that the survey took place in 2006 i.e. card payments overtook cash some time between 2003 anxd 2006.  Australia certainly needs the reforms announced in May to take effect soon.  Otherwise when card payments become virtual payments they will simply by-pass the banking system.

Unfortunately a "Smaller, Simpler Bank" has no place for anything new or different nor for dealing with unwieldy legacy, only more of the same. 

ClearBank is going to really shake things up by providing modern services in a part of the banking system that has been too slow to change.  It will be an enabler for other fintech innovation as well. 

UK Branch closures over the next year or two will significantly increase the cost of cash handling in the remaining branches for the same reason.  Sooner or later a High St bank will stop accepting cash and this will cause a stampede to get out.  The government may step in and force some banks to keep offering a cash service and even subsidise it but becoming a cashless society appears inevitable. 

Thanks for an excellent summary, I look forward to Part 2.