By June Ramli
Sydney, March 26: Nearly one in three Australians (31 per cent)—equivalent to 6.7 million people—struggle to remember their debit or credit card PIN at checkout, a new survey by Money.com.au has revealed.
The survey of 1,000 Australians found that 18 per cent occasionally forget their PIN, meaning they’ve had difficulty recalling it at least once or twice. Another 8 per cent admit to regularly struggling with their PIN or needing to reset it frequently, while 5 per cent rely on saving their PIN somewhere as a reminder.
Money.com.au’s Finance Expert, Sean Callery, attributes the issue to the growing reliance on contactless payments and digital shopping, which have made PINs less essential.
“Many banks require a PIN for purchases over $100 or $200, so forgetting yours could cause delays at the checkout, frustrate other shoppers, or even prevent your purchase. Entering the wrong PIN too many times will also block your card, requiring a call to the bank to reset it, which is also frustrating,” he said.
The survey found that younger Australians, particularly Gen Z, are the most forgetful when it comes to PINs, with only 49 per cent always remembering theirs. In contrast, Boomers are the best at recalling their PIN (73 per cent), followed by Gen X at 67 per cent.
Despite the shift towards digital payments, a majority of Australians (64 per cent) still remember their PIN consistently. However, 5 per cent of Australians don’t use their PIN at all, relying entirely on tap-and-go transactions with lower spending limits.
Data from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) shows that mobile wallet transactions have surged from 16 per cent to 38 per cent between 2020 and 2024. During this period, debit card mobile transactions rose by 212 per cent, and credit card mobile transactions increased by 220 per cent, while all other transaction types declined by 10 per cent.
With Australia having more than 65 million debit and credit cards—used over 1.4 billion times per month for purchases—PINs are becoming less relevant for everyday transactions.
Personally, I have also experienced this dilemma. In 2016, while dining at a restaurant in Sydney, I forgot my PIN at the checkout. The situation became even more awkward when the waiter jokingly made fun of me for it. However, to my surprise, I later received a selection of alcoholic beverages as an apology.
Even now, I occasionally struggle to recall my PIN, which is why I tend to rely on tap-and-go payments, much like many others navigating an increasingly digital world.
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