Nearly one in three Australians (31%) — equivalent to 6.7 million people — have trouble remembering their debit or credit card PIN at checkout, according to a new survey by Money.com.au.
The survey of 1,000 Australians found that 18% ‘occasionally’ forget their PIN at the checkout, meaning they’ve forgotten it once or twice. Meanwhile, 8% admit they regularly struggle to remember their PIN or have to reset it frequently. About 5% of Aussies have to save their PIN somewhere as a reminder.
Money.com.au’s Finance Expert, Sean Callery, says the rise of contactless payments and online shopping has made PINs less necessary, leading many people to forget them.
“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 says.
“We’re becoming a nation of tap-and-go spenders and digital shoppers, which means the need to use PINs is quickly becoming a thing of the past.”
“Gen Z is the most forgetful generation when it comes to PINs, with only 49% always remembering theirs — the lowest of any generation. It makes sense, given they’ve grown up with mobile wallets and digital banking.”
On the other hand, Boomers are the best at recalling their PIN, with 73% always remembering it, followed by Gen X at 67%.
Overall, the majority of Aussies (64%) say they always remember their PIN.
Aussies ditch PINs as contactless payments become the norm
The survey found that 5% of Australians don’t use their PIN at all, relying solely on tap-and-go payments with lower spending limits. For contactless payments under a certain threshold (typically $100–$200), a PIN is not required.
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) data shows that the share of mobile wallet transactions surged from 16% to 38% in just four years (2020–2024). Over the same period, debit card mobile transactions rose by 212%, and credit card mobile transactions increased by 220%, while all other transaction types declined by 10%.
Australia has more than 65 million debit and credit cards, which are used over 1.4 billion times per month for purchases.
