New Year’s gifts: cash or cashless? Difference between givers and receivers

According to a survey conducted by market research firm Intage on 5,000 people aged 15 to 79, nearly 40% (38.5%) of respondents said they would like to receive their New Year's money via cashless smartphone payment, up 8 percentage points from last year.

On the other hand, less than 1% of givers said they would prefer to hand over cash, with over 90% saying they would rather hand over cash in person, citing reasons such as "it conveys gratitude better" and "cash or face-to-face payments result in a greater reaction and are more moving."

Additionally, the average total budget for donors was 24,039 yen, a decrease for the second consecutive year.

40% of people answered that rising prices and the weak yen were factors that influenced this.