The level of cash payments remained steady during 2012/13, while most forms of non-cash payments grew at a healthy rate. The annual report of the Reserve Bank's Payments System Board, which was released yesterday, shows that debit card and Bpay transactions are the areas of fastest growth in retail payments.The value of cash withdrawals from ATMs, point of sale terminals and over the counter in bank branches was largely unchanged in 2012/13, falling 0.3 per cent, to A$243 billion.This compares with five per cent growth in nominal household consumption expenditure over the same period. The declining reliance on cash observed in consumer diary studies conducted by the RBA in 2007 and 2010 appears to be continuing.According to the 2010 study, cash was used for 80 per cent of payments under $25 and 62 per cent of overall payments. It was used for 23 per cent of the value of all payments.The most common way consumers withdraw cash is from ATMs, which account for 60 per cent of the value of cash withdrawals and 71 per cent of the number of withdrawals. The average withdrawal from an ATM in 2012/13 was $185.Withdrawal from point of sale terminals is the next most common means of withdrawing cash, accounting for about a quarter of the number of withdrawals and seven per cent of their value. The average withdrawal was $63.The use of ATMs fell during 2012/13, while the number of withdrawals at point of sale terminals grew by four per cent.Branch withdrawals accounted for 29 per cent of the value of cash withdrawals but only two per cent of the number. The value of branch withdrawals increased by four per cent in 2012/13.Turning to non-cash payments, the PSB said the number of non-cash retail payment rose by around eight per cent in 2012/13. The strongest growth was in the use of debit cards, which was up 14.4 per cent by number and 11.1 per cent by value. Debit now makes up 39.9 per cent of the number of all non-cash retail payments, compared with 22.9 per cent for credit cards, 20.9 per cent for direct credits, 9.5 per cent for direct debits, 4.2 per cent for Bpay and 2.6 per cent for cheques.Use of Bpay also grew strongly - up 5.3 per cent by number and 10.5 per cent by value. In 2012/13, the value of payments processed through Bpay exceeded the value of credit and charge card payments for the first time.Cheque use, which now accounts for 2.6 per cent of the number of non-cash payments and eight per cent of their value, continued to fall. The number of retail cheques issued fell by 13.1 per cent, and their value fell by 3.6 per cent. Over the past decade, the number of cheque payments has fallen by 64 per cent.The number and value of online payments grew by around 10 per cent in 2012/13. Online payments now make up 18 per cent of non-cash retail payments.