Australia's embrace of cashless payment technologies is a double-edged sword and consumer convenience needs to be weighed against the risk of cyber-attacks which have the potential to cripple the economy, according to security experts.

Australians have made big moves away from cash over the past decade, with Reserve Bank of Australia's 2016 consumer payments survey showing only 37 per cent of consumer payments are made in cash today compared to 69 per cent a decade ago.