Should we go cashless?
Going cashless can be safer, more convenient and more rewarding. As fewer people use cash in everyday purchases, it's a good idea to start thinking about how cashless payments can work for you and how to maximize those benefits.
A cashless society would rely on a complex network of digital systems, which would be vulnerable to cyberattacks. If these systems were hacked, it could have a devastating impact on the economy. Privacy is the third challenge raised. Cash can be exchanged anonymously, leaving no digital trail.
The Benefits of a Cashless Society
They don't have to deposit as much cash every day and can more easily balance their books, since electronic-transfer-based sales can immediately and seamlessly enter computer systems. If you're not carrying hundreds of dollars in cash, you're less of a target for robbery.
Lack of privacy
“A cashless society could make it easier for governments and financial institutions to track individuals' financial transactions, raising concerns about privacy and surveillance” Vanover tells Tech.co, adding “when it happens, people will lose all transaction privacy.”
We have been issuing banknotes for over 300 years and make sure the banknotes we all use are of high quality. While the future demand for cash is uncertain, it is unlikely that cash will die out any time soon.
As people move toward more electronic or digital forms of payment, it might seem like paper money is on its way toward obsolescence. But experts say that cash will always be around.
Identity theft and compromised personal information are potential dangers in a cashless economy, but privacy might be compromised in other ways too. When you pay digitally, you always leave a digital footprint, and this footprint is easily monitored by financial institutions.
Why Eliminate Cash? Cash can play a role in criminal activities such as money laundering and allow for tax evasion. Digital transactions or electronic money create an audit trail for law enforcement and financial institutions and can aid governments in economic policymaking.
Norway has the one of the lowest physical cash rates in the world, with only 3-5% of point of sale transactions paid for by cash. In 2021, Norway's central bank announcedthat it was exploring digital currency options to help facilitate the switch to a cash-free society.
It might seem like cash is slowly becoming obsolete. But, Brett Scott says it's a false narrative that we're all pining for a cashless society.
How long until we are cashless?
We may not be a cashless society by 2060, much less by 2030. But the fact is we're closer to becoming a nearly cashless society every day. The transition from a mostly cash to nearly cashless society didn't happen overnight.
A 2022 survey revealed that an estimated 911 million people in China paid for items through their mobile devices, with numbers increasing rapidly after Covid-19. This, along with many other new technological advancements, suggests that China may be on their way to being the world's first cashless society.
In China, both Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate the digital payments market. People in the virtually cashless nation use digital apps to pay for everything: Grabbing a snack from a vending machine, renting a portable battery at a mall, or unlocking a shared e-bike are all enabled with the scan of a QR code.
Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB and Westpac all confirmed on Friday that there are no current plans to go cashless. This comes after Macquarie Bank announced it would phase out cash and cheque services across all its banking and wealth management products from January to November 2024.
Analysis from Barclays Investment Bank, meanwhile, predicts that the global transition from cash to digital payments would reach a tipping point moment in 2025, when absolute cash usage would decline from 41 per cent in 2019 to 20 per cent by 2030.
While no one can predict the future; the dollar is still the most dominant reserve currency in the world. According to the International Monetary Fund, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the dollar represented 58.4% of all foreign exchange reserves.
Although paper-based currencies are becoming less popular, they will likely stick around for the foreseeable future. Dollars and cents may become harder to use, but as with many obsolete technologies, there are enough users to ensure demand doesn't disappear completely.
Denomination | Estimated Lifespan* |
---|---|
$10 | 5.3 years |
$20 | 7.8 years |
$50 | 12.2 years |
$100 | 22.9 years |
The future of money is expected to be heavily influenced by technology. Predictions include the rise of cashless societies, the growth of cryptocurrencies, the continued adoption of digital currencies, and the potential offering of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by governments.
It would bring “off the books” economic activity out of the shadows and into the formal economy, increasing tax revenues. Small businesses would benefit from lower transaction costs, since people would use credit cards less often, and they would avoid the hassles of handling cash.
Why are people mad about cashless?
A cashless society would also leave people more susceptible to economic failure on an individual basis: if a hacker, bureaucratic error, or natural disaster shuts a consumer out of their account, the lack of a cash option would leave them few alternatives.
Improved safety: One of the major benefits of a cashless society is the reduction in crime rates. Cash is a tempting target for thieves, and the elimination of cash transactions would remove the incentive for many types of crime. 2. Convenience: Paying with cash can be cumbersome, especially for large purchases.
Yes, they can refuse to give you your money if they think something fraudulent is going on.
You can survive in a cashless society with 3 things: A smartphone or a smartwatch, mobile payment apps, and two-factor authentication. You're going to need lots of different payment apps installed to keep up with retailers and banks.
A cashless economy also has its disadvantages: identity theft, social exclusion, and the undermining of privacy and anonymity is undermined, among others. Countries that want to sustainably benefit from a cashless economy must take steps to mitigate its disadvantages while enjoying its advantages.
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