Asia’s cashless society will only benefit governments

We’ve heard of all the benefits of being in a cashless society, but what’s at risk?

We've heard of all the benefits of being in a cashless society, but what's at risk?

The appeal of mobile e-wallets is evident in Asia and the past decade, Asia has had bold ambitions to make the cashless society a reality. 

After all, e-money is more convenient than carrying cash, can adapt to change quickly and they’re often tied to loyalty benefits. They also save countries a lot of money as the costs of printing, storing and moving cash are not insignificant.

Pioneering this front was Hong Kong with the Octopus card. But as seen with the recent political demonstrations – where surveillance conscious protesters have made efforts to go digitally dark – the benefits of our hyperconnected financial lives can come at a cost.
 

Financial transparency without an individual’s consent is really, mass surveillance

For the past decade, Asia has been pioneering the movement towards cashless economic ecosystems by investing billions of dollars into mobile payments technology, with the hope of driving innovation and stimulating more activity in the region’s economy.

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