Cashless Economy

Negatives include security concerns, Willoughby said. He said many people may be concerned about cybersecurity. He also said people should be wary of overspending. "There's been some research done that people paying cash less generally pay 12 to 18 per cent more than they would when paying with cash," Willoughby said. "In essence, when money is abstract it's easy to lose track of it." Willoughby said stores can choose to stop accepting cash completely, but he doesn't recommend it. "The Bank of Canada in the past few months has encouraged sellers to provide that cash opportunity...

With coronavirus cases on the rise yet again, I knew it was only a matter of time before the sign appeared on the door of my favorite coffee shop. “PLEASE NO CASH PAYMENT AT THIS TIME. CREDIT CARD AND CONTACTLESS PAYMENT ONLY.” None of the baristas want to handle wads of potentially contagious dollar bills that customers pull from their pockets, especially with some counties halting or reversing their reopening plans and officials from other counties openly worrying that California is starting to lose the battle against COVID-19. Early on, in fact, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration...

There’s a reason they say cash is king. Commodity money—physical objects like coins and paper bills that hold value—has been used since ancient societies made the switch from bartering goods like salt and cattle. America started issuing its own currency, which evolved into the dollar we know today, in 1776, just before the country declared its independence. Cash is still the second-most-used form of payment in America today after debit cards. But many advocates for “going cashless” believe that the paper dollar’s time is nearly up. As the coronavirus pandemic ravages communities around...

Cashless payment methods assume that an individual has access to a bank account, digital wallet, payment card, or a device modern enough to support mobile money services.  However, according to the Financial Inclusion Commission, approximately 1.5 million adults  in the UK alone are unbanked.  There is a significant number of people who rely on cash in their day-to-day lives; if not for lack of a bank account, then because physically handling money can help them regulate their outgoings and keep to a budget.  Read more

Don’t touch. That’s the message to and from every corner of the UK, even as lockdown continues to ease. But if you pay for an item or a service with cash, touch is inevitable and retailers and service providers across the country have been understandably emphatic in their demand for “card only payments”. Like cruise ships and aircraft, notes and coins are seen as tainted and unclean in our post-Covid world, ditched in favour of the security, ease and crucial not-quite-touch of card and particularly contactless transactions. Add that to the lack of places to spend cash in the past few...

Attention to the total abolition of cash: here is the scenario you would not expect. That is, cashless, less cash. This is the goal that the government has set itself to achieve in the medium term. The strategy has already been set in motion. From July 1, cash payments beyond the 2000 euro threshold will no longer be possible. Threshold that will drop in 2022. Attention to the total abolition of cash: here is the scenario you would never expect Read more  

This question has become a hot topic in our society for the last decade, and there is a reason to that. We are facing a major evolve in transaction forms where we lean towards a cashless society. Even more, there are tons of innovations that are welcoming the cashless era. We have seen banks created the digitalised banking system that now embraces the usage of ATMs, internet banking, and mobile banking. Some other examples that became huge hits especially in the 21st century are cryptocurrencies and FinTech (Financial Technology). They also have derived products for different purposes. Read...

A new report from financial tech company Square shows that cashless payments rose significantly during the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Traditional cash payments were already seeing a decline as more and more businesses wanted to transition to full credit or virtual payments. As stay-at-home orders disrupted the U.S. economy, many businesses had to learn new ways to serve their customers in compliance with social-distancing guidelines. According to Square, only 8% of U.S. sellers identified as cashless on March 1. By April 23, that number jumped to 31%. The rapid growth was way...

Sweden warns that the elderly and disabled, as well as those in rural communities, were left behind when the country rapidly transitioned towards a cashless society. Read (and listen) more