The Pros & Cons of a Cashless Economy: the debate and the arguments

A deeper understanding of the ethical debate about going cashless

News One of Asia’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange Hacked 07/10/2018 What Really Lies Behind Sweden's Cashless Crusade 07/10/2018 A New Bill in Washington D.C. Would Bar Local Restaurants From Refusing Cash 07/10/2018 Going Cashless Can Be Dangerous, Malaysian President of the Consumers Association Warns 07/10/2018 In Germany, the cashless economy raises concerns about trust and privacy 06/04/2018

The debate

Does a cashless economy really boost economic growth for all? - 06/01/2018

Various economists are calling for the strong reduction of cash in order to boost economies and the efficiency levels of central banks. While the arguments make some economic sense, their implementation would come at a high political and democratic price. Must economies be privileged and take the lead on political freedom, at the price of unethical government practices?

Governments and sovereignty concerns in a cashless society - 06/01/2018

Central banks are putting up remarkably little resistance in defending the currencies they issue, in the global war on cash. As cash prevalence slowly dwindles, private banks and payment solutions are getting closer to their goals, and central banks take a second-row seat to the show. But the demise of cash would relinquish them to the status of secondary players on the market and do disservice to the peoples they administer.

Why commercial banks are lobbying in favor of a cashless economy - 06/01/2018

Banks are eager to press on towards cashless societies, with increased efficiency and margins in sight. The abolition of cash, however, will generate new hidden costs for the public, and place economies under a high risk, with all eggs in one basket.

Ecology: the carbon footprint of payment means in a cashless economy - 06/01/2018

Amongst the many arguments presented by anti-cash supporters, the environmental balance of banknotes. Would a cashless world better serve the planet’s interest? Not necessarily: banknotes have excellent footprints due to their durability and recyclability, while cashless payment systems simply hide their own.

The convenience of payments means in a cashless economy - 06/01/2018

The appearance of immaterial payment systems has increased economic convenience for citizens. From there, payment solution companies go double-or-nothing, promising that going full cashless would be even more convenient. But the inconvenience of going to an ATM will be quickly replaced by new, far more tedious ones, should the cash option disappear.

Mass surveillance in a cashless economy: freedom & privacy at risk - 06/01/2018

In the recent years of the struggle against cash, proponents of a cashless society, usually associated with absolute state control, have argued that a world without cash would be a counter-balance to governmental power, not an increase of its control. Cash defenders beg to differ.

Banking Security

What the demise of the cashless society will really mean

International Legal Firm raises concerns about privacy and security in a cashless society

Cyber theft - A serious concern in cashless India

"In 2018, over a third of the world’s consumers experienced debit or credit card fraud,” says Justin Hansen, security architect at Venafi.

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Academic Research

Ecology: The Carbon Footprint of the New Means of Payment

Children, education and the ethical issue in a cashless society

John Howland Cochrane, economist and professor at Berkeley: "The ability to transact with anonymity and privacy has been a central freedom for hundreds of years."

The cashless society from an ethical point of view

The debate about the move towards a cashless society has been at the center of the scene for several years, now. Various angles have been taken by economists, politicians, banking institutions and sociologists. Beyond the technicalities of the debate, lies the question of freedom, of inter-citizen solidarity and of governmental responsibility. The debate cannot remain in the hands of financial specialists, it is first and foremost an ethical, political and societal issue.

The debate

What the demise of the cashless society will really mean

Are you all about the cash or card these days? We are slowly moving towards a cashless society and...

Is going full cashless society a threat?

Despite inquests spurred by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, many of us have pretty much accepted...

Cashless backlash delays move to walletless economy

Laura Leister, owner of Pieces, a board game bar and restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri, said she...

What are the pitfalls of a cash-free society ?

Amid the benefits of digital payments – their ease of use, potential to cut costs for businesses...

In a cashless society, Big Brother will always know when you buy milk

While the move toward a cashless economy indeed poses problems for low-income and marginalized...

Education: how will we teach the value of money without cash?

With the increased fear of the dawning cashless world surrounding us, the matter of pedagogical...

Cashless society Vs terrorism: Are States fighting last year’s war again?

The deletion of cash will do little or nothing to tackle terrorist cells, which have an arsenal of...

Inclusion: a cashless economy fights the poorest, not poverty

Payment tools which were, a few decades ago, reserved to the wealthy are now widespread, as banking and financial systems develop throughout the world. According to some, the development of electronic means not only warrants the termination of paper currency but would also enable further financial inclusion for impoverished masses. Yet, financial experts fear the potential backlash of such a theory, as recent examples have shown.

A cashless economy to root out theft and petty crime?

The prospect of making crime disappear has been addressed simultaneously with simply deleting other human woes, such as tax evasion and poverty, namely by economist Ken Rogoff. But just as going cashless would merely add more red tape to being poor, suppressing paper currency would do nothing to stymie crime. In fact, our increasingly cashless society has given birth to new, bigger, stealthier forms of crime.

A cashless economy as a bulwark against fraud and tax evasion?

It was Ken Rogoff’s most controversial theory: economies should ban cash in order to address tax evasion and place every single transaction on their radars. By doing so, the rich would no longer be able to hurdle suitcases packed with bills onto airplanes and fiscal justice would be resumed. But the theory has many holes.

The website "Cashless Economy" (cashless-economy.com) is edited by individuals and civil society groups fully committed to defending privacy and civil liberties against abuse and the risks inherent in a cashless society.

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