Cashless Economy

A new DNB study concludes that cash still plays an essential role in society. However, the necessary infrastructure is under pressure, which can have negative consequences for the accessibility and acceptance of cash as a means of payment. DNB has therefore commissioned a medium-term study and an advice on the cash infrastructure. The use of cash at points of sale has been falling for years. In 2012 it was still 60%, it had fallen to 32% by 2019, and, partly in response to the COVID-19 crisis, it plummeted to just over 20% in October 2020. Despite this downward trend it is important that...

The rapid shift to digital banking has hit charities and others who usually rely on the impulsive donation of spare change. But even adopting cashless technology might not help, explain Spencer M. Ross and Sommer Kapitan. Collectors for the Paralympic Games carried donation buckets ahead of the recent Santa parade in Auckland, asking for gold coin donations. Onlookers shrugged them off: “Sorry, no cash on me!” To the rescue, a charity volunteer waved a contactless “tap-and-go” machine that could connect straight to users’ bank accounts. But only a few people reached for their wallets to...

When it comes to becoming a smartphone-driven cashless society, China is really ahead of the pack – providing a blueprint for other countries to follow. You can do pretty much anything online in the country these days, from paying utility bills to buying plane tickets, and the coronavirus pandemic has only accelerated this trend. Businesses now use live-streaming to sell everything from fresh produce to cars. Evergrande, China’s largest property developer, has even developed an app to sell homes, which showcases flats using the latest virtual-reality technology and offers prospective...

The UK Public Accounts Committee has taken aim at attempts to create a cashless society, saying regulators have not only failed to ensure adequate access to cash for consumers and businesses but are also not doing enough to protect vulnerable groups and communities, particularly in rural areas, who most need to use cash. In a report issued last week, the committee said oversight of the production and distribution of notes and coins is “unclear” and “fragmented” across HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Payment Systems Regulator and the Bank of England. And those public...

Back in the summer, you probably noticed signs in stores asking you to pay with exact change because of a national coin shortage. The Federal Reserve even formed a Coin Task Force to address the problem. But it's December, and those signs are still posted despite efforts to get more coins rolling through the economy. For those of us who need nickels, quarters, dimes and dollars rattling around in our pockets, professor Jay Zagorsky of Boston University’s Questrom School of Business says the shortage underscores the broader implications of the move toward a cashless society. Many people...

THE UK Government must make it “absolutely clear” that cash should still be accepted in stores or start providing help to those who cannot use other payment methods. Several MPs have raised concern about the dwindling use of physical cash during the pandemic and it’s acceleration of the country into becoming a “cashless society”. Others, including those representing remote Scottish constituencies, said cash and cash machines were vital to their constituencies and would have severe consequences if no longer accepted. Read more

A controversial law that would have banned cash payments over $10,000 and imposed two-year jail sentences on people evading the ban has been killed in the Senate. But don't be surprised if the move to limit your legal use of cash is revived at some stage. The now-defunct law could return in some other iteration once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. On Thursday, following a motion moved by One Nation, the Senate officially dumped debate on the legislation, which has unofficially become known as the "cash ban" law. Officially it's called the Currency (Restrictions on the Use of Cash)...

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed so much of our lives, from the economic to the social. Rarely has it led to changes for the better. More often than not, it has exposed pre-existing vulnerabilities. That’s certainly the case when we look at the digital divide in Australia, and in particular how the shift towards digital payment platforms and contactless payments, at the expense of cash, has left too many Australians vulnerable and exposed during this crisis. The ‘digital divide’ refers to the degree that individuals can access both connectivity (most notably high-speed and reliable...

Is radio host and financial adviser Dave Ramsey scared about a cashless society? In 2020, an article warned about the dangers of a cashless society. The article was attributed to Ramsey and went viral on the Internet. When Ramsey speaks, millions of Americans listen. Ramsey’s radio program The Dave Ramsey Show airs on more than 600 stations and reaches about 13 million listeners every week. He has written many books and has a massive following on social media. As a result, the message about the dangers of a cashless society circulated widely. Many people see Ramsey as living proof that...