Canada is one of the world’s most cashless societies, with 62 percent of surveyed Canadians saying they are using less cash now compared to their spending before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The reasons for going cashless are easy to understand: it is quick, you never have to rummage around for exact change and digitized spending leaves a much smaller environmental footprint. Also, particularly in a pandemic, it reduces the touch points we all share.
But the move into cashless business has a big cost. A 2019 study showed that 17 percent of the UK’s population would “struggle to cope in a cashless society.” The Bank of Canada has been urging retailers to continue accepting cash as legal tender since May. And countries, like Sweden, are taking a serious look at how they can digitize the economy, without leaving many people behind in the process.
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The reasons for going cashless are easy to understand: it is quick, you never have to rummage around for exact change and digitized spending leaves a much smaller environmental footprint. Also, particularly in a pandemic, it reduces the touch points we all share.
But the move into cashless business has a big cost. A 2019 study showed that 17 percent of the UK’s population would “struggle to cope in a cashless society.” The Bank of Canada has been urging retailers to continue accepting cash as legal tender since May. And countries, like Sweden, are taking a serious look at how they can digitize the economy, without leaving many people behind in the process.
Read more