So much for cashless society: cash is gaining in popularity

[The Sceptical Chymist]

As the article you have linked states, paper currency is predominantly favored by the elderly. They don't trust banks, but it's not for the reason we don't trust banks.

Agree with you here, as I have elderly relatives who don't even use debit or credit cards.  Cash only.  But my relatives are a small sample size, and I've seen older folks in line using cards to pay for things (but never smartphones for some reason, heh heh).  I don't know if the reason is that they don't trust banks, though.  People in the US tend to have checking accounts and we haven't had a banking crisis boil over to the point where they're scared to keep money in them.  That might vary by country, of course.

I don't know if I believe this article at all.  In my daily life I don't see people clamoring for cash or using it exclusively at stores.  Nor can anyone use cash for online purchases, which are significant these days.  So I really don't think this is going to be a long-lasting trend if it is a trend to begin with. 

Me?  I like cash in my wallet just in case.  I live in an area where the power can go out from time to time, and stores have had their credit card machines down for hours in the past.  It's just smart to have some currency in your physical wallet.

[fullhdpixel]

   I wholeheartedly agree that the world may not be ready for a cryptocurrency as a store of value. Cash is way easier to handle for the common Joe's of society. The only way that I can see people running to cryptocurrency is for a major institution to introduce it to the public. I Don't like the fact that Libra is centralized but it may be the only hope for the entire world to be educated about crypto. I've always wonder how would I explain the concept of Block-chain and Bitcoin to my grandparents or the younger generation without putting them to sleep.
  Many people won't touch cryptocurrency period unless it has an institutional stamp of approval on it. The people that I do see adopting are the impoverished who have nothing to lose and tech enthusiasts. Libra could be that answer that get peoples feet in the water. Whether they decide to take the plunge is up to them, but at least their feet will be wet.

You really underestimating what can be achieved with Blockchain/Cryptocurrency.
it's very possible to bring millions of people to cryptocurrency in a short time. I believe some know this can be easily done but have some pity for governments. Any great developer who does not care could easily attract millions of people in a short time without breaking the law. 

Sentiment aside mate, it will really not work in this society for us to fully rely on cryptocurrency since they all have to solely deal with internet to operate, because like someone rightly said in one of the post I have seen in the forum, how would the children and the grandpas and grandma cope with the technology when they want to make payment for things, and you know that for a child to even develop to be able to use some of these things, he will get up to 16, while even a 5 years old child will be able to handle fiat.

No matter how technical the older ones was when they were young, there brain will stop carrying the tech when they are old. So we still cannot throw away cash completely like we all assume. It is still needed to be used along with the cryptocurrency.

[gantez]

and for total control of any society..

Talking about control here, I know that government still have control over digital transmission of cash but this can not be so with cryptocurrency or paper cryptocurrency as op called it. It can only be regulated for such acceptance to be like almost paper money whether it is left as cryptocurrency or paper cryptocurrency.

[Wysi]

The question of what the best store of value is, has gained in popularity lately. It appears the solution some have adopted is: paper money is the best store of value! The trend of holding paper money has traditionally been more common in nations like japan but appears to be spreading to the united states. It won't be long before the media publishes news stories about unfortunates storing paper bills under their mattresses only for their cash to be devoured by termites, ants or assorted insects. To "nudge" consumers away from that horrible, nasty, evil paper currency, towards a digital cash future.
All of which highlights a dire need for: paper cryptocurrency.

Paper money or fiat money can be getting more interest by a lot of people based on the cited statistics but these people can be wrong all because that fiat money is very much subjected to inflation, so at the end the store of value they are looking for may not be there at all. I would not argue that between a digital asset which we can't see, touch and examine and a fiat money which is, of course, tangible many people may choose the fiat one but this is because they do not know better. People who are educated with cryptocurrency already have a different mindset. Now, this means that there are still many people that cryptocurrency has not reached...and this is opening a bigger market for it to play and conquer. However, let me be clear that I do not believe that we need to eliminate the fiat money just because we are involved with cryptocurrency because the two can actually coexist peacefully and be complimenting each other.

As you have mentioned we cannot just talk bad about fiat just because we use cryptocurrency as there are group of people who will always use fiat regardless of the crypto growth as crypto is still an alien thing for a larger number of people and there are people who will use crypto as alternative for fiat to an extend and yes both can coexist peacefully as they serve similar purpose as a mean of transaction in day to day life. If we started talking bad or bad mouthing fiat then it will leave a negative impact on us and we will be at the losing end.

[exstasie]

Especially when everyone loves accepting cash (no fees or fraud).

It's rarely consideration for the small credit card fee or potential fraud which makes people more eager to accept cash and offer a discount on its use. It's almost always the ability to avoid declaring the trade for tax purposes.

Sure, tax evasion is another reason. I think you're wrong that it's "almost always" about that though. That notion just comes from this new school bias that anyone who uses cash is a criminal.

Every major gasoline distributor offers cash discounts. You think massive corporations like Chevron, Exxon, and Shell are hiding cash receipts from the IRS?

[bryant.coleman]

Digital cash is having a lot of advantages over physical cash. But at the same time, there are two things that I don't like about digital cash. First of all, the government and private agencies have been using it to track the spending habits of the individuals. For them, digital cash is just another weapon in the surveillance armory. And in many cases, they never care about the privacy of the individual.

Another issue is the high fees. Merchants are required to pay anywhere from 1.5% to 2.0% of the total amount to the payment processors, and this is one of the reason why many of the smaller merchants prefer physical cash over the digital form. Fund transfer is automated now and it involves no manual process. So I don't know why these processors continue to charge such high fee.

[hatshepsut93]

Cash as a store of value?  I suppose if you were to hold it for less than a year it wouldn't lose *that* much value, but inflation will still work its black magic and eat away at that cash's purchasing power. That doesn't sound like a great store of value to me.  

Well, people have been talking a lot about recession lately, and cash makes sense when it comes to surviving an economic crisis - banks can be forced to close, or bank accounts can be subject to confiscation, stocks and other assets will likely go down hard. Virtual commodities might be confiscated, or you might be required to be an accredited investor to trade them. Physical precious metals would be better than cash, but they are quite hard to get for average people. So, cash makes a lot of sense compared to other methods.

[Tylev]

in general cashless society is good for global government. easy to see all financial flows for export, import, purchases, taxes.
and for total control of any society.. but cash can allow you to be unnoticed ( for a time )
I think that current situation when both systems are in work - is perfect!

We gradually come to the conclusion that paper money is not so bad. Decentralized cryptocurrency attracted us primarily with its anonymity and confidentiality. With the passage of time and the spread of cryptocurrency around the world, the adoption and regulation of it by states, from its anonymity, little can be left. Cryptocurrency may become one of the most financially controlled financial settlement systems. So far, one thing is clear - it's too early for us to refuse cash. Any non-cash payments lead an ordinary person to complete control over his financial activities. Cash remains one of the most anonymous. However, everything is changing and improving. Let's see what will happen next.

[figmentofmyass]

Criminals, of course, are avid users of cash, but there’s no particular reason to think that their demand for it would have increased so much in the last decade. On the contrary, the advent of cryptocurrencies has provided them with a viable alternative.

there's another demographic being left out of this discussion: grey market industries where businesses can't get banking. the multi-billion dollar legal cannabis and hemp industries in the USA are soaring in demand, but they still operate mostly in cash because of existing federal regulations.

[beerlover]

Has anyone considered WHY cash is gaining popularity? Maybe if people actually worked on what was the reason then you would realize that it is a reason that helps bitcoin in general. It is actually gaining popularity because people are getting sick of banks, they are trying to find ways that is not bank related and cash is the best way.

In this day and age there are actually more people who hold all of their money in cash (withdraw all their money from banks) then any time in history since banks became popular after 1930's.

So, bitcoin can still carve a good chunk from this, people would be able to own their own money without any other middleman, banks basically hold your money and tell you that you can use it whenever you want, well if I have my own money in my own hand without anyone in between I can use it as well so there is no need for banks.

[BitHodler]

Me?  I like cash in my wallet just in case.  I live in an area where the power can go out from time to time, and stores have had their credit card machines down for hours in the past.  It's just smart to have some currency in your physical wallet.

Same here. I absolutely love the convenience that my debit card offers me where I can just tap my card on their hardware terminal to complete the payment in a second or two, but it relies on various factors to function.

I have been through situations where the payment processor the store uses was out, then another time there was no internet, then the hardware terminal didn't work. In all cases I was saved by using cash to directly pay with.

I do however notice that the stores in my area aren't too keen on holding much cash anymore for various reasons, which has been reason for them to promote paying by card instead of cash.

[deisik]

Has anyone considered WHY cash is gaining popularity? Maybe if people actually worked on what was the reason then you would realize that it is a reason that helps bitcoin in general. It is actually gaining popularity because people are getting sick of banks, they are trying to find ways that is not bank related and cash is the best way

I'm not sure if this is really so

Cash gaining popularity necessarily means less use of payment cards and other forms of cashless payments, but is there any real evidence to that effect? More likely, it is just people's resistance to further expansion of these payment methods ("the rise of the unbanked") that we erroneously and prematurely interpret as banks losing their ground. In other words, we may in fact hear more voices against banks but it may simply mean some people are not quite happy with cash being steadily ousted from circulation

[Obito]

Me?  I like cash in my wallet just in case.  I live in an area where the power can go out from time to time, and stores have had their credit card machines down for hours in the past.  It's just smart to have some currency in your physical wallet.

Same here. I absolutely love the convenience that my debit card offers me where I can just tap my card on their hardware terminal to complete the payment in a second or two, but it relies on various factors to function.

I just feel more safe whenever I have my physical money though. I have cards, debits and others but I usually don't use them whenever I am shopping for about a little. Or maybe I am just used to pay my bills in physical money. It is convenient to have my money in card but I am just using it online or if the service offer has to payed with card otherwise, I use my physical money. That is why may be cash is quite popular than digital currency?

[airdnasxela]

Cash is really the first option of almost everyone because we're used to it. We've been using it for a long time and it's hard to adopt to sudden changes that's why most people are still reluctant about crypto because why would they change their means of payment when they're already fine with the paper system. Everyone's accepting it so it's easy to transact. Even with no gadgets involved, you just have to give them the money and you'll receive your product. Although there are people or businesses who arr adopting different payment methods, it's just for innovation but they will stick with paper cash... If we want digital to be adopted, we should teach the younger ones so they can adopt while they're younf for the future

[Triffin]

Me?  I like cash in my wallet just in case.  I live in an area where the power can go out from time to time, and stores have had their credit card machines down for hours in the past.  It's just smart to have some currency in your physical wallet.

Same here. I absolutely love the convenience that my debit card offers me where I can just tap my card on their hardware terminal to complete the payment in a second or two, but it relies on various factors to function.

I just feel more safe whenever I have my physical money though. I have cards, debits and others but I usually don't use them whenever I am shopping for about a little. Or maybe I am just used to pay my bills in physical money. It is convenient to have my money in card but I am just using it online or if the service offer has to payed with card otherwise, I use my physical money. That is why may be cash is quite popular than digital currency?

It’s about the user if person is interested in using physical money so he will use physical money or he wants to use cards then he can buy we have another good option that named as crypto. It made out life good and reduce the use of physical money in our life. When ever i use crypto it makes me feel so good also save my time so yeah now society has become cashless.

[1Referee]

Physical precious metals would be better than cash, but they are quite hard to get for average people. So, cash makes a lot of sense compared to other methods.

Precious metals are something we all have in some form of shape.

I can't think of people around me who don't have some Gold or Silver jewelry. People don't directly relate that to money, but it obviously has weight to it, and when it has weight to it there is scrap value at the very minimum. The only thing is that in some cases people are emotionally attached to their jewelry pieces, but I think in cases of necessity, they'll be used as money.

In the end, it will all come down to what people find convenient and are used to use as money, which is cash. Governments have however started to slowly take the larger bill nominations out of circulation, which I expect to conintue until we are left with the most commonly used smaller nominations.