How long will it take banks to phase out physical cash completely?

[Ratash]

If they adopt the virtual cash system i am sure that people will turn out to it because unlike banks crypto is decentralized and goverments will no longer can take fees but it will be difficult to adapt world wide because in many countries there is network and internet isues so it will be a slow prosses

[oHnK]

Cashless is an easy way to control people

I couldn't agree more, behind the convenience and comfort felt by the community with cashlessness there is a nightmare of fully controlling money from the government when we carry out bad risk activities.  But if we live our life the right way, it's not a nightmare.  Unless you are doing money laundering, or doing illicit transactions, a drug dealer, your money will be easily detected.  But this won't happen any time soon I think.  Because changing ordinary things to new things, it will take a very long time even though there is an acceleration of this pandemic.

[deisik]

Cashless is an easy way to control people

I strongly agree, behind the convenience and comfort felt by the community with cashlessness there is a nightmare of fully controlling money from the government when we carry out bad risk activities.  But if we live our life the right way, it's not a nightmare

Well, then you may be in for a big surprise one day

Just because you think you take the path that the righteous choose, it doesn't automatically make it look that way in someone else's eyes. You know, the beauty is the eye of the beholder, as they say, and not only beauty, for that matter. Moreover, someone with sufficient mandate may specifically not like how righteous and good you and your actions are. The temptation is just too strong, up to a point where it doesn't really matter how good or bad your ways would be. To sum it up, it's only a matter of time till you fall prey to this cashless and equally ruthless system, innocent or guilty. Therefore, cash is the way to go (in addition to crypto, naturally)

[AndySt]

I couldn't agree more, behind the convenience and comfort felt by the community with cashlessness there is a nightmare of fully controlling money from the government when we carry out bad risk activities.  But if we live our life the right way, it's not a nightmare.  Unless you are doing money laundering, or doing illicit transactions, a drug dealer, your money will be easily detected.  But this won't happen any time soon I think.  Because changing ordinary things to new things, it will take a very long time even though there is an acceleration of this pandemic.

The problem is that government agencies are tempted to expand the very concept of illegal operations and it is unknown what wilds the rich imagination of lawmakers can lead to. Also, full control over money by the state leads to the second temptation, when you want to introduce new taxes and fees from the population, because there is constantly not enough money in the Treasury and this situation is chronic. Therefore, the proposed amenities may be followed by a fee after a while and there is no certainty that everyone will be very happy with this fee.

[deisik]

This is the mistake everyone makes. They assume that authoritarian government is good and it affects only those who are indulging in crime

It goes well beyond an authoritarian government

Even in the case of the most benevolent and libertarian government ever conceivable, that government would have to fight with criminal activities involving money in one or another way, e.g. money laundering. Mistakes are inevitable, but with a cashless system, any such would instantly put you on the brink of physical extinction. And I'm not speaking of someone's malicious intent to deliberately hurt you, even if for the sole reason they can and think it would serve you right

[Rebisco]

It will not happen because the goal of the banks is to print cash and spread it in order the economy to continue operate. The bankers are really against the idea of digital currencies because we should be aware that they are the one who controls the fiat money. Most of the cryptocurrencies are decentralized so there is no bank that controlling it; unlike the cash where banks can print many money as much as they can. It is really the free money because they are the one who are creating cash from just a piece of paper. Cashless society is possible but it will take many years because a lot of institutions and organizations are against with it.

[oHnK]

Moreover, someone with sufficient mandate may specifically not like how righteous and good you and your actions are. The temptation is just too strong, up to a point where it doesn't really matter how good or bad your ways would be. To sum it up, it's only a matter of time till you fall prey to this cashless and equally ruthless system, innocent or guilty. Therefore, cash is the way to go (in addition to crypto, naturally)

Isn't that just our bad guess to the government, you only conveyed the negative opinion.  If you are too afraid of the system created then there is something wrong behind it.  However, every policy taken I believe has been considered the pros and cons.  I'm also not sure if you only keep assets in the form of money.  There are many forms of investment that can be used to save large amounts of your money.  There are gold, stocks, bitcoin, other physical assets.  I am not the type of person who keeps assets in the form of money.  Maybe you are too, so don't worry too much.  What is the use of the law and law enforcement when there is an injustice?  The government is also our choice, so just trust our leaders.

The problem is that government agencies are tempted to expand the very concept of illegal operations and it is unknown what wilds the rich imagination of lawmakers can lead to. Also, full control over money by the state leads to the second temptation, when you want to introduce new taxes and fees from the population, because there is constantly not enough money in the Treasury and this situation is chronic. Therefore, the proposed amenities may be followed by a fee after a while and there is no certainty that everyone will be very happy with this fee.

I agree, with the cashless policy it can encourage the temptation of the government to do something like that, but the government has people we have chosen, and I still believe that with the term above, there is the most absolute government, namely "people's sovereignty" where we can continue to monitor anything.  policies made by the government on the impact of this cashless, and if the government starts to deviate a little, we can use our voting rights by taking to the streets.  Didn't none of the governments want demonstrations to happen?  it's a bad thing for a country if it happens a lot.

[deisik]

Moreover, someone with sufficient mandate may specifically not like how righteous and good you and your actions are. The temptation is just too strong, up to a point where it doesn't really matter how good or bad your ways would be. To sum it up, it's only a matter of time till you fall prey to this cashless and equally ruthless system, innocent or guilty. Therefore, cash is the way to go (in addition to crypto, naturally)

Isn't that just our bad guess to the government, you only conveyed the negative opinion.  If you are too afraid of the system created then there is something wrong behind it

I wouldn't call that a negative opinion

If anything, it should pass as a realistic one. And this is not about the government at all, either rogue or benevolent. In fact, it is more about the dark side of human nature as such, and the cashless option gives it a perfect weapon in the form of almost complete control of some people over the lives of other people. There is no "government" as something standing on its own. technically, it is just a bunch of people with authority, and to expect them to always act out of good will is extremely naive. The temptation to abuse this control would be too strong specifically because of its devastating power and effect. Cash, on the other hand, effectively solves this issue (along with crypto)

[oHnK]

I wouldn't call that a negative opinion

If anything, it should pass as a realistic one. And this is not about the government at all, either rogue or benevolent. In fact, it is more about the dark side of human nature as such, and the cashless option gives it a perfect weapon in the form of almost complete control of some people over the lives of other people. There is no "government" as something standing on its own. technically, it is just a bunch of people with authority, and to expect them to always act out of good will is extremely naive. The temptation to abuse this control would be too strong specifically because of its devastating power and effect. Cash, on the other hand, effectively solves this issue (along with crypto)

In fact, if the world is currently moving towards cashless, this process will take a very long time even though it has been accelerated due to the pandemic.  Even China itself, which has been using wechat pay and alipay for a long time, has not implemented a total cashless policy.  Currently we are only discussing the possible impact if cashless itself is implemented, even though that is far from being a reality.  It may be too naive to think of everyone as good, but not everyone is stupid, even though you are right that we each have our own way of defense and there will definitely be a way out for every bad thing that happens. (such as crypto, one of example of our defense way)

[abel1337]

It will not happen because the goal of the banks is to print cash and spread it in order the economy to continue operate. The bankers are really against the idea of digital currencies because we should be aware that they are the one who controls the fiat money. Most of the cryptocurrencies are decentralized so there is no bank that controlling it; unlike the cash where banks can print many money as much as they can. It is really the free money because they are the one who are creating cash from just a piece of paper. Cashless society is possible but it will take many years because a lot of institutions and organizations are against with it.

And it will never be happen, physical cash is equivalent to country's economy and currency, each country has their own paper money, own design, own denomination because it is also represent them so I think, each country can make their own coin or digital currency but they will not change the traditional way nor remove banks. they will upgrade the system but will not remove anything regarding to it.

[deisik]

It may be too naive to think of everyone as good, but not everyone is stupid, even though you are right that we each have our own way of defense and there will definitely be a way out for every bad thing that happens. (such as crypto, one of example of our defense way)

To think bad of people is a sin, but rarely a mistake

With that said, we mustn't forget to apply Hanlon's razor where applicable. It requires us to "never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity". As George Carlin put it, think of how stupid the average person is and realize half of them are stupider than that. In other words, the cashless system is far from being fool-proof (unlike cold hard nickels), and, as with any such system deployed on a large enough scale, some idiot will most certainly shoot somebody in the foot, and not necessarily himself

[mixerbtc]

I'd say at least a decade if crypto as we know it becomes mainstream.

[Abiky]

Cashless is an easy way to control people

If you do something wrong, or someone with authority thinks you do, they can easily turn your life into a nightmare by simply cutting you off of your money with a single press of a button. This is not possible with cash, and that's why there is such a mighty push from governments toward phasing out ready money. I'm not even saying about cases where no malicious intent is involved as cash is the only way to go if electronic payment channels get blocked (read, when you can no longer pay with your card or phone)

That's the point. Governments and central banks will do whatever it takes to rush the development of a CBDC in order to maintain control of the economy. Their intentions are to increase surveillance in order to undermine people's privacy. With a CBDC, governments will gain complete control over a person's finances. At least, you'd get a certain level of anonymity with physical cash. Once it's phased out, only crypto will remain as a an alternative for those looking for privacy. Even if mainstream governments take down centralized exchanges in their entirety in order to prevent people from acquiring crypto, the latter will survive due to its decentralized and open source nature. My guess is that after CBDCs replace physical cash in its entirety, crypto will be able to co-exist with it in an "underground manner" (meaning that people will use it under the scope of the government).

Considering how central banks and governments have announced the launch of a CBDC, increased government surveillance over the mainstream economy would be something inevitable. Let's see how this plays along in the next 5 to 10 years from now.

There's no "underlying blockchain network" with CBDCs. A CBDC is as centralized as any other digital fiat out there

Maybe. Either they create a centralized database which serves as the backbone of CBDCs, or simply use an existing blockchain network like Ripple (XRP) or IBM's World Wire Blockchain network (powered by Stellar). Many people believe the US will launch its own digital dollar using the XRP "blockchain" as its backbone. It's a much better approach to the Fed than re-inventing the wheel (by creating a new blockchain or centralized database from scratch). No matter how mainstream governments decide to launch their own CBDCs, there's no denying that this new kind of digital money will mimic physical cash (Fiat) in every way. Current stablecoins are simply precursors of CBDCs. With due time, CBDCs will be able to replace physical cash in its entirety as the new generation (young people) adopts them for their own benefit. Just my thoughts

[deisik]

Many people believe the US will launch its own digital dollar using the XRP "blockchain" as its backbone. It's a much better approach to the Fed than re-inventing the wheel (by creating a new blockchain or centralized database from scratch)

They don't need to reinvent the wheel

Today's money is already digital (apart from physical cash, apparently), which basically means they already have that "centralized database" in place and thus don't need to develop it from scratch. With that said, the Chinese central bank seems to have been developing their digital version of yuan from the ground up

Anyway, using someone else's design is not a good idea for a sovereign currency. Therefore, if a digital dollar is set to take off somewhere down the road, it will be their own design, that is to say, Fed's, not Ripple's or whoever else's. More or less, you can't outsource parts of your business which are vitally important for its long-term success

[crazy-pilot]

It will not happen because the goal of the banks is to print cash and spread it in order the economy to continue operate. The bankers are really against the idea of digital currencies because we should be aware that they are the one who controls the fiat money. Most of the cryptocurrencies are decentralized so there is no bank that controlling it; unlike the cash where banks can print many money as much as they can. It is really the free money because they are the one who are creating cash from just a piece of paper. Cashless society is possible but it will take many years because a lot of institutions and organizations are against with it.

You are right that cryptocurrency is extremely unprofitable for bankers, however, it exists, and continues to develop and spread more and more. What should bankers do in this case?
"If you cannot suppress the revolution, lead it." But it is too late to lead it, however, banks can still borrow a certain segment of digital assets, which means they will try to do it in any case.
How much this implementation will work for them is another question, but I doubt that they will do something stupid.

[Ayiranorea]

In comparison to the list of banks making everything with physical cash what we have in terms of cryptocurrency in circulation is very low in usage. Banks phasing out the usage of physical cash isn't a big thing, but every country or the functional governments won't agree on this. As the cryptocurrency related transactions will be anonymous government won't support on the same.

[Smartprofit]

It seems to me that the following question needs to be answered here - is it possible to live without currency in cash?  The answer is "Yes". 

In a big city, you can pay with bank cards without using cash.  Useless things disappear from circulation after about 5 years.  In fact, a huge number of things have disappeared lately.  Pagers, men's suits, men's ties, players, etc.  These things disappeared because people did not use them.  The same will happen with cash.  Covid-19 has only accelerated these processes. 

I think that by 2025 there will be no more cash in the world.

[deisik]

I think that by 2025 there will be no more cash in the world

No way it can happen in our lifetime

Unless some real shit hits the fan (and no, Covid-19 doesn't count as that) and we are using gold nuggets as money and clubs as weapons, the world will be where it is now as far as cash is concerned. Cash is extremely resilient, so even if 90% of all payments are cashless, the remaining 10% will be next to impossible to wipe out

[AndySt]

It seems to me that the following question needs to be answered here - is it possible to live without currency in cash?  The answer is "Yes".  
In a big city, you can pay with bank cards without using cash.  Useless things disappear from circulation after about 5 years.  In fact, a huge number of things have disappeared lately.  Pagers, men's suits, men's ties, players, etc.  These things disappeared because people did not use them.  The same will happen with cash.  Covid-19 has only accelerated these processes.  
I think that by 2025 there will be no more cash in the world.

Too bold a statement. Unfortunately, our home planet has a huge size and not all the population is concentrated in large cities, where you can really safely do without paper cash. Although I would also like to see how you will survive if banks block your cards due to force majeure. There are many places on Earth where the modern payment infrastructure has not reached, and the economic level of development of different countries is also different, so we can't talk about no more cash in 2025.

[Argoo]

It seems to me that the following question needs to be answered here - is it possible to live without currency in cash?  The answer is "Yes".  
In a big city, you can pay with bank cards without using cash.  Useless things disappear from circulation after about 5 years.  In fact, a huge number of things have disappeared lately.  Pagers, men's suits, men's ties, players, etc.  These things disappeared because people did not use them.  The same will happen with cash.  Covid-19 has only accelerated these processes.  
I think that by 2025 there will be no more cash in the world.

Too bold a statement. Unfortunately, our home planet has a huge size and not all the population is concentrated in large cities, where you can really safely do without paper cash. Although I would also like to see how you will survive if banks block your cards due to force majeure. There are many places on Earth where the modern payment infrastructure has not reached, and the economic level of development of different countries is also different, so we can't talk about no more cash in 2025.

Indeed, it is good to live in a big city, to have an apartment with all the conveniences and to argue that it turns out that you can do without cash.  Now I live in a big city, however, sometimes situations arise here where it is convenient and much faster to pay with cash.  A significant part of the rural population cannot do without them at all.  If they are removed, they will again be forced to switch to barter transactions.  No, we will still use cash for the foreseeable future.  And I don't see any reason to refuse them.  Those who do not want to use them, let them not use them.  This is his right, and it is not worth taking away the same right to use them from others.