The pros and cons of going cashless

[harizen]

That's why I hope the government doesn't have plans to eliminate cash entirely.  It's fine if people choose to not use it, but I think it should remain available as an option.

As far as our government or my country as a whole is concerned, I truly believed cash won't be eliminated here.

Remote and isolated areas won't be able to ride the wave of this cashless transactions due to lots of factors and considerations. The same goes for other countries, especially in the so-called third world countries.

The cashless transaction will be heavily used while the world progress, no doubt about that. But I'm thinking even for a considered rich country, there is no way they can achieve a fully 100% cashless payment for at least within 10-20 years from now. The use of physical cash is hard to eliminate and not that simple to implement.

[1714548099]

1714548099

[1714548099]

1714548099

[TimeTeller]

That's why I hope the government doesn't have plans to eliminate cash entirely.  It's fine if people choose to not use it, but I think it should remain available as an option.

As far as our government or my country as a whole is concerned, I truly believed cash won't be eliminated here.

Remote and isolated areas won't be able to ride the wave of this cashless transactions due to lots of factors and considerations. The same goes for other countries, especially in the so-called third world countries.

The cashless transaction will be heavily used while the world progress, no doubt about that. But I'm thinking even for a considered rich country, there is no way they can achieve a fully 100% cashless payment for at least within 10-20 years from now. The use of physical cash is hard to eliminate and not that simple to implement.

A lot of areas can't go full cashless society because there will always be some parts that are not covered by internet or electricity.
And others just prefer to keep the traditional way of living even if modernization is in front of them.
Maybe for certain areas they can have a cashless society but not all can have that kind of lifestyle.
Just consider those that are living in rural or remote areas. They will still prefer the fiat payment over digital one.

[jademaxsuy]

Meaning that cashless should not be push through or become a mandate and instead it should be an option.  We do know that having physical money is effecctive on doing transactions to small business where most of them are requiring to the use of physical money. There is nothing wrong with if and since the time it was been created and up to now physical money is proven effective. No one can argue of its effectivity over its existence for long time. So, let the people to have the option of doing cashless or with physical money. This is way better than having absolute physcial money or cashless society.

[mk4]

Those are developing country and we’re slowly adopting the cashless transactions especially right now where almost all the transactions is through online because of the virus. Well, it may not completely happen but its ok as long as there’s a progress despite of corruption it can happen. Going  completely cashless is hard on the isolated areas, the physical cash will remain despite of the growing technology.

Sure, we're getting there slowly but surely. But definitely nowhere near going fully cashless for 3rd world and developing countries. Yes, even with COVID, simply because a lot of people can't even afford smartphones, and taking them out of the economy is pretty much economic suicide.

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

Meaning that cashless should not be push through or become a mandate and instead it should be an option.  We do know that having physical money is effecctive on doing transactions to small business where most of them are requiring to the use of physical money. There is nothing wrong with if and since the time it was been created and up to now physical money is proven effective. No one can argue of its effectivity over its existence for long time. So, let the people to have the option of doing cashless or with physical money. This is way better than having absolute physcial money or cashless society.

Being cashless has many advantages, especially in the middle of the pandemic that we can avoid getting physical contacts, and we don't need to wait in a long line, so we could pay our bills or buy goods. But being cashless should not be mandatory that it should be an option because not everyone in this world can afford to be cashless or buy smartphones and credit/debit cards. Also, going for 100% cashless is dangerous because we will be prone to hacking, and it would be tough for us to save our funds, that is why physical money would still exist for more than ten years or more.

[slapper]

Everything has 2 sides and nothing is perfect. The anonymity and our privacy have the price and if you don't want other people to steal your things, more money is needed. In my opinon, we wont have a cashless society in the next 20 years. It is really hard. Moreover, the world we are living in right now is kinda stable. Many people claim they can't handle the truth that there are still many people struggling for their life and daily needs. However, charts and scientists see the world with another perspective in which we are kinda stable. No war, no death.  Our medical system is working really well. The banking system is governing the monetary and its quite convenient.

Therefore, I hardly believe that we will have a cashless world in the next decade. Moreover, Is Cryptocurrency cash ?

[Eureka_07]

No war, no death.  Our medical system is working really well. The banking system is governing the monetary and its quite convenient.

No death? You mean no death for any various reason? Immortality?
Or you mean no death caused by wars? IMO, I am not believing that this world can achieve no wars. Just take a look how our current world is now.
Take a look how other countries bully others. Other countries that takes someone else land and sea.
It's unachievable unless all agree to a single treaty to remain peace at it's fullest. If this is broken by some country, then they should be punished.

Is Cryptocurrency cash ?

Cryptocurrencies is no way a cash, there's no any banks or entity that backs it up. You can call it a digital asset that you can trade.
But it is believed that cryptocurrencies can replace cash decades from now.

[Genemind]

We cannot eliminate the fact that cash is still essential even if being on a cashless society is way more convenient for everyone. In my country, not all establishments have another option of payment, you can only use cash. Examples of instances where cash is preferred are public transportation, establishments in isolated or rural areas, and not mention not everyone has access to the internet or means to use plastic money or pay online.

I believe both can exist without eliminating cash, either of them can be used as an alternative. There are instances that paying cash is more convenient than paying it online or credit/debit card.

[Mauser]

These are the coins

You may spend more
Data can be compromised
Privacy concerns are another consideration
Small transactions get tricky
Electronic methods aren’t perfect

The main problem I see if we were going completely cashless as a society is that we don't have a 100% control of your money. The cash at home or in your wallet can't be touched by anyone. So if the bank goes bankrupt all your cash might instantly be gone. Without a very good form of government protection on the banking sector the risk of losing all your FIAT money in a banking crisis is very high. Additionally the governement has a higher control over your cash too. If interest rates would be forced below 0% again you don't have the option to leave cash at home to not pay interest. You will basically have to pay (on top of your bank fees already) to leave cash at a bank. We are giving up control over our own money if we only use electronic payments.

[adzino]

https://www.moneyunder30.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-going-cash-free

Extra theft protection
You have options if a credit card is lost or stolen, or if an unauthorized person somehow accesses your online accounts. You can replace a card or cancel a payment. Credit card users are protected from fraud through the Fair Credit Billing Act.

Meanwhile, we’ve all lost cash at some point in our lives—and with no paper trail (or e-trail), missing cash can be tough to get back.

The above argument to me is not enough ground to be a pro because as much we lose our cash either to the wind, armed rubber, dropping from your pocket/pause to the floor or bank theft, we can also lose digital currency or coins without recovering.

Credit cards have extra theft protection because the amount of scams involved with digital/cashless transaction is too high. Credit cards can easily be misplaced and stolen.
And reversing your transaction isn't as easy as you think. It takes weeks to get back your money and sometimes your claims are rejected when you lack adequate proofs!
But yeah, the probability of getting back your missing cash is almost zero when compared to digital cash.

[Shasha80]

I am one of those who do not refuse going cashless transactions, but eliminating cash for payments is not a good idea.
Because some transactions are more suitable for using cash, after all, based on several articles I read cash and cashless
transactions there are advantages and disadvantages. So using both of them is the best way, especially in third world
countries cash money is needed.

[Upgrade00]

simply because a lot of people can't even afford smartphones, and taking them out of the economy is pretty much economic suicide.

Cashless transactions can be effected without a smartphone. Mpesa for example allows one to send and receive money by simply owning a SIM and a mobile phone (could be a 0G device). It runs at a rate of about 1200 tx/sec.
This service has been heavily adopted by a number of Africa countries especially kenya where it was launched and has expanded outside the continent.
Smart phone usage in Africa is growing rapidly but still limited. Lower grade or zero generation mobile devices are quite popular among the citizens and could be enough to support an economy.

[maydna]

With the growth of technology, people tend to use credit/debit cards to shop in a local store, but the local store still accepts paper money because not all people feel comfortable using credit/debit cards. The government itself still uses paper money and distributes it to the public, so people can still use paper money. But as we know, and many members said, there will be the advantage and disadvantages by using the paper money and cashless. But people still prefer to use paper money to buy in the local store.

[plvbob0070]

That's why I hope the government doesn't have plans to eliminate cash entirely.  It's fine if people choose to not use it, but I think it should remain available as an option.

As far as our government or my country as a whole is concerned, I truly believed cash won't be eliminated here.

Remote and isolated areas won't be able to ride the wave of this cashless transactions due to lots of factors and considerations. The same goes for other countries, especially in the so-called third world countries.

The cashless transaction will be heavily used while the world progress, no doubt about that. But I'm thinking even for a considered rich country, there is no way they can achieve a fully 100% cashless payment for at least within 10-20 years from now. The use of physical cash is hard to eliminate and not that simple to implement.

We have been using cash for so long that's why it will be hard to adopt a completely cashless economy. Just like what you have said, there are places that cannot adopt it since there's still a lack of technological advancement in certain places.

Even if cashless brings convenience, in some cases, it's more convenient to use cash that's why both can be useful for us depending on how we will going to use it. I don't think they will be eliminating cash even if the cashless method of payments becomes more rampant.

[ReiMomo]

We can't completely eliminate the cash transaction and turn into the cashless transactions.

During the pandemic situation, cashless transactions are extremely good to avoid transmitting the virus but the fact that not all people are good at using technology or even have an internet, or even others didn't comfortable using their debit/credit cards.

Both of them are useful, and both of them have different pros and cons. We should keep them all as also we have a secondary option in any transaction we have.

[NavI_027]

These are the pros

Extra theft protection

You didn't noticed but you contradict it on your list of cons . Always remember that no system is safe. Yes you can get rid off of pickpocketers/snatchers but hackers and scammers online are still present to haunt you. So whether you are into cold or digital cash, learn to keep your money safe.

These are the coins

You may spend more

What do you mean? Getting more tempted when you online shop? Or due to fee? If it's the latter part then I don't think it will hurt your pocket so bad.
Another con I could think of when it comes to cashless world is the literacy of the tech. Some people particularly the old ones can't comprehend how these stuff works. You know, exchanging paper money and coins are easier to do than clicking here and clicking there lol.

[bakasabo]

I've been using cards as an only payment method (at least I'm trying) for last 5 year and noticed several things.

Pros:

When I have cash - I spend more. All the time when I change a bill and get lots of coins, I'm trying to get rid of them, ie buying useless or unnecessary things.

All these coins turned my wallet into fluffy bun. It is ok to put this wallet into back pocket of jeans, but if you wear trousers or shorts - once you put such a wallet in a pocket, you need to a bit of luck to get it out. Or you could walk holding this fluffy bun in a hand. Which kinda look stupid, walking with a fat wallet in hand. Like I want to show "how rich I am" or "how much money I have".

Small wallet looks much better than fluffy bun.
I've changed this: to this (both pictures are just examples)

Cons:
Still, cards are not accepted everywhere.

[imstillthebest]

its funny that each of its pro's have an equal con's except to the transaction records . i found this extremely useful and it doesnt have a con i guess because when the transaction records is online , we can save it easily and we can comeback later to check it but this cant be done easily offline because we can misplace the records or the company can manipulate your records  .

that is why i starting to love being cashless   , do other users find that a reasonable thing to go cashless  ?

[bitcoinisbest]

That's why I hope the government doesn't have plans to eliminate cash entirely.  It's fine if people choose to not use it, but I think it should remain available as an option.

As far as our government or my country as a whole is concerned, I truly believed cash won't be eliminated here.

Remote and isolated areas won't be able to ride the wave of this cashless transactions due to lots of factors and considerations. The same goes for other countries, especially in the so-called third world countries.

The cashless transaction will be heavily used while the world progress, no doubt about that. But I'm thinking even for a considered rich country, there is no way they can achieve a fully 100% cashless payment for at least within 10-20 years from now. The use of physical cash is hard to eliminate and not that simple to implement.

We have been using cash for so long that's why it will be hard to adopt a completely cashless economy. Just like what you have said, there are places that cannot adopt it since there's still a lack of technological advancement in certain places.

Even if cashless brings convenience, in some cases, it's more convenient to use cash that's why both can be useful for us depending on how we will going to use it. I don't think they will be eliminating cash even if the cashless method of payments becomes more rampant.

Not everyone can go cashless as there are many who do not know this technology or cannot use it. The ones educated and who know and have all facility might be able to use it only for the things where the merchant accepts it. It is seen that not at everyplace every shop goes digital so there is various constraint for going cashless 100%. To an extent we can use it, but cash is still the king I would say as per the current situation what I have observed it.

[crwth]

It does apply to debit and crypto as well. Specially when you have enough funds stored  to your wallet or card. Unnecessary spending is inevitable when you have easier access to online shopping.

I think if you have no control over your spending, it would be easy for you just to check out everything that you set your eyes on. If you have control, you don't need to think about it too much and worry that you will purchase something. Imagine as well. If you are spending your crypto in a hardware wallet, it will make transferring funds a hassle, making it another obstacle to prevent you to pay. Maybe that could be an option for cashless peeps who are worried about their spending habits.