How much longer until paper money is no longer in circulation?

[PrivacyG]

While digital money sounds like the future, I do not agree paper money needs to be phased out.  I get it.  There is so much more card usage today than there was before the Pandemic and a decade ago.  Technology itself has advanced like crazy in the past decade, let alone the past fifty years.  However, there are a few reasons paper money will NOT be phased out anytime soon.

Firstly, while we do have the fortunate access to technology, there are so many parts of the world that do not.  There are so many people living without access to technology and Internet.  This problem will be extremely hard to get rid of.  Maybe easier in the United States and part of Europe, but even there you still have issues since rural areas are still a thing.

Secondly, where there is population with access to technology, there are still a lot of 'boomers' who have no idea how to properly handle technology.  Put a thousand old people in a store in a country where autonomous paying machines (such as in stores in the United States & United Kingdom) is not the norm and have them all pay by card.  You will run into so many issues that would otherwise be avoided.  We likely need at least three to four generations to pass before technology becomes understood by the vast majority of people.  Cash is universally understood, digital is still not.

Thirdly.  Remember corrupt politicians are a thing.  As long as there is corruption, ways out for the corrupted will be necessary in our laws and procedures.  In consequence, whatever is an advantage for the Rich and for the corrupt politicians will continue to either exist in the same form or they will find a better or very similar alternative.  For example, cash is in many ways just as advantageous for them as Monero is.  My brain's logic says Monero would have otherwise been gone many years ago.

Last but not least.  Privacy is finally starting to become more or less a global concern.  This alone will HOPEFULLY be a reason digital will not become the actual norm.  Nobody can tell me a State's digital money has privacy.  This is one thing I know will never actually, truly exist.  Otherwise, the entire argument against Monero ultimately becomes worthless if the new digital currency has actual respect for the privacy of its users.

If I were to speak strictly based on what I think will actually happen.  Then I think they are going to only make it more difficult to use Cash.  This is already happening and will continue to happen until they are basically enforcing Credit Card usage instead.  Then, when enough citizens are using digital over physical, they can finally start a transition by slowly phasing out Cash.  This will however likely take many decades before becoming a reality.  Under today's circumstances, we can not make this transition.

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Regards,
PrivacyG

[Renampun]

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How long do you think it will take for paper money to be phased out for good?

replacing paper money is not a fast job, it requires great consideration, especially since many countries are still led by old-minded people. then the timing cannot be confirmed/difficult to predict (when will paper money be eliminated).

Will CBDCs be able to replace not only paper money but also credit/debit cards? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

CBDC and digital money will certainly be payments that are used en masse by people in the future, their use is very easy and the security will definitely be very strong because currently there are still many banknotes that can be counterfeited.

[NeuroticFish]

CBDCs will not replace fully the paper money. They just can't. And not all governments will issue CBDCs.
It will take more generations until paper money gets phased out, if ever. There are still many people who don't use technology, there are still many regions not covered with internet; those just cannot go without an offline currency.

That's what I've thought. But if governments are keen into pushing digital payments, then they're going to have to provide the necessary tools to make it happen. I believe the transition from physical to digital Fiat will be a slow one as not everyone is used to credit/debit cards or even in-app purchases. As you've said before, there are many people without access to the Internet. Not only that, but there are old people who don't like to use anything else other than paper money to pay for goods and services. Governments who issue CBDCs are going to have to experiment with it for a while before the transition is 100% complete.

Of course they're pushing it. Paper money needs printing almost continuously. There are always banknotes that get damaged and they'll get burned (or melted) and replaced with new ones. That costs money.
If they manage to reduce the amount of "paper" money needed to stay in circulation to half, they will save a lot of money from this cycle.

Then, obviously, digital money - no matte it's banks, visa or CBDCs - it's easy to track.
And, as we already know, CBDCs will probably also be easy to freeze or seize, giving governments even more power.

But, by the law (or possibly the constitution?), the government has to ensure each and every citizen has access to the money. And if internet and technology is not available.. phasing out paper money will be illegal/unconstitutional. Simple.

[DaNNy001]

For me I think it's far any longer because the one thing everyone should know about human is that humans always Find an alternative to change things around them and as well adapt to those changes so far as those changes will yield positive results

And crypto money seems to be the leading trend so its better for the banks to follow the moving train or stay left behind

Even country that have banned the use of bitcoin and all other crypto money will still swing it to this wonderful initiative is just a matter of time

[Cookdata]

There are talks among the world's major central banks to begin the creation of their own digital currencies (Central Bank Digital Currencies for that matter). The launch of Bitcoin, and the widespread popularity of "De-Fi", has led governments to act fast before they're left behind the game. They know they can't beat Bitcoin, so they will try to be in-par with it by launching digital currencies of their own. The average person won't notice any difference with the new digital cash system, as everything would be the same as using a credit/debit card.
I'm beginning to question whenever CBDCs will be able to replace paper money for good, or will it co-exist with the old system? After all, credit/debit cards didn't manage to replace paper money when they launched. For being in the 21st century, I'd say paper money should be phased out as soon as possible. Everything should turn digital, as we live in a digital society.

How long do you think it will take for paper money to be phased out for good? Will CBDCs be able to replace not only paper money but also credit/debit cards? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Apart from enabling cashless transactions in metropolitan areas, I still don't get what the CBDC is trying to achieve. It isn't anything like the Defi or Bitcoin blockchain ledger, it's just a more sophisticated cashless transaction that will still be impacted by paper money. While some nations are creating their own, others are already operational, and certain nations, like the US, are still opposed to doing so, I don't believe they will do so anytime soon.

In my opinion, CBDC won't function in rural areas and will only be useful in select metro areas where there is internet access. Additionally, I believe that some regions of the world will still use paper money in 50 years.

[justdimin]

Paper money will not disappear, although digital currency is very convenient, but you know that there are still many disabled people in the world (eyes, arms, hands, legs) who cannot use smartphones independently, and there are many places that do not have Internet, and they do not have Smartphones, they have no concept of digital currency, they think paper money is in their hands, which can give them a sense of security.

Paper money is already not that much in circulation to be honest. I always preferred cash over having any money in the banks, I dislike banks and using a digital one at that too, so I am trying to avoid banking world as much as I could but of course there many periods where I would have to use it, because any other way would be just too much overwork just to avoid it.

However, not many people think like that, and most of the money in the world is digital, not in the hands of the people which allows banks to continue. It is a century old known fact that if you tried to withdraw all of the money in the banks, then banks would collapse and not be able to pay, which shows how they are bankrupt to begin with.

[Fortify]

There are talks among the world's major central banks to begin the creation of their own digital currencies (Central Bank Digital Currencies for that matter). The launch of Bitcoin, and the widespread popularity of "De-Fi", has led governments to act fast before they're left behind the game. They know they can't beat Bitcoin, so they will try to be in-par with it by launching digital currencies of their own. The average person won't notice any difference with the new digital cash system, as everything would be the same as using a credit/debit card.

I'm beginning to question whenever CBDCs will be able to replace paper money for good, or will it co-exist with the old system? After all, credit/debit cards didn't manage to replace paper money when they launched. For being in the 21st century, I'd say paper money should be phased out as soon as possible. Everything should turn digital, as we live in a digital society.

How long do you think it will take for paper money to be phased out for good? Will CBDCs be able to replace not only paper money but also credit/debit cards? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

While the idea of blockchain currency seems ideal with the whole decentralized setup, we've seen that it is unfortunately too inefficient energy wise at the moment when there are already established payment networks like Visa or even Paypal which could potentially fill the gap of electronic currency payments in future. If the world were to shift over the cryptocurrency you would also need some mechanism to ensure that it was not vulnerable to the supposed 51% attack which it pretty hard to mitigate against unless you're using a centralized authority who can also interfere - thus removing an element of safety for people to use it as a store of value in future.

[Mahanton]

How long do you think it will take for paper money to be phased out for good? Will CBDCs be able to replace not only paper money but also credit/debit cards? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

No matter how far we would progress out but still paper fiat would really be still on existence and as long government exist then they wont really be letting these things to happen along the way.
We cant really deny the fact that fiat do really plays out a major role.It might be having its cons but lets just not set aside when it comes to its pros and benefits.
Paper money could be printed out but of course it would really be on a constraint or controlled manner which we know that inflation could really be an inevitable thing.
No matter how CBDC's would be that rampant in near future but still its hard to believe that fiat would really wiped out from existence.

[ingiltere]

In my opinion, paper money period will come to an end in the nearer future than we imagine. But in developing countries this will take a little longer, naturally. We may see a faster transition in developed countries. We already do most of our business with credit or debit cards, but there are still places where we have to use cash.
Countries don't want to lag behind in this race, but not every country is the same. For example, our local post office system still use cash here and there is still no option to pay by credit/debit card. How is it possible for the state to make this large-scale transition when such a state institution is not yet able to achieve this integration? There is time for this to settle all over the world, but we can definitely see this step faster in leading countries.

[Gyfts]

As long as the government chooses to have paper currency, there will be paper currency. If, on a whim, they choose to no longer deem paper currency as legal tender, then it will no longer be in circulation. It's really that simple -- when you choose to have the government be the sole fiduciary of the currency, they can dictate what form the currency exists in without any recourse from anyone.

As far as I've read, CBDC has no intention of replacing paper money, but CBDC issues digital money to give people choices about the type of money to use to make transactions easier. I think that paper and metal currencies will always be the main and legal currencies in transactions.

I disagree entirely. The government might tell you this, don't buy it. They're an institution that is motivated by self preservation. CBDC's will replace paper currency eventually. It'll most likely be used as a cudgel against BTC users.

[STT]

It doesnt especially matter at this point, the majority of currency circulated is never printed.  Discussing the impact of a declining trend to using paper notes is not that influential to the movement of cash.   Some people prefer it but its already seen as suspicious to only deal with cash even when the business operated is specifically cash only and those people have to be careful when handling large amounts of cash due to its rarity to do so.

[Yatsan]

Decades,I guess.
Online payments have emerged, but fiat still has its physical form. I doubt that it would be cryptocurrencies to replace its physical form, but rather fiat as online payments. Like how other people or users in this forum have mentioned, there is always a higher tendency for crypto and fiat to co-exist in the economy, than cryptocurrency alone because of regulation issues. We cannot force it because this industry has a different nature than typical currencies being used on a daily basis.

In my opinion, paper money period will come to an end in the nearer future than we imagine. But in developing countries this will take a little longer, naturally. We may see a faster transition in developed countries. We already do most of our business with credit or debit cards, but there are still places where we have to use cash.
Countries don't want to lag behind in this race, but not every country is the same. For example, our local post office system still use cash here and there is still no option to pay by credit/debit card. How is it possible for the state to make this large-scale transition when such a state institution is not yet able to achieve this integration? There is time for this to settle all over the world, but we can definitely see this step faster in leading countries.

But look on governments' end; why would they use a sydtem of currency which will prohibit them to tract the transactions given that it is blockchain we are talking about? That's why I see blurry vision of this one. However things are subjectfor changes as long as there is a progressive development in general.

[wmaurik]

For me I think it's far any longer because the one thing everyone should know about human is that humans always Find an alternative to change things around them and as well adapt to those changes so far as those changes will yield positive results

Changes in the environment are something that is always bound to happen, but for a change with the issue of paper money to digital money it obviously takes a long time to change because each country needs to make regulations and financial systems that are more different than usual even though it is to goals that are more beautiful, easier and also more advanced in a positive direction.

And crypto money seems to be the leading trend so its better for the banks to follow the moving train or stay left behind

Even country that have banned the use of bitcoin and all other crypto money will still swing it to this wonderful initiative is just a matter of time

Countries that prohibit Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies I think it's more of a prestige because basically the country itself also knows that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are more advanced and favored by many people, so that some countries may want to hinder the progress of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but unfortunately it didn't work because now there are more countries that like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

[Natalim]

There are talks among the world's major central banks to begin the creation of their own digital currencies (Central Bank Digital Currencies for that matter). The launch of Bitcoin, and the widespread popularity of "De-Fi", has led governments to act fast before they're left behind the game. They know they can't beat Bitcoin, so they will try to be in-par with it by launching digital currencies of their own. The average person won't notice any difference with the new digital cash system, as everything would be the same as using a credit/debit card.

I considered this as a sort of currency development but never I think this will put an end to fiat money(cash).
I understand the situation that we need to adopt and make changes to a new one as it seems to be more suitable in this current era. However, we can't just simply reject fiat for not using it as for sure the central banks don't do that but just consider this as another alternative currency like crypto.

 - cash, digital currency, cryptocurrencies -they exist for the seek of living comfortably, and have no way to rid of any of them unless they are not useful anymore.

[Smartvirus]

I'm beginning to question whenever CBDCs will be able to replace paper money for good, or will it co-exist with the old system? After all, credit/debit cards didn't manage to replace paper money when they launched. For being in the 21st century, I'd say paper money should be phased out as soon as possible. Everything should turn digital, as we live in a digital society.

Have the world come to that level of technology yet? I greatly doubt that if you would ask me. We might have come by a high level of technological advancement but, there are parts of our world where technology is yet to penetrate and even at that, networks are not fairly constant in all areas and completely lacking in other areas. The best that could happen is a coexistence of both fiat's and the CBDCs rather than a replacement, same goes for cryptocurrencies.
The fact that, the government's of the world are taking a page out of cryptocurrency developments makes it a good thing but, thy should be OK the part of providing alternatives rather than trying to eliminate. That chance of choosing by the masses should be there and people would definitely pick rather than forcing it on the masses.

[dezoel]

I think there’s no question that eventually we will all move away from metal and paper money, but as for why this move is made or what’s all involved, not sure. I think eventually, whether it is including bitcoin or cryptocurrencies or not, we are likely to use something like our finger or eye ball scans that will then link to our bank accounts/credit cards/cryptocurrency etc.  Or something like this, but I think it’ll be at least another hundred years until something like this comes to fruition.

That's impossible for them to disappear and then the currency will transfer digitally because not all times there are internet and there's also blackouts or power interruptions which can interfere our use of digital currencies. The internet is not new and there are digital payment methods have been invented even before but as of now, there are still physical versions of money.

If there are any changes then that would be their appearance. Elon is now working on that thing you are talking about but many people are scared of that. This is what the conspiracy are saying that humans are slowly turning into robots or we are going to be replaced by ai's soon.

[Vaculin]

How long do you think it will take for paper money to be phased out for good? Will CBDCs be able to replace not only paper money but also credit/debit cards? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

CBDCs will not replace fully the paper money. They just can't. And not all governments will issue CBDCs.
It will take more generations until paper money gets phased out, if ever. There are still many people who don't use technology, there are still many regions not covered with internet; those just cannot go without an offline currency.

Paper money is here for good, digital currency will only be a complement to the existing paper money. And to think that not all areas have good internet connection, so digital currency will not very useful as most people will still prefer to use the paper money that they have lived for. And I guess even if the whole world gets fully digital, paper money will always remain as the main currency, and CBDCs will always be an option or a second form of currency.

[eightdots]

We assume that what we accept, the world will accept. I am like this myself. This thought deceives us. I think this transformation will take time. I assume this can only happen when the current young population gets older. Today's old people can't keep up with innovations. Among the reasons for this, there are also points on which they are right. They consider the possibility of being safe or bad. Paper money will be in circulation longer. Even the thought of removing paper money from circulation may take a long time to settle down.

[Mauser]

How long do you think it will take for paper money to be phased out for good? Will CBDCs be able to replace not only paper money but also credit/debit cards? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

That's a really difficult question to answer because the world is so divided when it comes to cash and using credit cards. When I look at my grandmother who is above 90 I don't see any chance to remove cash for her. She only uses cash which my uncle withdraws from the bank for her, she never even made a bank transfer, everything is done for her by either the bank clerk or in our family. For her there is only cash, very similar to my parents. They do have bank cards, but rarely use them. It's hard to keep track of their finances they say and want to stick to cash. We even had online banking setup for them in the past, but they kept forgetting their login details and never use. So based on my own family I can tell there is no way that cash could disappear in the next 30 years. Any political party that would start removing cash from the economy will be gone by the next ejections. After 30 years things could be different, once our generations are in retirement age I am use we could live without cash.

[justdimin]

For me I think it's far any longer because the one thing everyone should know about human is that humans always Find an alternative to change things around them and as well adapt to those changes so far as those changes will yield positive results

Changes in the environment are something that is always bound to happen, but for a change with the issue of paper money to digital money it obviously takes a long time to change because each country needs to make regulations and financial systems that are more different than usual even though it is to goals that are more beautiful, easier and also more advanced in a positive direction.

I think nations like USA didn't have any problems to regulate it, so was UK and Germany, because they trust their own currency and know that they are going to be fine. Sure dollar, euro, sterling all dropped in value, that is not a secret and it is true but even with that in mind there isn't really that many other currencies in the world which are as valuable as these three, can you name a fourth one that you would like to have instead?

I wouldn't want Ruble or Yuan, which are the closest to them, and all others are lower by far. So all in all, the nations with strong currencies, or to be more precise the currencies with no problems, ended up with regulations instead of banning it, and nations with high inflation and low valued currency ended up with bans right away.