Is Cash (Paper Money) Still King?

[Fiasem20]

In my own opinion paper money isn't useless rather it's useful and purposeful.In our day life we use paper cash for daily transactions,the old people are not exposed to digital payment all that,they believe they might be duped if they accept digital payment option for instance fake alert,so the old people accept physical cash for a successful transaction,on the other hand they're not exposed to digital payment.In many Africa countries,paper cash is still king.The use of digital payment wasn't common all that,it became rampant when COVID-19 lockdown and self-isolation was announced across the world.In Nigeria during the cashless policy era, digital payment was the only alternative for people to purchase goods and services online.In my country I don't think the CBDC(eNaira) issued by central bank is used effectively by her citizens because many Nigerians are not even aware that the central bank has launched it's digital cash.
Digital payment has enormous benefits,it can be used as an alternative during pandemic and lot more.It can also be used to purchase goods and services across the globe.The use of crypto as a digital cash also served alot more purpose during the COVID-19.To me it wouldn't appear strange if paper cash isn't king because the world is evolving.

[sokani]

Digital payments seem to be in the rise lately. More people are abandoning paper money (cash) in favor of credit/debit cards, and even crypto. Paying with cash is a rarity these days. Especially where I live. I'm beginning to wonder if cash is still King. Countries worldwide are already planning to launch CBDCs of their own. So cash's days are numbered. Am I right?

Feel free to share your thoughts. Thanks.

It's the same where I am, physical cash has lost the battle of dominance to digital payments and the government played a crucial role to make this happen. I guess the cost in printing cash is the main reason why they championed the use of digital payments. According to data by the central bank, over the years, they've continuously cut the cost for printing cash. Thus, printing fewer cash and also making policies to foster the use of digital payments which has paid off. Now, people don't really carry cash around, they mostly use bank transfers, credit/debit cards and crypto assets to pay for good and services.

[Woodie]

Cash remains king unfortunately because with our digital payment platforms so many factors prove to threaten them such as internet outage,  hackers getting what isn't there's,  device malfunctioning and living you stranded unlike cash which is based on what you see is what you get...and based everyone knows money talks which is why even in the business world cash discounts exists because it's the respect given to cash

[fullhdpixel]

Is the world still a place with CBDCs, the last I read a headline about it was in 2023. I'm not really sure if CBDC is the reason why we are going digital but policy changes are making business go digital. Last year, my country was trying to go cashless policy because the government was trying to mop the floor of the too many circulation of money supply but that didn't last upto 3 months before it was reverse as many people couldn't cope with the policy.

However, the government saw a huge influx of digital transactions it has not experienced in many years, till now some business are still doing digital transactions and also accept fiat as alternatives for people that don't have means to digital. The government abandoned the policy simply because they were not prepared for other people, like the people without internet access, it was disastrous for them. Not everyone can digital at once.

There are still a lot of places that are working on it, UK is doing it too. Plus, it is something that will end up working very well for most people, it is going to end up being quite good, there shouldn't really be anything that will take a long time, it's something that will take time and we can do this.

Also we need to realize that governments could make so much money from this and that has to be the key point here, because they know that it's great situation and that has to be the reason they are so interested in making more money and taking more money, that has to be the most important situation. WE need to realize that governments are all interested in making it as big as it gets and that's the trouble so it has to be the key.

[Antotena]

There are still a lot of places that are working on it, UK is doing it too. Plus, it is something that will end up working very well for most people, it is going to end up being quite good, there shouldn't really be anything that will take a long time, it's something that will take time and we can do this.

Also we need to realize that governments could make so much money from this and that has to be the key point here, because they know that it's great situation and that has to be the reason they are so interested in making more money and taking more money, that has to be the most important situation. WE need to realize that governments are all interested in making it as big as it gets and that's the trouble so it has to be the key.

UK is advance country where everyone are running to because of the development, there are some countries where half of the population don't have access to internet and it's not like the government isn't ready to implement them, some are just backward despite how things has advanced. Remember that the internet service providers only take masks and cables to the places where internet demand are, they don't waste resources where they will not make money.

The digital payment system is what the government can benefit very well because right now in my country, the government is making billions of revenue in average as they charge VAT for any incoming transactions, this is what they make daily from people that are not even upto half of the population. I can only imagine how big they will make from this if the entire country go digital, that's a huge revenue generation.

[tygeade]

Go to any local supermarket and see which currency they are completely comfortable with. It is always cash and will be cash for at least a hundred years in the future. Digital payments have go up but it still uses the same fiat currency in the background - just that the payment method is easier and you would not need the cash physically.

In such situations bitcoin is least known in some countries but might be popular in few, but it is not so in some. Things might change in future, but we only represent a small subset of the world's population.

Duh. Old people often use cash to pay at a supermarket. It would be dumb to avoid cash payments altogether. A full transition into the digital era is going to take a little longer than expected. Young people are already used to making digital payments, so cash's days are numbered. This is the future.

What concerns me is CBDCs' lack of privacy. Luckily for us, there will be alternatives to help us resist government surveillance. I wonder what will criminals use once cash goes extinct? Monero or physical gold/silver coins? If there's no Internet or power, the last choice would be best. I guess privacy and freedom will win after all.

I think we are going to end up with cash still being used for a lot of years, like probably few decades at least. We are not really at a period where we can get rid of it all together. However, it's also true that there are some places now that started to not accept cash, which is rare these days but it has started, and those old people who can only use cash, can't use those places anymore, but most of the time it is just some hippie cafe or something, so not like they are going there anyways, it's clear that we are not really seeing that just yet.

But if that grows, with time, in a decade or two, we could see majority of places not accepting cash, because there is no benefit of accepting cash, we are going to end up with cards paid all over.

[davis196]

Digital payments seem to be in the rise lately. More people are abandoning paper money (cash) in favor of credit/debit cards, and even crypto. Paying with cash is a rarity these days. Especially where I live. I'm beginning to wonder if cash is still King. Countries worldwide are already planning to launch CBDCs of their own. So cash's days are numbered. Am I right?

Feel free to share your thoughts. Thanks.

Paying with cash might be a rarity where you live, but using cash is totally normal where I live. Actually, cash still dominates small financial transactions in my country.
I no longer make a difference between digital fiat money and paper fiat money. They are all fiat money, so it doesn't matter if you are going to use digital fiat or paper fiat.
The topic about CBDCs has been discussed multiple times and so far I haven't heard anything about a "digital dollar CBDC" being launched(or a "digital euro CBDC"). China probably launched a digital yuan CBDC, but I haven't noticed any news about that lately.
I think that CBDCs won't change anything that much and cash would still be used for payments in the next 5-10 years.

[GigaBit]

During Covid 19, the circulation of paper money in the world had decreased massively. At that time, people learned about the harm that can be caused by using paper money. At that time, most financial institutions advised digital transactions. Through digital transaction on the one hand  people can complete transactions quickly , and on the other hand, the convenience of transferring the required amount of money within a few seconds also pushes the entire world towards digital payments. Although some people still consider paper money is to be the most suitable for transactions. But, this kind of thinking will change with time.



Central banks are trying to use digital currency along with paper money so that people gradually start using digital currency. In the meantime, the use of paper currency has decreased significantly in almost every country in the world. Central banks of many countries are creating digital currencies and encouraging to use it. Using this currency will also help reduce the cost of creating paper currency in banks.

If Bitcoin is accepted for digital transactions, it seems to be the most suitable. Because every bank can not provide the high security. Central banks are creating digital currencies, but the general public is not interested in it because they do not use the digital currencies of those central banks, they consider it the safest to use currencies like Bitcoin.

In the meantime, several major countries have launched central bank digital currencies such as China, Japan, Sweden, the European Bank, the Bank of England and many others, but in the long run, the general public will support bitcoin as a digital currency.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/cash-will-soon-be-obsolete-will-america-be-ready/

[coupable]

Cash remains king unfortunately because with our digital payment platforms so many factors prove to threaten them such as internet outage,  hackers getting what isn't there's,  device malfunctioning and living you stranded unlike cash which is based on what you see is what you get...and based everyone knows money talks which is why even in the business world cash discounts exists because it's the respect given to cash

In addition to being a store of value in itself, cash is also a tool for achieving a public exchange system. Despite all the complexities that make the cash payment system a great risk, it is still one of the safest methods, especially in all peer-to-peer transactions. Cash will remain one of the most important and effective means of payment because it provides features and advantages that current payment systems (except Bitcoin) cannot provide. Currently, all transactions in the black market are done in cash (or cryptocurrencies) because it is difficult to track the movement of money.

[Abiky]

I think we are going to end up with cash still being used for a lot of years, like probably few decades at least. We are not really at a period where we can get rid of it all together. However, it's also true that there are some places now that started to not accept cash, which is rare these days but it has started, and those old people who can only use cash, can't use those places anymore, but most of the time it is just some hippie cafe or something, so not like they are going there anyways, it's clear that we are not really seeing that just yet.

But if that grows, with time, in a decade or two, we could see majority of places not accepting cash, because there is no benefit of accepting cash, we are going to end up with cards paid all over.

I doubt plastic debit/credit cards will survive. Everything will be virtual in the new digital realm. In the future, we will only be dealing with digital currencies and commodities. Even Gold will be tokenized on a Blockchain network controlled by custodians. It will be a future where you won't truly own anything. Something like what streaming services do today. They let you enjoy the digital content (whenever it's games, music, movies, etc), but you won't have true ownership of it (intangible). Same as government-backed digital currencies (CBDCs).

I sure hope we have a physical alternative to cash (coins and paper money) for true privacy and freedom. Maybe Monero (although not physical) will be all we need to achieve this? Not even Bitcoin will work, because of the way it's designed (transparent public ledger). We're "lightyears" away before a full-fledged cashless society takes place, so there's nothing to worry about.

[Yeesha]

Cash (paper money) is still the king and it will always be. Because it is the traditional currency that has been in existence for many years now. Cash, or paper money, has long been the dominant form of currency, given its traditional role spanning many years. However, its importance is declining with the growth of mobile wallets, as digital payments become increasingly popular. Despite this shift, it's unlikely that digital payments will completely eliminate the existence of fiat currency, cash, or paper money. Digital currency will not be able to replace fiat currency entirely. I will be the happiest person if both digital currency and fiat currency continue to exist (coexist) as they are now, because both cash or paper money and digital currency have their advantages, and the disadvantages. moreover is not everybody that understand how to operate technology talk less of knowing the existence of digital currency.

[Ever-young]

Digital payments seem to be in the rise lately. More people are abandoning paper money (cash) in favor of credit/debit cards, and even crypto. Paying with cash is a rarity these days. Especially where I live. I'm beginning to wonder if cash is still King. Countries worldwide are already planning to launch CBDCs of their own. So cash's days are numbered. Am I right?

Feel free to share your thoughts. Thanks.

Cash is more like beginning to look like old-fashioned something to me if you ask me. Here, unless for transportation fees and other little payments that require little cash, I barely work out with cash in my pocket or wallet. I prefer making payments with bank transfers or using debit cards; it's easier for me and more convenient.
 
This all started when my country started their cashless policy thing during the time for our local currency redesign; getting cash became something of a stress, and we just started normalising carrying out transactions without the need for that cash. After all, at the end of the day, those business owners will want to go and deposit the cash into the bank, so what's the need when you can skip some steps?

[tygeade]

I doubt plastic debit/credit cards will survive. Everything will be virtual in the new digital realm. In the future, we will only be dealing with digital currencies and commodities. Even Gold will be tokenized on a Blockchain network controlled by custodians. It will be a future where you won't truly own anything. Something like what streaming services do today. They let you enjoy the digital content (whenever it's games, music, movies, etc), but you won't have true ownership of it (intangible). Same as government-backed digital currencies (CBDCs).

I sure hope we have a physical alternative to cash (coins and paper money) for true privacy and freedom. Maybe Monero (although not physical) will be all we need to achieve this? Not even Bitcoin will work, because of the way it's designed (transparent public ledger). We're "lightyears" away before a full-fledged cashless society takes place, so there's nothing to worry about.

That's true also, I mean I was talking about how people are using their card these days a lot more, and yes cultural differences do apply, like some places are more technologically advanced and just use their phones, which started here too and some places does that, but in the end, we are talking about a situation where it was cards that first take the cash away, now it's the apps that are taking the card away.

So you are right that soon enough, we will not even carry anything extra. That's what these smart phones do, we no longer need a watch, we no longer need a calculator, no need for anything for music, obviously no need for a camera, and soon enough we are going to end up with no need for anything more at all. Phones take care of everything.

[Abiky]

Cash is more like beginning to look like old-fashioned something to me if you ask me. Here, unless for transportation fees and other little payments that require little cash, I barely work out with cash in my pocket or wallet. I prefer making payments with bank transfers or using debit cards; it's easier for me and more convenient.
 
This all started when my country started their cashless policy thing during the time for our local currency redesign; getting cash became something of a stress, and we just started normalising carrying out transactions without the need for that cash. After all, at the end of the day, those business owners will want to go and deposit the cash into the bank, so what's the need when you can skip some steps?

Yes. Cash is old-fashioned. But it's the best thing around for making private, free, and instant payments. When there's no electricity or Internet connection, Cash comes to the rescue. You can't use crypto, credit/debit cards, or even CBDCs when the infrastructure is down. Even Gold and Silver prove to be useful as "hard money" you can use offline. Unless the aforementioned problems are solved, don't expect cash to go anywhere soon.

That's true also, I mean I was talking about how people are using their card these days a lot more, and yes cultural differences do apply, like some places are more technologically advanced and just use their phones, which started here too and some places does that, but in the end, we are talking about a situation where it was cards that first take the cash away, now it's the apps that are taking the card away.

So you are right that soon enough, we will not even carry anything extra. That's what these smart phones do, we no longer need a watch, we no longer need a calculator, no need for anything for music, obviously no need for a camera, and soon enough we are going to end up with no need for anything more at all. Phones take care of everything.

In the distant future, using smartphones for digital payments will become a thing of the past. Everyone will be using implants to buy items at the store. Sounds creepy. But this is where the world is heading into. I wouldn't worry about this for a long time, though.

[dezoel]

Cash remains king unfortunately because with our digital payment platforms so many factors prove to threaten them such as internet outage,  hackers getting what isn't there's,  device malfunctioning and living you stranded unlike cash which is based on what you see is what you get...and based everyone knows money talks which is why even in the business world cash discounts exists because it's the respect given to cash

In addition to being a store of value in itself, cash is also a tool for achieving a public exchange system. Despite all the complexities that make the cash payment system a great risk, it is still one of the safest methods, especially in all peer-to-peer transactions. Cash will remain one of the most important and effective means of payment because it provides features and advantages that current payment systems (except Bitcoin) cannot provide. Currently, all transactions in the black market are done in cash (or cryptocurrencies) because it is difficult to track the movement of money.

I am not so sure about that, while that was true years ago, these days everyone is happy with the method they have, and do not really feel the need to use cash at all, I am not saying nobody will use it, of course they do use it, but that doesn't mean that we are dealing with something that would be simple to handle or anything that makes sense. I can see how this could be a different situation and I can see how this could be in a way make a lot more sense to people as well.

So we need to consider this to be a different situation we are in, and we need to consider how people could approach this subject a lot better as well. If you think cash is king, then cash is your king, but if I think cash is useless then it is not my king. We can literally build a life around both sides, you can use cash and it's rare you find places that won't take cash, and I can build a life around credit card, and it would be unlikely to see a place that doesn't take it, so it's both valid.

[JB_F]

Of a truth, cash is gradually fading away. Cryptocurrency will soon replace money as a means of exchange and transactional purposes.

However, it's going to take some efforts from government of various countries to achieve this careless economy.
This is because there are some countries that are still very backward in internet services. Such countries will continue to use cash to do their transaction.

Nevertheless, it's going to be achieved some days.

[coupable]

Cash remains king unfortunately because with our digital payment platforms so many factors prove to threaten them such as internet outage,  hackers getting what isn't there's,  device malfunctioning and living you stranded unlike cash which is based on what you see is what you get...and based everyone knows money talks which is why even in the business world cash discounts exists because it's the respect given to cash

In addition to being a store of value in itself, cash is also a tool for achieving a public exchange system. Despite all the complexities that make the cash payment system a great risk, it is still one of the safest methods, especially in all peer-to-peer transactions. Cash will remain one of the most important and effective means of payment because it provides features and advantages that current payment systems (except Bitcoin) cannot provide. Currently, all transactions in the black market are done in cash (or cryptocurrencies) because it is difficult to track the movement of money.

I am not so sure about that, while that was true years ago, these days everyone is happy with the method they have, and do not really feel the need to use cash at all, I am not saying nobody will use it, of course they do use it, but that doesn't mean that we are dealing with something that would be simple to handle or anything that makes sense. I can see how this could be a different situation and I can see how this could be in a way make a lot more sense to people as well.

So we need to consider this to be a different situation we are in, and we need to consider how people could approach this subject a lot better as well. If you think cash is king, then cash is your king, but if I think cash is useless then it is not my king. We can literally build a life around both sides, you can use cash and it's rare you find places that won't take cash, and I can build a life around credit card, and it would be unlikely to see a place that doesn't take it, so it's both valid.

People generally do not pay attention to the details of changes because they happen in stages and it is a long procedure to change the pattern of dealings from one approach to another with the accumulations that occur over a certain period of time that may be long so that people absorb the change without noticing the difference. For example, countries in the Eurozone that did not agree to change their currency to the Euro (Switzerland and Britain) accepted at the same time that the Euro would be traded as a recognized currency in parallel with the local currency. This is the reality that no one can change in a short time.

[LETme]

Well cash retains its dominance in many parts of the world due to stability and universal acceptance, while in my opinion cryptocurrency is rapidly gaining traction as a futuristic alternative. Its decentralized nature, potential for financial inclusion, and technological advantages make it appealing, particularly in the digital economy. The choice ultimately depends on individual needs, technological infrastructure, and regional preferences. As the world moves toward digitalization, crypto is poised to challenge cash’s throne, but for now, cash remains the king in traditional transactions.

[HajiBagi]

in my opinion it is still excellent because paper money is the main payment tool in each country. And regarding digital payments in every public transaction, it is felt that it is done in every purchase, both in a small amount of payment and a large amount of payment.

Many conveniences are obtained by digital payments. The most prominent convenience that is recognized by many people is no need to carry a leather wallet or a mixture that makes pocket pants thick.
Then far from begal. I personally also very often make digital payments including through the Qris.

Cash will always be king no matter how things change, there are some things that you can't do without cash, although some people don't like cash payment, it is still the best, digital money is a modern-day payment method that makes everyone understand more about technology but that doesn't change anything about cash, every country use cash and 70% of the people in each country prefer cash than digital payment because some people find it difficult to believe in digital payment method.

In a country where there are business people and not all the business people are educated, they will prefer cash to digital payment, there are some countries where people use the advantage of digital payment to scam people and also buy something without not paying, there are many reasons why cash will remain very important to people, digital payment has its advantage but cash will always ahead of it.

[Ishicryptic]

Digital payments seem to be in the rise lately. More people are abandoning paper money (cash) in favor of credit/debit cards, and even crypto. Paying with cash is a rarity these days. Especially where I live. I'm beginning to wonder if cash is still King. Countries worldwide are already planning to launch CBDCs of their own. So cash's days are numbered. Am I right?

Feel free to share your thoughts. Thanks.

You're observation is very correct, most people everywhere are adopting online payments instead of the traditional cash that we have been used to, if it continues this way I believe that in the future cash payments might be phaced out. The internet has changed a lot of things especially in finance, it is very convenient to sit down in your house and buy goods online, make payments online and have it delivered to you without leaving your home. It will take time for physical money to phase out because people have been using it as a means of transactions for centuries but change is constant so due to the convenience of making payments where you don't need to be physically present, online transfers will take over in the future. If almost everybody starts to abandon carrying cash around it will die a natural death. Whether minting of currencies will cease is what I don't know but if people are no longer interested to hold it, governments will be discouraged to be minting physical currencies. If Bitcoin gains massive adoption as an alternative to fiat it will also discourage people from holding physical currencies.