Are we heading toward a cashless future?

[finaleshot2016]

If we assume that cash no longer exists, does this mean that our wealth is just a number? And when this happens, one thing I fear is the security of our wealth. The real fear is when the banking system experiences problems and our wealth could disappear in an instant.

And indeed, as a young person, I rarely carry cash these days; I find it quite inconvenient to carry it everywhere. And I suspect other young people, especially the millennial generation, feel the same way. And on the other hand, for some reason, perhaps it's just my personal opinion, when I hold cash, I feel more wasteful.

That's why traditional still matters in the future, people are just hyping up the digital era but I still believe that traditional won't be gone 'cause it is still the foundation of the finance system even if we don't like the ways of the old system, it will co-exist with digital finance. That's why countries are still hoarding gold for their reserve in case something happens, that could save their system. Physical assets like gold and cash provide stability that digital assets can't guarantee, but with blockchain of course it's a different discussion, it's a 50-50. Banks will still exist and of course regulation will occur to control the finance system, government will not allow a full digital system that could be easily broke down with just a few system downfalls. So again, the traditional ways will remain as a backbone and foundation of the modern finance system, even if we don't need it, the flow must still go on.

[batang_bitcoin]

Whether overnight or some time in the future I think cash payments will still exist because this is the traditional way of transacting, in my neighborhood there are quite a lot of elderly merchants and they don't know or know about things that are done digitally or online so they sell by only providing cash payments, besides I think this kind of seller will still exist from time to time, although it may be getting smaller in number.

It will still exist because not everyone can adopt to the cashless that everyone likes to be. Maybe a few percentage of the population will still remain and that's because many of the elderly doesn't know how to navigate with the gadgets and the modern technology. And that's why option for cash is going to stay and even if there's a want to adopt that for most people, they can't just leave behind those people that prefers cash.

Cash will still exist for at least a few more decades, but not because of habit or because a segment of the elderly still depend on it. Simply because the infrastructure for implementing online payment system is not yet complete, stable or reliable enough to completely replace cash in all situation. I believe that once the government complete the infrastructure, they will not hesitate to eliminate cash entirely and switch to digital payment method
The digital world is a goal that governments around the world are striving for because it will make managing, monitoring and controlling citizens much easier and more effective.

If a strong implementation of cashless will be done, the elderly will be forced to adopt the new technology even if they don't like it. Or, the only exception is on them and whoever isn't of their age won't adopt the cashless payments could be penalized. This is the kind of enforcement that they're likely to do in the future if they want everyone to adopt the cashless payments and for the government to have ease in payments. That's the only way that they will make everyone like to start using the cashless transactions.

[Abiky]

I totally get why digital payments are handy-they save you from dealing with change. No doubt about it. But cash? It's got that one thing going for it: privacy. No paper trail, no tracking. Even with new digital stuff like CBDCs, every swipe leaves a data footprint. 
Sure, digital's taking over, but cash won't vanish overnight. Some folks just want to keep their spending private, you know? Not everything needs to be shared with corps or governments. It's a classic trade-off: quick and easy vs. staying under the radar. 
Will cash ever *really* disappear? Maybe not. People like having options, even if it means a little hassle. Convenience is great, but anonymity? That's priceless.

Anonymity may be priceless, but it's in governments' best interests to remove cash from circulation. Sooner or later, we won't be left with any other option for privacy/anonymity other than Bitcoin and its "sibling" cryptocurrencies. Especially coins built on privacy protocols (such Monero and Grin). A cashless future may seem to be convenient to the end user, but "behind the scenes", it's not. It'll be total slavery as your whole financial life would be completely under the control of both the central bank and the government. Changing monetary policy, freezing accounts, or even confiscating funds would be as "easy as pie". All performed remotely, "on the fly". It's the perfect system for a "totalitarian state". Worse than credit/debit cards, imo.

Hopefully, people understand what's at stake with the digital transformation of our economy. As long as there's a considerable amount of people opposing the idea of a CBDC, governments will think twice before going forward with their agenda. We'll see what happens in the long run.

[iBaba]

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That's why traditional still matters in the future, people are just hyping up the digital era but I still believe that traditional won't be gone 'cause it is still the foundation of the finance system even if we don't like the ways of the old system, it will co-exist with digital finance. That's why countries are still hoarding gold for their reserve in case something happens, that could save their system. Physical assets like gold and cash provide stability that digital assets can't guarantee, but with blockchain of course it's a different discussion, it's a 50-50. Banks will still exist and of course regulation will occur to control the finance system, government will not allow a full digital system that could be easily broke down with just a few system downfalls. So again, the traditional ways will remain as a backbone and foundation of the modern finance system, even if we don't need it, the flow must still go on.

You are right, let me add to what you have said above already. The digital era is very exciting and intriguing yes but I used to wonder sometimes why people act like the traditional finance will just disappear into the thin air over night and that is not a realistic thought.

The traditional systems we are talking about might be slow, sometimes inefficient and unreliable, but it is still the backbone of how economies function today and that's why you will still have countries that still hold gold reserves and still rely on physical assets as a last line of defense including countries like El Salvador that has fully accepted the use of bitcoin in the country's financial institutions.

[junder]

It will still exist because not everyone can adopt to the cashless that everyone likes to be. Maybe a few percentage of the population will still remain and that's because many of the elderly doesn't know how to navigate with the gadgets and the modern technology. And that's why option for cash is going to stay and even if there's a want to adopt that for most people, they can't just leave behind those people that prefers cash.

Well, that's what I mean, where not everyone can adapt to digital payments. Even though we can imagine that everyone might understand how digital payments work, cash payments will still not disappear.  I myself understand digital payments, but I don't think cash payments will disappear even though digital payments are very popular, because after all, we still need cash payments in our daily lives.

[batang_bitcoin]

It will still exist because not everyone can adopt to the cashless that everyone likes to be. Maybe a few percentage of the population will still remain and that's because many of the elderly doesn't know how to navigate with the gadgets and the modern technology. And that's why option for cash is going to stay and even if there's a want to adopt that for most people, they can't just leave behind those people that prefers cash.

Well, that's what I mean, where not everyone can adapt to digital payments. Even though we can imagine that everyone might understand how digital payments work, cash payments will still not disappear.  I myself understand digital payments, but I don't think cash payments will disappear even though digital payments are very popular, because after all, we still need cash payments in our daily lives.

The majority will understand it but there could be few percentage of population that will never understand and inept of the technology. For these people to continue being part of the economy, the government understands their role and they're not going to obsolete the usage of fiat or cash payments. It will remain and even the most advance countries in the world, they still have the cash payment and they have never removed it.