Are we heading toward a cashless future?

[Shineup]

yeah slowly it feels like we are moving that way. more people use cards phones and crypto now while cash gets used less every year. cash probably wont disappear fully soon but digital payments are clearly taking over

Let's just put it that  cash won't disappear at all even while there might be increasing rate of people making use of cards and phones in making transactions as time progresses. It  is very simple, and people will continually be making choices of their means of transactions which seems convincing and convenient to them and not on a public opinion and such freedom will continue to exist if you ask me and with that I don't think if everyone will comes to the terms of using digital means of transactions with reasons best known to them.

[Ayers]

With digital payments and central bank digital currencies on the rise, will physical money soon disappear?

We can already see that online payment systems have been introduced in almost every country in the world and payments are taken online in many places, from education to shopping malls, restaurants and hotels. Very few conventional currencies are being used, which indicates to us that maybe in the future these real currencies will disappear and everything will be developed digitally. Central banks already deposit money online in various ways through their apps, and in case of withdrawal, it is possible to do it online, every transaction is becoming digital. So we can hope that in the future, the technology of the world will improve further and when real currencies disappear, everything will be done through digital currencies.

The era of digital money is coming, and it will soon dominate. However, I think that cash will never disappear completely. It will still exist as a backup to ensure flexibility in transactions. Because digital system are not alway stable and in such case, cash will be the solution.

Just like what is happening in Iran, and as far as I know, in many places electricity and internet are still disrupted, making digital payment system almost unusable. What would happen if they eliminated cash entirely?

[Akbarkoe]

I prefer to say no, cash is money that will always be in use despite the continuous decline in users over time due to the trend of digital payments and digital balance storage such as bank accounts.
What will definitely happen is that the dominance of digital transactions will be much greater than cash, but it will not completely eliminate cash transactions, there will always be people who make cash transactions wherever it is.

[WatChe]

The era of digital money is coming, and it will soon dominate. However, I think that cash will never disappear completely. It will still exist as a backup to ensure flexibility in transactions. Because digital system are not alway stable and in such case, cash will be the solution.

Just like what is happening in Iran, and as far as I know, in many places electricity and internet are still disrupted, making digital payment system almost unusable. What would happen if they eliminated cash entirely?

For digital payments to operate smoothly, we need internet connectivity and there are times when internet service is down due to different reasons. This is why I always keep some cash with me to counter situations where digital payment is down. As far a cash is concerned, I think it will continue to exist along with digital cash at least for next 5 years. Digital payments have made it quite easy for us to pay but on the other side our spending's have also increased because of readily available digital cash anywhere we go.

[Berry2d]

I prefer to say no, cash is money that will always be in use despite the continuous decline in users over time due to the trend of digital payments and digital balance storage such as bank accounts.
What will definitely happen is that the dominance of digital transactions will be much greater than cash, but it will not completely eliminate cash transactions, there will always be people who make cash transactions wherever it is.

Saying time to come is an understatement because right now cashless transactions has already taken over situations because of its importance and risk reduction when stealing and other related activities are consigned. 
Apart from mini traders and uneducated fellows, the most circulated transactions method is the cashless one and it has reduced that of cash to minimal.  I will clearly say that of a cashless transactions will be more entertaining because it helps in cutting cost because with the presence of cash one can buy anything that catches his attention which cannot be done in a cashless transactions era.

Some factors to consider before getting acquainted to this cashless principle is, there are limited circulation of cash and the little in circulation must be bought and no one will be ready to get involved in business that won't add profit at all.

[Sammye3]

With digital payments and central bank digital currencies on the rise, will physical money soon disappear?

This is quite a vital question because it seems that the world is getting digitalised and the use of hard currency is now reduced. With the recent development, I think hard currency would always be in existence because that is the symbol of a particular country and can drop the economy when not produced or used for transactional purposes. As much as cashless economy would be stress-free and more efficient,  we can't completely blindside the importance of the hard currency in the economy.

[Abiky]

This is quite a vital question because it seems that the world is getting digitalised and the use of hard currency is now reduced. With the recent development, I think hard currency would always be in existence because that is the symbol of a particular country and can drop the economy when not produced or used for transactional purposes. As much as cashless economy would be stress-free and more efficient,  we can't completely blindside the importance of the hard currency in the economy.

And cash's use will continue to diminish, now that new illnesses have emerged. When we thought COVID-19 was over, new illnesses such as the H3N1 flu strain, norovirus, and now hantavirus, will move people further away from cash to avoid physical contact. A cashless future is inevitable. Especially now with governments' increased interest in launching CBDCs of their own.

What's preventing this from happening any faster is none other than the old generation (or the elderly). They're slow or often reluctant to adapt to the latest innovations in our society. So a full transition would be decades away before it materializes. Good, because we need as much privacy as we can get. Once CBDCs become the norm, it will be "bye-bye" to your financial privacy for good. At least, we have Bitcoin and Monero to protect us against increasingly-hostile government surveillance.

[alankasman]

Saying time to come is an understatement because right now cashless transactions has already taken over situations because of its importance and risk reduction when stealing and other related activities are consigned. 
Apart from mini traders and uneducated fellows, the most circulated transactions method is the cashless one and it has reduced that of cash to minimal.  I will clearly say that of a cashless transactions will be more entertaining because it helps in cutting cost because with the presence of cash one can buy anything that catches his attention which cannot be done in a cashless transactions era.

On the one hand I think this system is very supportive in preventing negative things from happening again. This means that now everyone is making payments through online transactions except for the lower-middle class who may still use cash. This is perhaps due to the unfamiliarity that still characterizes these people so this method continues for those who are still unfamiliar. This method isn't wrong but it still allows for uncomfortable things to happen. Cash payments can lead to many losses one of which is theft. When there are times when people have prepared strategies to be able to prevent theft. This is why many people are sometimes very fortunate to have an online transaction system to save their personal finances and also greatly facilitate methods or methods that until now generally remain online.

[Danica22]

What's preventing this from happening any faster is none other than the old generation (or the elderly). They're slow or often reluctant to adapt to the latest innovations in our society. So a full transition would be decades away before it materializes. Good, because we need as much privacy as we can get. Once CBDCs become the norm, it will be "bye-bye" to your financial privacy for good. At least, we have Bitcoin and Monero to protect us against increasingly-hostile government surveillance.

The older generation is not the only barrier preventing the world from moving toward a cashless future.

A cashless economy requires robust infrastructure, stable internet connectivity, and a reliable power supply. Meanwhile, not every country is wealthy enough to do that at the moment. Furthermore, most governments have yet to find solutions to ensure that people can still use digital systems if electricity and internet are suddenly interrupted.

It can be said that government are all moving toward a cashless economy. But achieving that on a nationwide scale is far from easy, because there are many barriers as mentioned.

[junder]

This is quite a vital question because it seems that the world is getting digitalised and the use of hard currency is now reduced. With the recent development, I think hard currency would always be in existence because that is the symbol of a particular country and can drop the economy when not produced or used for transactional purposes. As much as cashless economy would be stress-free and more efficient,  we can't completely blindside the importance of the hard currency in the economy.

It’s true that the use of physical cash has declined, but it’s still around and I don’t think it will disappear, because cash payments are a traditional method used by people in every country it’s highly unlikely that cash will disappear entirely. I agree with what you said about the importance of physical cash in the economy as evidenced by the fact that some stores or vendors do not offer digital payment options and continue to rely on physical cash or cash payments.

[cxtreenal]

This is quite a vital question because it seems that the world is getting digitalised and the use of hard currency is now reduced. With the recent development, I think hard currency would always be in existence because that is the symbol of a particular country and can drop the economy when not produced or used for transactional purposes. As much as cashless economy would be stress-free and more efficient,  we can't completely blindside the importance of the hard currency in the economy.

It’s true that the use of physical cash has declined, but it’s still around and I don’t think it will disappear, because cash payments are a traditional method used by people in every country it’s highly unlikely that cash will disappear entirely. I agree with what you said about the importance of physical cash in the economy as evidenced by the fact that some stores or vendors do not offer digital payment options and continue to rely on physical cash or cash payments.

To go completely cashless, a country has to be developed, but it may not be completely possible. Cash is still used at every level as a convenient service for purchasing goods. The issue of its disappearance depends on the infrastructure of that country and the practical policies and strategies of the government. It will be almost impossible to completely introduce cashless for a large population of a country because almost every country has remote and rural areas where necessary state services have not yet reached. Many communities have low education and living in rural areas, so they will not be interested in adopting digital systems for goods and services due to the lack of necessary technical knowledge.

[Akbarkoe]

I prefer to say no, cash is money that will always be in use despite the continuous decline in users over time due to the trend of digital payments and digital balance storage such as bank accounts.
What will definitely happen is that the dominance of digital transactions will be much greater than cash, but it will not completely eliminate cash transactions, there will always be people who make cash transactions wherever it is.

Saying time to come is an understatement because right now cashless transactions has already taken over situations because of its importance and risk reduction when stealing and other related activities are consigned. 
Apart from mini traders and uneducated fellows, the most circulated transactions method is the cashless one and it has reduced that of cash to minimal.  I will clearly say that of a cashless transactions will be more entertaining because it helps in cutting cost because with the presence of cash one can buy anything that catches his attention which cannot be done in a cashless transactions era.

Some factors to consider before getting acquainted to this cashless principle is, there are limited circulation of cash and the little in circulation must be bought and no one will be ready to get involved in business that won't add profit at all.

While the benefits are indeed far superior in terms of the efficiency and effectiveness of cashless transactions, when it comes to risks, online payments also carry their own risks—even though these can be minimized, they are always present, including money laundering.
As I said, people who conduct cash transactions will always do so; even though online transactions dominate, they cannot completely erase what has been ingrained over thousands of years in the practice of cash transactions.

[Muba20]

This is quite a vital question because it seems that the world is getting digitalised and the use of hard currency is now reduced. With the recent development, I think hard currency would always be in existence because that is the symbol of a particular country and can drop the economy when not produced or used for transactional purposes. As much as cashless economy would be stress-free and more efficient,  we can't completely blindside the importance of the hard currency in the economy.

It’s true that the use of physical cash has declined, but it’s still around and I don’t think it will disappear, because cash payments are a traditional method used by people in every country it’s highly unlikely that cash will disappear entirely. I agree with what you said about the importance of physical cash in the economy as evidenced by the fact that some stores or vendors do not offer digital payment options and continue to rely on physical cash or cash payments.

If we review several things well, then there is no chance to ignore the use of cash. Although we cannot deny that in todays world digital currencies are being used more than before. The use of cash has increased a lot than before. But it is still the best medium for people.

One does not have to rely on anyone to use cash. Because there is no need to wait for control or permission. A user can easily complete transactions with cash whenever he wants. Moreover, using cash is the easiest in any emergency situation. People give more priority to cash.

With the development of technology, the amount of digital transactions among people has increased greatly. This trend will continue in the future too, but the use of cash will not disappear because people have become accustomed to using it. Where digital services are not available, there is the advantage of using cash.

[ingiltere]

It’s true that the use of physical cash has declined, but it’s still around and I don’t think it will disappear, because cash payments are a traditional method used by people in every country it’s highly unlikely that cash will disappear entirely. I agree with what you said about the importance of physical cash in the economy as evidenced by the fact that some stores or vendors do not offer digital payment options and continue to rely on physical cash or cash payments.

The main reason for using cash is that it can be used to evade taxes. That's why small business owners love cash money. When you pay with a credit or debit card, everything is recorded. But a business owner who accepts cash may not record it in their books. This is very common in our country.
Governments want to keep track of everything and try to leave as little room for tax evasion as possible. That's why we don't print new cash money here. Our largest bill is only worth 4 US dollars.

[GiftedMAN]

This is quite a vital question because it seems that the world is getting digitalised and the use of hard currency is now reduced. With the recent development, I think hard currency would always be in existence because that is the symbol of a particular country and can drop the economy when not produced or used for transactional purposes. As much as cashless economy would be stress-free and more efficient,  we can't completely blindside the importance of the hard currency in the economy.

It’s true that the use of physical cash has declined, but it’s still around and I don’t think it will disappear, because cash payments are a traditional method used by people in every country it’s highly unlikely that cash will disappear entirely. I agree with what you said about the importance of physical cash in the economy as evidenced by the fact that some stores or vendors do not offer digital payment options and continue to rely on physical cash or cash payments.

Cashless policy can only work in the city not in every place no matter how developed the state claim to be you will still see people who do not understand anything about mobile transfers or digital transactions which is why we can't have a total reliance on transfers we have to also encourage the cash policy that we have been enjoying on our local currency. In the rural areas where most of the people do not accept anything except cash do we now force everyone of them to do away with using physical cash or will the government decides to educate them all so they can stay without use cash to purchase things?

[bakasabo]

Cashless policy can only work in the city not in every place no matter how developed the state claim to be you will still see people who do not understand anything about mobile transfers or digital transactions which is why we can't have a total reliance on transfers we have to also encourage the cash policy that we have been enjoying on our local currency. In the rural areas where most of the people do not accept anything except cash do we now force everyone of them to do away with using physical cash or will the government decides to educate them all so they can stay without use cash to purchase things?

It depends a lot from a country. Every year population of rural areas are decreasing in my country. People move to big cities (because they cant find job at their place), plus demographical reason decreases number of those who prefer cash over digital payment. Elder generation were the ones who did not understand and accept digital payments, cards, pay by telephone and etc. Sadly those people are dying. 10-15 more years and «their generation» will be those who we only remember. I really doubt that elder generation managed to pass their values/vision to younger generation completely, that younger generation would chose cash over digital money. Moreover, since everyone own mobile phones now (and dont let them go from hands), its no use to bother with cash; p2p payment between two persons who have mobile phones are very popular nowadays.

[junder]

To go completely cashless, a country has to be developed, but it may not be completely possible. Cash is still used at every level as a convenient service for purchasing goods. The issue of its disappearance depends on the infrastructure of that country and the practical policies and strategies of the government. It will be almost impossible to completely introduce cashless for a large population of a country because almost every country has remote and rural areas where necessary state services have not yet reached. Many communities have low education and living in rural areas, so they will not be interested in adopting digital systems for goods and services due to the lack of necessary technical knowledge.

It never occurred to me that the government would go so far as to issue new regulations eliminating cash payments. It seems that if this were to happen it would lead to conflict between the public and the government, with the majority of the public likely protesting because they object to the elimination of cash payments or the use of cash. As you rightly pointed out cash is still widely used and in my opinion, it is highly unlikely that cash could ever be completely phased out and replaced by digital currency.

[Smack That Ace]

It’s true that the use of physical cash has declined, but it’s still around and I don’t think it will disappear, because cash payments are a traditional method used by people in every country it’s highly unlikely that cash will disappear entirely. I agree with what you said about the importance of physical cash in the economy as evidenced by the fact that some stores or vendors do not offer digital payment options and continue to rely on physical cash or cash payments.

The main reason for using cash is that it can be used to evade taxes. That's why small business owners love cash money. When you pay with a credit or debit card, everything is recorded. But a business owner who accepts cash may not record it in their books. This is very common in our country.
Governments want to keep track of everything and try to leave as little room for tax evasion as possible. That's why we don't print new cash money here. Our largest bill is only worth 4 US dollars.

Tax evasion is one of the reasons why small businesses prefer using cash. However, I think the main reason is still people's habit. Cash has been with us for decades, and it has become a habit and a natural reflex. Therefore, changing that habit is not easy and takes time.

The fact that the government is not printing more money or larger denominations has nothing to do with whether they want to monitor or control us. The decision of whether or not to print money depends on the health of the economy. Printing money indiscriminately only leads to inflation and brings no benefits whatsoever.

[Abiky]

Tax evasion is one of the reasons why small businesses prefer using cash. However, I think the main reason is still people's habit. Cash has been with us for decades, and it has become a habit and a natural reflex. Therefore, changing that habit is not easy and takes time.

The fact that the government is not printing more money or larger denominations has nothing to do with whether they want to monitor or control us. The decision of whether or not to print money depends on the health of the economy. Printing money indiscriminately only leads to inflation and brings no benefits whatsoever.

That's precisely the reason why governments are so keen on launching their own CBDCs. To prevent tax evasion. Because in a fully-digital system only they control, it will be nearly impossible to evade taxes. This is good in the sense that it prevents people from "cheating". But bad for our privacy since governments will have an "eye" on everything. Cash has its days numbered. As to when exactly will it cease from being "legal tender", is an excellent question. It could take decades all the way up to centuries.

At least, we'll have crypto to keep us company. Privacy coins will surely experience a boost in mainstream adoption once CBDCs take over the world by storm. They might prove to be cash's viable replacement. Maybe...just maybe.

[CageMabok]

...

It never occurred to me that the government would go so far as to issue new regulations eliminating cash payments. It seems that if this were to happen it would lead to conflict between the public and the government, with the majority of the public likely protesting because they object to the elimination of cash payments or the use of cash. As you rightly pointed out cash is still widely used and in my opinion, it is highly unlikely that cash could ever be completely phased out and replaced by digital currency.

If you think about it more deeply, this is indeed the case because most people in rural areas or remote villages still rely on cash payments, and very few people in remote villages use digital payments. Even people in urban areas still consistently use cash payments, even though many in their own communities already use digital payments. Digital payments should actually be considered cash payments, but their form and usage are starting to differ from physical cash payments. So, I also think, as you said, the government will not enact a policy that eliminates cash payments completely.