Are we going cashless?
The concept of a cashless society has been around for decades. But with 80% of payments in the US being made digitally in 2022, and four in ten of us ditching change altogether, research suggests that the transition from physical currency could take place sooner than we once thought.
The US is moving toward cashless payments, with a substantial increase in the use of mobile wallet apps and contactless cards. A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that payments made using cash accounted for just 18% of all US payments in 2022.
It is estimated that by the year 2043, the UK will be a completely cashless society, however this depends on how the government accepts and actions a completely cashless UK. The demise in the use of cheques shows a similar progression to cash, in which the use has plummeted.
And while the United States is far from the vanguard on going cash-free, here consumers use either credit or debit cards for 57 percent of transactions. As of 2022, 41 percent of Americans say they go cashless in a typical week, up from 24 percent in 2015.
Will cash be phased out? While it's clear that cash usage is declining, it's unlikely that cash will be phased out anytime in the near future, even in economically developed countries. Cash still serves a purpose for a huge amount of the world, and offers a reliable alternative payment method to digital.
Banks go cashless
Westpac appears to be going against the cashless trend. Macquarie Bank announced it would phase out cash and cheque services by November 2024, as it transitions to “completely digital payments”. The move means customers wanting to withdraw or deposit cash will only be able to do so via an ATM.
We have been issuing banknotes for over 300 years and make sure the banknotes we all use are of high quality. While the future demand for cash is uncertain, it is unlikely that cash will die out any time soon.
With a date set in 2023 to go completely cashless, Sweden is arguably the closest country to achieve this. It is currently not uncommon to see signs that say “No Cash Accepted” in various shops in Sweden.
- THE UNITED KINGDOM. The banking body UK Finance reported in August that more than 23m people in the UK used virtually no cash last year, while notes and coins will account for just 6% of payments within a decade. ...
- THE NETHERLANDS. ...
- BULGARIA. ...
- ROMANIA. ...
- SWEDEN. ...
- FINLAND. ...
- UKRAINE.
Norway has an unbanked population of 0%, meaning every single citizen has a bank account. Only around 2% of payments in the country are made with cash. With 32 ATMs per 100,000 people, Norway is currently one of the most likely countries to become a cashless society.
Why shouldn t the US go cashless?
The Drawbacks of a Cashless Society
Without cash, we would be forced to leave a record of everything we buy. While this may not bother some, there are many who worry that governments and/or corporations could use our purchasing histories as a way to track us, monitor us, and even intimidate us.
A cashless society is one in which cash, in the form of physical banknotes and coins, is not accepted in any financial transaction.
A 2022 survey revealed that an estimated 911 million people in China paid for items through their mobile devices, with numbers increasing rapidly after Covid-19. This, along with many other new technological advancements, suggests that China may be on their way to being the world's first cashless society.
That might lead you to think ATMs are becoming obsolete, at least in developed countries. But you'd be wrong. True to their roots as cutting-edge technologies, ATMs are evolving to meet the needs of today's financial institutions and their customers.
We may not be a cashless society by 2060, much less by 2030. But the fact is we're closer to becoming a nearly cashless society every day. The transition from a mostly cash to nearly cashless society didn't happen overnight.
The fear of transmission coupled with lockdowns and other restrictions led to a boom in online shopping and cashless payments globally. As consumers continue to embrace the legacy of the pandemic and a surge in finance technologies, cash payments are expected to continue to decline in the coming years.
Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB and Westpac all confirmed on Friday that there are no current plans to go cashless. This comes after Macquarie Bank announced it would phase out cash and cheque services across all its banking and wealth management products from January to November 2024.
Reduced risk of theft: When you carry cash, you are at risk of being mugged or pickpocketed. With cashless payments, there is no physical cash for someone to steal. With cashless payments, you don't have to worry about losing physical currency, and your money is stored in a secure digital wallet.
This move towards a cashless society has many advantages: convenience and efficiency, reduction of fraud, improvement in cross-border transactions, among others. A cashless economy also has its disadvantages: identity theft, social exclusion, and the undermining of privacy and anonymity is undermined, among others.
Analysis from Barclays Investment Bank, meanwhile, predicts that the global transition from cash to digital payments would reach a tipping point moment in 2025, when absolute cash usage would decline from 41 per cent in 2019 to 20 per cent by 2030.
What will replace money in the future?
The future of money is expected to be heavily influenced by technology. Predictions include the rise of cashless societies, the growth of cryptocurrencies, the continued adoption of digital currencies, and the potential offering of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by governments.
As a rule of thumb, financial advisors generally recommend holding three- to six-months' worth of living expenses in a cash account that's easy to access. By keeping your emergency fund in cash, you avoid the risk of having to sell other assets you own, such as stocks, at a potential loss when something comes up.
The high rate of internet usage, a supportive regulatory framework and the government's push for a cashless society – with COVID-19 as the impetus to introduce the digital yuan to replace physical bank notes – all contributed to the success of mobile payments in China.
As people move toward more electronic or digital forms of payment, it might seem like paper money is on its way toward obsolescence. But experts say that cash will always be around.
Only 13 per cent report having gone completely cashless. Despite more than half of Canadians (55 per cent) who say they have no desire to go cashless, 49 per cent think it is likely that Canadian stores will go completely cashless in the next 10 years compared to 31 per cent who think it is unlikely.
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