Will we see a cashless society by 2023? (2024)

FAQs

How long until we are a cashless society? ›

Physical currency isn't becoming obsolete any time soon, so it's important to weigh up your options before deciding to go fully cashless in 2024. Ensuring you can accept some cashless payments though, is essential to keeping with today's trends and customer expectations.

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.

Although paper-based currencies are becoming less popular, they will likely stick around for the foreseeable future. Dollars and cents may become harder to use, but as with many obsolete technologies, there are enough users to ensure demand doesn't disappear completely.

This author says that's a false narrative. If it's been a long time since you pulled out actual dollars and coins to pay for something — here's a conversation for you. It might seem like cash is slowly becoming obsolete. But, Brett Scott says it's a false narrative that we're all pining for a cashless society.

One widely quoted report predicts that the global transition from cash to digital will reach a tipping-point in 2025, and the pandemic, in which contactless payments surged, has only exacerbated this trend.

In an economy with cash and cashless working together, when the latter is unavailable, people can continue to make essential purchases using cash. A cashless society would rely on a complex network of digital systems, which would be vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Is the cashless society really coming? Despite the rapid development of convenient, seamless digital payment methods, the 100 per cent cashless society remains a distant prospect. Cash is a trusted, reliable and essentially secure way to spend, and still adds up when it comes to straightforward everyday budgeting.

Norways is the most cashless country, with only around 2% of payments being made by cash, and 100% of the population having a bank account.

While a cashless system would likely make it easier to track the transactions and freeze the accounts of certain criminals, the lack of an easy, cash alternative would likely push many larger criminal organizations into offshore banking, Bitcoin-style currencies, and other sophisticated digital tricks that would make ...

“China is one of the top countries for using cashless payment systems, but penetration is not 100%,” says Sara Hsu, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee, specialising in supply chain management. “Elderly Chinese still often prefer to pay with cash and some struggle with using mobile payments.”

Is the digital dollar going to happen? ›

10 Years of Decentralizing the Future

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are coming, but a digital dollar is unlikely in the near term, Bank of America (BAC) said in a report on Monday.

Why Eliminate Cash? Cash can be used in criminal activities such as money laundering and tax evasion because it is difficult to trace. Digital transactions or electronic money create an audit trail for law enforcement and financial institutions and can aid governments in economic policymaking.

The pilot will test how banks using digital dollar tokens in a common database can speed up payments. Participating banks include BNY Mellon, Citi, HSBC, Mastercard, PNC Bank, TD Bank, Truist, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.

By 2025, cash payments might drop by 20%, but they're far from disappearing.

According to GlobalData, if there is any country with the potential to jump to first place within a couple of years and become a truly cashless society, it is Sweden. About 80 per cent of Swedes use a card to pay for purchases.

Who is at risk of cashless? Those who live in the country where poor internet connectivity could stop payments. Poor people who rely on cash to ensure that they budget properly. Anyone in an abusive relationship who may lose financial independence without access to cash.

Is India Ready for a Cashless Economy? The government's initiatives have contributed to equipping people to leverage several fintech solutions over the years. But although India has achieved significant progress towards going completely digital, we still have a long way to go.