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Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

prospectmagazine.co.uk

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Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#41

Post by keiferski »

Obligatory Neuromancer (1984) reference:

His total assets were quickly converted to New Yen, a fat sheaf of the old paper currency that circulated endlessly through the closed circuit of the world's black markets like the seashells of the Trobriand islanders. It was difficult to transact legitimate business with cash in the Sprawl; in Japan, it was already illegal.

I am fairly convinced that using cash will slowly be labeled as a "criminal" activity and gradually shamed into non-use by regular people.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#42

Post by isodev »

Alifatisk wrote: post #33

I believe once we go fully cashless, we'll regret it and wish we could go back. I can barely enjoy a full day without being required to bring my phone / debit card with me because the register does not accept cash.

Who knows, maybe this is the good timeline and "money goes the way of the dinosaurs" so we get to enjoy a Star Trek-like future.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#43

Post by croes »

Philpax wrote: post #32
madsbuch wrote: post #11

I Denmark we are removing the 1000kr bill as of May 2025. from then on the highest bill. is 500kr which is roughly equal to 80 usd. Denmark Is the most cashless society I have yet experiences (and I have been traveling a fair bit). This comes with pros and cons. and I think the reason why it works is because of an incredibly high social trust.

I moved to Sweden ~2.5 years ago and I can count the number of times I've used cash on one hand. It's definitely less private, but the convenience is unmatched. Honestly, I don't even know what the modern Swedish notes look like now!

Sweden also has pretty public tax income records.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#44

Post by Xplune13 »

Alifatisk wrote: post #33

I believe once we go fully cashless, we'll regret it and wish we could go back. I can barely enjoy a full day without being required to bring my phone / debit card with me because the register does not accept cash.

That's a new one. Genuine question, why do you prefer using cash instead of using a phone or card?

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#45

Post by aleph_minus_one »

Alifatisk wrote: post #33

I believe once we go fully cashless, we'll regret it and wish we could go back. I can barely enjoy a full day without being required to bring my phone / debit card with me because the register does not accept cash.

> I can barely enjoy a full day without being required to bring my phone / debit card with me because the register does not accept cash.

Buy somewhere else (if humanly possible), and tell this to the vendor who doesn't want to accept cash.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#46

Post by falcor84 »

superkuh wrote: post #9

I will always recall the chaos of being in a northern Minnesota tourist town (Ely) when the single fiber-optic line serving the region was cut. I sure was glad our group brought cash. All the people with only third party companies willing to pay for them some time in the future had their trips and plans ruined. But that's sort of a trivial example. It could be much worse. And then there's the rent seeking inherent in…

>Plus cash is just so much more convient and faster.

You mentioned "puritanism and censorship" as your main issue with cards (and I assume with other digital payment systems), but to the best of my knowledge that's only an issue with online payments, for which cash isn't really possible at all. Unless you feel that sending bills in an envelope to some postal address you see on a website to be fast and convenient.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#47

Post by toenail »

darrenf wrote: post #23
superkuh wrote: post #9

I will always recall the chaos of being in a northern Minnesota tourist town (Ely) when the single fiber-optic line serving the region was cut. I sure was glad our group brought cash. All the people with only third party companies willing to pay for them some time in the future had their trips and plans ruined. But that's sort of a trivial example. It could be much worse. And then there's the rent seeking inherent in…

> Plus cash is just so much more convient and faster. There are many reasons I'm not anti-cash, but I am really struggling to think of a single example of this specific statement being true. Just acquiring cash at all means I have to take time out of my day, repeatedly, to make withdrawals. Then I have to carry it securely ( as well as the cards I need to get hold of more), which is annoying at the best of times and…

> Honestly, when is cash faster?

Try to give a random person $100. Can they accept credit cards? Unlikely. Do they have the random cash app installed you use? Maybe. Do they have a bank account? Depends on where you live, and it could take days, and you have to bring long numbers with you and input them into your banking app.

Or simply turn off the internet.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#48

Post by Our_Benefactors »

Alifatisk wrote: post #33

I believe once we go fully cashless, we'll regret it and wish we could go back. I can barely enjoy a full day without being required to bring my phone / debit card with me because the register does not accept cash.

Currently in China which is pretty much fully cashless and I fucking hate it.

Get Alipay. Link your credit card. Put in a pin, but no not that pin because it has two consecutive numbers. Pick a different pin. Forget it by the time you need to pay and reset your pin. Go to the grocery store and have to download a new app to pay, they can’t take Alipay even though it’s the same parent company. Oh the machine didn’t work, so pull your phone out again to scan. And the endless additional services you need to sign up for to avoid price discrimination upwards of 200%.

It’s a nightmare. Japan has it right, keeping with a cash based society.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#49

Post by asystole »

impossiblefork wrote: post #31

I think what's required is electronic cash, something like a CBDC with an electronically transferable, partially anonymous system that still allows offline payments if case the central computers get knocked out. GNU Taler satisfies one half of these constraints (cashlikeness + taxability). The Swedish e-krona pilot also has a token based component to allow offline payments.

We already have this. It's called bitcoin. For offline payments, there's physical devices like opendime and potentially Chaumian mints like cashu.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#50

Post by toenail »

keiferski wrote: post #41

Obligatory Neuromancer (1984) reference: His total assets were quickly converted to New Yen, a fat sheaf of the old paper currency that circulated endlessly through the closed circuit of the world's black markets like the seashells of the Trobriand islanders. It was difficult to transact legitimate business with cash in the Sprawl; in Japan, it was already illegal. I am fairly convinced that using cash will slowly be…

> I am fairly convinced that using cash will slowly be labeled as a "criminal" activity and gradually shamed into non-use by regular people.

Of course. The only people who need cash are criminals and terrorists. Now move along citizen.

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