A recent article on fintech website Finextra presents a substantial list of challenges faced when implementing a cashless society—including negative impacts on national security and personal privacy—all of which beg the question: why not enjoy the benefits of both cash and cashless options, so everyone can win?
In ‘The challenges of implementing a cashless society’, David Hensley of financial consultancy Enryo Limited opens with one of the great problems currently surrounding cashless payments: accessibility. In every country there will be people who do not have a bank account, or are otherwise ineligible to access digital payment methods, for example due to a bad credit rating. Additionally, individuals and businesses alike may struggle to access the required technology and the always-on internet connection required to transact digitally.
The next challenge highlighted it security. If an economy operated solely on cashless transactions, power or internet outages will bring it to a standstill until services are restored, and cyberattacks would be similarly damaging. In an economy with cash and cashless working together, when the latter is unavailable, people can continue to make essential purchases using cash.
