My Thoughts on a Cashless Society

We Shouldn't Go Completely Cashless

The viability of cash lies in its inconvenience, but things that are inconvenient tend to be more secure. In some respects, the US already is. Most dollars in circulation exist as digital ones and zeroes—as a promise-based system for action and transaction between people, individuals, and business entities. When there is widespread lack of trust, people may opt to hold cash as a fallback they can physically hold in their hands. As a baseline standard, cash won't become obsolete. It can be held in our hands, and has built-in accessible security measures.

Like security threads, holograms, watermarks, and luminiscent ink, to name just a few. I don't think cashless transactions lead to increased security as a form of payment. That's like using a hook and bait to catch fish, then improving the bait to attract a shark, and then claiming that there's no chance the fish you initially caught with the simple bait won't be drawn to the upgraded bait you've now put in place. The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report from 2022 mentions that nearly half of all US businesses have suffered a cyber attack. Resorting to cash transactions becomes the baseline fallback.