Electronic payments are increasingly popular worldwide. As we abandon bills and coins in favor of credit cards, we cannot help but wonder if cash has a future. Will people still be scouring their pockets and purses for change 10, 50, or 100 years from now?
It’s difficult to say. After all, online payments services like Infa Payments point towards a big no. However, we’ll try to answer this dilemma anyway. So, let’s look closer at how the world would look without cash. And, why do we still use it after all?
What Is Cash and Why Do We Need It?
Money, or cash, is the most common liquid asset in the world. We have been using it for more than 3,000 years for countless reasons. Cold cash has driven society on a straight evolutionary path that brought us here today. Almost every man-made thing around us has been made for money or to make more money.
We need cash to provide an instant face of value in exchange for products or services. It’s great in emergencies and makes tipping easier. Furthermore, it ensures a higher level of privacy for your transactions than credit cards.
We may be heading towards a cashless society. However, it’s worth mentioning that not all human communities are ready for it. Many people still rely on cash for most of their payments. Others hold tightly to their piggy banks and are unwilling to migrate towards e-payments.
The Benefits of Cash
- It is still the asset with the highest rate of acceptance worldwide.
- It enables you to make anonymous payments.
- It doesn’t charge you fees for payments.
The Downsides of Cash
- Carrying cash makes you a potential target for thieves.
- Keeping cash at home may put you at risk for burglaries.
- It is almost impossible to have large sums of money with you.
- You cannot carry above a certain amount of money across international borders.
- It is easier to lose than electronic accounts.
- It carries germs from all the people that handled it.
- Cash doesn’t earn you interest.
- You can’t pay online for products or services with cash.
The rise of electronic payment methods
As you can see, the disadvantages of using cash outweigh the benefits of paying bills and coins. That’s why the surge of electronic payments is a crucial step forward.
E-payments involve credit and debit cards, bank transfers, direct deposits, and online payments. Besides being versatile, they come with essential benefits, such as:
- They pose a lower risk of fraud, theft, and money laundering.
- They travel faster and more efficiently than cash.
- You do not have to worry about traveling with large sums on you,
- Electronic payments may severely impair criminal activities.
- If someone steals your wallet, it doesn’t mean they can access your money, too.
- It facilitates online payments and cross-border money transfers.
- You can send money to almost anyone anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes.
Lastly, with electronic payments, you do not have the same level of anonymity as when you pay with cash. However, if we want to become a more secure and transparent society, we can make this small sacrifice.