Cashless societies offer many advantages. In addition to the convenience that not having to carry money, coins, or banknotes around entails, these societies are more secure, help reduce bank robberies and help fight drug, counterfeiting, and weapons black markets.

As such, there are many reasons to go cashless. Sweden is the first society to take the plunge. The country is set to become the world’s first cashless society by March 2023. What would that look like and how is the country preparing for this transition?

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Sweden is fed up with cash. It’s a hassle to carry around, it can be easily stolen or misplaced, and frankly, no one is using it anymore! There has been a huge cultural shift when it comes to money in this land of rolling Hills, Army knives with 1 million gadgets in them, and of course chocolate. And that trend sounds a little something like this, no more jingling in pockets, no more paper and wallets, basically… No more money at all. And the proof is in the statistics. 10 years ago, just about 40% of their population was paying with cash… and now? Only 6%. We’ll even tell you one more fun fact, children are issued a debit card at age 7 here. So, what’s their answer? To go completely cashless by March of 2023, Which, believe it or not, is less than two years away. That’s coming up incredibly fast. They’re even planning a crypto called the e-Kronor… for use starting this year. The idea here is simple: create a cryptocurrency where one crypto will equal one dollar. That slowly phases out the need for physical money for good. Folks, this is happening. And it’s happening now. Time to learn about Sweden’s cashless plans, and discuss if this could become a worldwide trend! Honestly, it just might. Whether you wanted to or not!! Who knows, in 10 years money may only be seen in museums! If you wanted to know what money looks like, you actually have to go stand in line and look at it behind glass!

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Written by: Chris Montrose
Narrated by: Chris Montrose
Edited by: Kristian Blaze

For copyright matters please contact us at: [email protected]

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
00:38 Who still uses cash? Who uses card?
02:00 What about the kids!?
02:57 The pros of going digital
04:08 The cons of going digital
05:25 An official Swedish CRYPTO?
06:30 Will the US get a crypto?

Many countries are going cashless at great speed. What are the advantages of ditching hard cash and what are the dangers? Read more about a cashless future here: https://econ.st/2Mwhipb

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Somewhere in the near future physical money will become like these – Relics of a different age. And will only be found in places like this. In other words hard cash will disappear. It will become electronic – transferred by things like these.

So what’s the rush to get rid of cash? And what’s the cost?

Let’s face it money is cumbersome for consumers and banks. Operating in cash costs countries about 0.5% of their GDP every year. But cost isn’t the only incentive to move towards a cashless future. Digital payments aren’t just easy – they are neat. Having every single payment automatically recorded is efficient. But there’s a downside.

Electronic-money trails can allow governments and private companies
to access and harvest personal data. But there’s another threat that is worrying banks – cyber-attacks.

Still many countries are fast moving towards a cashless society. In Sweden the number of retail cash transactions per person has fallen by 80% in the past ten years. The trend is even evident in far more cash-loyal societies. China’s digital payments rose from 4% of all payments in 2012 to 34% in 2017. The trend is inevitable but a gradual transition is key.

Some people may find it harder to grasp how much money they have without the physical representation of it. Not everyone knows how to use internet-banking technology. And people living in remote areas where internet cover is patchy may find they have to drive for miles for their basic needs. And there is another sector of society that relies heavily on cash.

Going cashless is just the latest evolution of money in the modern economy. But it raises a fundamental question – what is the value of money if it doesn’t physically exist?

The move towards cashless societies is well under way. But governments need to ensure that, as cash is phased out, the vulnerable in society aren’t left behind. They need to navigate carefully the many pitfalls that a digital economy will bring.

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