The Future of Money: Trends and Benefits

Study Notes

Physical cash will become less common and eventually disappear, replaced by electronic transactions
The cost of operating in cash is approximately 0.5% of a country's GDP annually
Minting, printing, transporting, storing, and sorting cash are the main costs involved
Digital payments are on the rise, driven by demand from younger generations
Benefits of a cashless society include:
- Easier monitoring and prevention of tax evasion and fraud
- Efficient, automatic recording of payments

Loss of privacy and potential government misuse of payment data
Private companies may use personal data in unwanted ways
Cyber-attacks and data breaches are a major threat to digital transactions
The risk of cyber-attacks is difficult to insure against
The trend towards a cashless society may leave some people behind, including:
- Those who rely heavily on cash, such as people living on the street
- Those who struggle to adapt to digital banking and payment systems
- Those in remote areas with limited internet access

Central banks' ability to control the money supply and implement monetary policy may be challenged in a cashless society
The rise of digital currencies, such as Facebook's proposed digital currency, may further erode central banks' control over the money supply

Physical cash is expected to become less common and eventually disappear, replaced by electronic transactions.

The annual cost of operating in cash is approximately 0.5% of a country's GDP.
The main costs involved in physical cash include minting, printing, transporting, storing, and sorting.

The trend towards a cashless society may leave behind:
- Those who rely heavily on cash, such as people living on the street.
- Those who struggle to adapt to digital banking and payment systems.
- Those in remote areas with limited internet access.

Central banks' ability to control the money supply and implement monetary policy may be challenged in a cashless society.
The rise of digital currencies, such as Facebook's proposed digital currency, may further erode central banks' control over the money supply.

Avoid switching between present perfect and simple past in the same sentence or paragraph
Use present perfect in sentences where simple past is not suitable, and vice versa

Do not use present perfect with specific time expressions like yesterday, last week
Use present perfect with non-specific time expressions like recently, so far
Correctly use time expressions with present perfect continuous, e.g."I have been studying for three hours now" instead of "I have been studying for three hours"

Use simple past to describe completed actions in the past
Use present perfect to describe actions that started in the past and continue up to the present

Do not use present perfect continuous with stative verbs, e.g. "I have been knowing her for years" is incorrect
Use present perfect with stative verbs to describe a state that started in the past and continues up to the present, e.g. "I have known her for years"