Inglés- B2.1 - The Pros and Cons of a cashless society

Study Notes

A cashless society is one where all financial transactions are electronic.
Many countries are moving towards a cashless society.
Going cashless may reduce certain types of crime and costs associated with handling physical money.
Downsides of going cashless include less privacy, greater exposure to hacking, technological dependency, magnifying economic inequality, and more.
Credit and debit cards, electronic payment apps, mobile payment services, and virtual currencies are in use today.
Benefits of a cashless society include lower crime rates, automatic paper trails, easier international payments, and reduced cash management costs.
Disadvantages of a cashless society include sacrificing privacy, exposure to hacking risks, technology problems, economic inequality, payment provider fees, and increased temptation to overspend.
Without cash, payments happen electronically through credit and debit cards, electronic payment apps, mobile payment services, and virtual currencies.
Many nations that use cash sparingly have already seen mobile devices become common tools for payments.
Cryptocurrency is already part of the discussion, but there are risks and regulatory hurdles that make it impractical for most consumers.
Sweden aims to become the first cashless nation in the world by 2023.
Cash transactions accounted for just 1% of Sweden's GDP in 2019.
India banned 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in 2016 to catch criminals and those working in the informal economy.
Electronic transactions in India increased temporarily after demonetization but cash returned to pre-demonetization levels by the end of 2017.
Both countries struggled to address how marginalized individuals would fare in a cashless society.
Cash currency is becoming less common with the rise of digital and virtual financial transactions.
The shift to a fully cashless society has potential drawbacks.
Most countries have a department within their governing body that regulates the printing and distribution of currency.
Businesses benefit from processing fees when consumers use their apps and services to send and receive payments.
Moving to cashless payments will save businesses money and make transactions easier to track.