We all know this virus is gonna change the world as we know it, social distancing, cleanliness, how we conduct business, technology... but has anyone stopped for a second and thought how it’s going to affect cash?
Physical money was always going to disappear at some point, it doesn’t make sense anymore in the world we live in and I think this pandemic is going to seriously speed it up.
Think about it, it would stop so much crime. Every digital payment, whether it be transfer or card payment: it’s all traceable.
How many drug dealers are gonna be sitting on your street corners with a chip and pin machine? Terrorism, drug trafficking, people trafficking, corruption, bribery, tax evasion, it’s not gonna stop it completely I'm not that naive but surely it’s going to cause a drastic change for the better?
And also think how much it would save governments, at a time when they need it more than ever. The cost of designing, printing, transporting, protecting, and circulating cash must be enormous.
Still don’t buy it? look at these stats:
PayPal averaged 250,000 net new active accounts every day in April, a growth rate of 135% year-on-year
In the same month, Visa saw contactless payments increase 150% year on year, which has been helped by things like the U.K. increasing the limit from £30 to £45.
You’ve heard the phrase Dirty money, it's money gotten from ill gotten gains but it literally is filthy, how many grubby hands has it passed through? It’s enough to make you ill just thinking about it!
There’s been no evidence thank bank notes have been spreading the infection but there’s certainly a public perception of it.
Studies have shown that flu viruses can survive on banknotes for 17 days, and a team at NYU found 3000 different types of bacteria on dollar bills, along with DNA from various animals, viruses, and traces of drugs... well, that’s not a surprise is it.
Link, who manage all the ATMs in the U.K. has expected cash to reduce to 10% of all payments in the U.K. by August vs 34% before lockdown and 63% in 2008.
The US and South Korea have quarantined bank notes, the Louvre has banned all cash payments.
In China they’re actively destroying banknotes from high risk areas like hospitals and wet markets.
So if one things for certain from all this. It’s that in my belief, physical money, bank notes, coins, cash. Is dead. And will be gone a lot sooner than we think.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Thanks for reading,
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