A cashless society: what are the pros and cons?
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Are we heading for a cashless society in the UK? The pandemic accelerated the move towards contactless and digital payments, but what are the pros and cons?
By Kate Morgan
The move towards electronic and contactless payments has been gaining momentum for some years, but increased rapidly during the pandemic, to minimise unnecessary physical transactions.
Many assume we are inevitably becoming a cashless society, but is this true – or a good thing?
Here we explore the pros and cons, impacts and effects of a cashless society and look to a future where traditional currency may eventually be history.
Cashless society: advantages
One major advantage of going cashless is a significant reduction in crime.
When people are handling less cash, bank robberies, burglaries and corruption drop.
Because cash is essentially untraceable, it’s a useful tool for criminals, where digital currency is less easy to exploit, and can be shut down quickly if it falls into the wrong hands.
Advances such a...
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