Society will be far worse off if we ditch coins to go cashless
For the past week or so, I have been carrying around about ten pounds in my wallet and haven’t once considered spending it.
That’s not because I live a frugal life - as a father of two I cannot leave the house without having to put my hand in my pocket - more that spending cash anywhere is becoming an increasingly difficult thing to do.
According to the Bank of England, in five years’ time, just nine per cent of transactions in the UK will be made in cash and while there will be plenty of those who claim that this is simply another example of progress, there is also the argument that this could disadvantage millions of people.
Campaigners say that, as is often the case with advances in society, the most vulnerable of us will suffer the most if the folding stuff becomes obsolete.
They say that the elderly, many of whom wouldn’t know a banking app if it moved into the spare room, would undoubtedly struggle if they had to pay for the weekly shop with plastic or, God forbid, on a smartphone that many of them don’t own.
For those old enough to have heard of Max Bygraves cash remains king and let’s face it the Grey Pound is still a very important part of an economy that needs all the help it can get so why alienate them?
Other groups we are told that will suffer if paying for stuff goes completely digital include disabled and vulnerable younger people who get a taste of independence by using cash.
An increasing number of businesses, especially small or independent operations, are going cashless and it’s easy to see why when an increasing number of bank branches are disappearing from high streets.
You can’t get bags of change from a vape shop or a pizza place.
Not having to cash up at the end of the day is another reason why time poor business owners are turning up their noses at any form of legal tender that has the Monarch’s head on it.
But this move away from notes and coins isn’t happening at such a relentless pace everywhere else. It appears that only the Scandinavian countries are phasing out cash as rapidly as we are here.
During a recent family holiday in Portugal, cash was our preferred method of paying for meals and that has either already disappeared down the side of our sofa or will never get played with again.
You know where you are with cash, especially when you are digging into your pockets at an alarming rate during a break away from it all.
Yes, banking apps show you what you are spending in real time but checking your spending before ordering another bottle of Super Bock lager kind of takes the fun out of being on holiday.
Another reason I’d be sad to see cash disappear for good, is that there is something far more human about sticking twenty quid in a card than telling the birthday boy or girl that you have just transferred some money into their account.
My kids prefer cash because it is tangible rather than something in an account that is managed by mum and dad - it is difficult to learn about money when you can’t see it.
It will also be a very sad day when children of the future are told that the tooth fairy has pinged them a quid in exchange for the molar under the pillow.
Speaking of which, what becomes of baskers and homeless people when you are no longer able to slip them a five pound note? Will they have to display their bank details instead of their violin case?
There will always be a need for cash, even if this comprises a fraction of money transactions.
There are those who say that spending cash affords you much more privacy than electronic payments but this feels like a slightly redundant argument, given the fact that anybody with a decent phone and social media accounts has signed away their right to stay under the radar.
I want to keep cash because I truly believe that society will be far worse off without it.