What does the future look like? Do we want to imagine a place where we all happily hold our money on our smartphones? No matter we go digital with our money, is it possible that the cashless society will not be an easy option for the world?

The cashless society is already a reality, at least in Sweden, where 4 out of 5 purchases are paid using cards or smartphone apps. Cards and mobile payments are the reason why cash will become obsolete: Digitization raises security, reduces costs and offers new possibilities for digital marketing.

So we know we are all dependent on a currency of some form and for a long time this has largely been cash. As the world has developed however, the concept of paper money has diminished as people move more towards plastic money, and as society becomes increasingly digital, it is natural that cash will become a thing of the past.

Our world is changing because of online and social media, like Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, which is why cashless society is currently being researched by different organisations. Cashless society is defined by cross payment systems such as electronic purse, electronic card, and cashless ATM which no longer require cash or use of physical coin or currency to be used to make a payment.

Cashless Society could be a very risky lifestyle to live in, after you take all the benefits we’ve been taught. Before you spend all your money on a trip or holiday, you should first learn to get financial control. Nowadays, all of the places we go to on a trip are in the middle of a city, so there are a lot of opportunities for cyber-crashes, scams and fraud.

Our bank accounts are our lifeline. Banks are key to our social life, contact with friends and social interactions online. The daily onslaught of information technology that can make us vulnerable to cyber attacks is among the threats we face, but our banks are the biggest. These institutions hold our financial identities and maintain our records. And yet many of us still rely on them without any insurance, security or physical security.

The US saw cyber attacks explode from 600 in 2009 to a staggering 15,000 in 2015. Some banks are having trouble processing transactions. Fortunately cashless machines, such as Apple Pay, are making this much easier. The downfall of the financial world is the day to day use of cash. Cashless is all the rage in modern society, and although it does save you time and money, it is an excellent motivator for stealing from, and even selling, banks. Unfortunately, the number of cyber attackers and even banks to attack, just simply because they want to, is growing exponentially. When criminals take on such massive amounts of money, the result is usually the end of society. Cyber attacks are carried out either by individuals or groups of hackers. Every day the concern of cyber attacks on our Internet infrastructure grows especially now that a great portion of our economy is connected.

The risks of a cashless society can be accurately divided into two categories: freedom versus livelihood. A cashless society is one that forces those who do not choose to part with their money to do so voluntarily. Such a system could seriously destroy human society and cause freedom and prosperity to diminish. This system is already in existence in Australia and is making criminals out of billions of dollars in Australia alone. So are we willing to go this far down the road where humans become completely trapped into a life of debt bondage? Where every transaction is monitored and recorded? Where banks can track your movements anywhere just by the online transactions made? A system that would allow banks more power over our digital money?

The problem is that many of us are not psychologically prepared to accept the abolishment of cash. We struggle to break through the psychological barrier and convince people to switch. It is possible to make most of us in this society comfortable with cashless, but it may not the best. Cash is the least secure of all forms of payment and was designed by criminals. Its easy to withdraw from many ATMs, but not from the whole world of ATMs or credit cards. Now it is becoming more and more common, especially among the younger crowd. A lot of fear surrounds us, fearing being robbed and losing our savings. This fear is truly unfounded, but if it does take over, we could have a lot of unrest.

The move towards a cashless society is accelerating day by day. I could only imagine that within a decade, all forms of physical cash would cease to be, especially in this pandemic era where physical money is deemed to be unsafe and unhygienic. Physical cash though represents our proof of our wealth, our means to buy and trade. Without it, we could lose the only proof of wealth that we really hold apart from the possessions we have. Instead, it will be replaced by mere numbers on a screen, numbers that make it all feel artificial and less real. It would be interesting to know what your thoughts on this would be.