Topic: Cash must be king, Giorgia Meloni tells shoppers - page 2. (Read 264 times)

Every person in the world should be against money laundering, because it serves no legitimate purpose and is detrimental to society because it is abused by the greedy few. We're not talking about people who want to shield where they spend their money, we're talking about criminals who use this device to clean money - stolen either through fraud, people who want to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, money raised from nefarious sales, or many other nasty things. Being able to trace illegal money swapping helps track down the crime and who benefited from it - the transparency of the blockchain actually assists in anti-money laundering by it's very nature as long as any exit points are properly regulated.

You've got this wrong, she didn't say a thing about money laundering, her position was that raising the limit slightly won't affect money laundering that much since it will still be low enough and still comparable to other EU countries. She focused on the other aspect, that you're forced to use a credit card or a debit card for payments over 60E even at a chain store, which is a bit stupid, to be honest, I'm in the EU and I can still pay my groceries in cash far higher in value with cash at any store. Now switch from groceries to a night out and you're out of luck since it's highly improbable to come under those 60 euros for a dinner for two persons, so basically, everyone would be forced to have a card.
It's one thing to encourage, but it's completely a different thing to apply unseasonable limits, the limits in Italy were the lowest in all of EU and even increasing them they would not be the highest at all, Germany has no limit and is just planning to introduce a 10k one, double the one Meloni is aiming for.


It's not about digitalization, is about the resistance of their own citizen, Italy scores one of the lowest even looking at the number of transactions per card, Germans also prefer cash to cards despite being able to pay everywhere with a card, this is no longer a thing of infrastructure but mentality.

I personally use cash a lot because I am used to it. In addition, digital currency is really inconvenient in daily life, and many places do not accept it. In addition, in my life and financial investment, the feeling of using today is the same as that of digital currency. I feel more clear when using cash and know where the money is going. But friends who do international trade around me like to use digital currency for transactions, because it can save a lot of time and taxes.

I am a big "digital cash" supporter when it comes to Crypto currencies, but I agree with Giorgia Meloni  for a different reason. The global debt crisis are built on "credit card" use and how easy it is to swipe a card.

People seem to spend less, when they have cash in their pockets.... because they physically handle the money and they can also see how their wallet are drained, when they use it.

I still use "cash" a lot.. and only use online payments when I pay for some of my expenses, where I have to stand in a queue to make the payments. (It is just more convenient to use debit orders or to make EFTs) 

It seems she did not go to economics lecture in her class. 
Where at one corner of the globe there are nations who are changing their denominations so that they can dig out the black money that is hidden everywhere in the nation and also trying more digital approach: here is PM from most developed countries who thinks that cash is actually the way to avoid money laundering. When it's digital, it has digital footprints, when its physical it has nothing. There are millions of ways that people have learnt over the period of time using cash money.
May be something is not right with their thinking.

I had no idea European countries had limits of cash! It sounds totalitarian, in my opinion.
Ms.Meloni has proven herself to be already a controversial figure within the European community, mostly because things she has said in the past, I did not expect her to go against the plans of the developed economies on implementing digital cash or CBDCs.

I can only speculate she wants to reduce profits taken by the banks in Italy, for some reason, credit is not free.

Giorgia Meloni is one of a kind. Who knows how much EURO they have created thus the reason for its devaluation. And She must have seen it coming that banks are going to run in the next few months along with digital currencies so if one has many on the bank will lose them all. Accepting cash alone and having cash on hand makes sense. Though they may still be devalued, bank notes will not disappear in an instant.

With the downward trend in cash limits in Europe, this is to be welcomed. In some countries the limit is as low as €1,000. Some say this encourages the underground economy, and indeed it does, but it also respects the privacy of people who do not defraud and do not want to be monitored.


I agree, but I would point out that for low amounts it is the best. If you want to move 1 million pounds or euros, the best option is bitcoin, but for day-to-day payments with privacy there is nothing better than cash, because with cash you pay everywhere (with some rare exceptions) while the options for day-to-day payments with bitcoin are very limited.

Some countries are just bad at digitalizing, and you often need cash there to get by. Italy has been heavily cash-based for a while. I've found the data from 2019 that around 86% of payments were made in cash there, so it's not a drastic policy change, but it still feels weird to reinforce what is clearly a problem that should be solved. Using cash is less hygienic, riskier (getting a person's cash is easier than using a stolen plastic card), more prone to financial crimes (cash can be counterfeit and real cash can be easily used for illegal purposes because no ID is required), less convenient (you have to count and carry it, cashiers have to count what to give you in return). I am not a fan of cash, I think going digital is the way.

....


Most EU nations are pro AML (anti money laundering) regulation. Which promotes digital currency, CBDC and cashless society, all formats which they claim helps prevent money laundering.

The new italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni however appears to be one of the few bucking the trend. She is proposing regulations and laws which allow businesses to refuse credit cards and demand cash payments for sums up to €60. An increase from the current limit of €30.

With bank runs and related negative trends on the rise. "Cash is king" sounds like a great policy to me. Certainly this is the wave of the future. Only bitcoin beats cash. Gold, silver and precious metals are too clunky, unsupported and cumbersome to efficiently conduct transactions. The same can be said of a barter system. Cash is one of the best options we have atm.