Topic: How long will it take banks to phase out physical cash completely? (Read 4071 times)

One of the advantages with physical cash is that it is possible for handicapped people to use it. It will be almost impossible for blind and other handicapped people to use digital cash. If they use the digital version, then chances of getting scammed will also increase by manifold. I am not against the proliferation of digital currency. But at the same time, it is not practical to eliminate the usage of physical cash completely.

I think it’ll be more than decades to fully eradicate the use of physical cash, some countries are even printing out money again because of the debt they are currently in. Although I do hope in the near future, people will really use cryptocurrencies as a real form of money to pay anything aside from the real money but I don’t think it’ll apply in the current situation very soon despite of COVID.

I don't think that aiming is the right word, I think that central banks is considering going digital but they still can't focus all their manpower on it because there are a lot of variable that needs to be considered such as adoptability of digital money in the population and the security of digital infrastructure that could collapse a digital money reliant economy. Maybe someday but I don't think they will be doing it in the near future.

I don't think central banks are aiming for this. The rapid turnover of cash has a positive effect on the economy of each state. The Chinese government has even specifically warned its citizens not to get too carried away with the transition to non-cash payment methods.
In addition, some categories of people, for various reasons, either cannot or will not want to switch only to the use of non-cash money. Therefore, this is a matter of a very distant future.

there's news regarding my country that will develop CBDC recently. however, the current hype is not about CBDC, but it's about a local decacorn startup (Gojek) partnering with a local unicorn startup (Tokopedia) that has a plan to build its own digital bank. they already have many users since their apps are for our daily needs, like food, transportation, all in one. their users mostly smartphone users. they aim to be the local Ant Group (a big company from China) for my country. seems like my country will have its own "Alipay" soon.

Slowly we will divert to a cashless society but it does not totally mean that no paper money will in existent, we can't rely everything online, what if we are in a place where there's no internet connectivity, and what if there's a power outage? all of that are considered and it's always better to have many options to use to transact.

I don't think this idea will be consider by the banks to be implement. I know that cashless transaction/s is efficient but it is still important to have physical cash in our pockets because not all establishments are accepting cards, crypto/s, and etc. for their products and services. And not all people have the capability to do cashless transactions.

Good point. There are quite a few challenges when it comes to replacing physical cash in its entirety. One of the biggest ones is the lack of electricity and/or Internet access. Additionally, the elderly won't feel the need to abandon cash altogether. Governments and central banks will have a hard time trying to implement their newly-improved monetary system in the mainstream world. It's why I believe this process will take decades before it becomes a reality. With COVID-19 having a positive effect on digital payments adoption, most people will find it easy to switch from physical cash to a CBDC. Crypto won't be going be going anywhere thanks to its decentralized and open source nature.

Nonetheless, there's no need to worry about CBDCs replacing physical cash in the time being. We can continue to enjoy physical cash payments while it lasts. But be aware that the launch of CBDCs will mark the end of an era for privacy. Governments and central banks will have full control over your money as their surveillance abilities are increased. Fortunately, crypto will be there to save the day. How fast will CBDCs replace physical cash will greatly depend on how well people adopt the new system in the mainstream world. Just my thoughts

From my little understanding, seems they want to phase out physical currency to be able to properly monitor how people use their money, to be able to have more control over the financial system, for the sake of hygiene etc...
Well, I don't believe they can phase out physical currency if they really understand what currency is.
I guess they could impose this in places where people/things are sufficiently controlled by them (or an entity).

I don't think cash can be phased out. Coz the elderly need them and cash is the most stable money in the real world. What if electricity breaks down?

It may take a long time.
The first thing to consider is people's acceptance. Young people may be more accepting, but there may be certain difficulties for the elderly.
Moreover, it is not yet known how long it will take for digital currency to be universal within the bank. Therefore, in the short term, physical currency will continue to exist and circulate widely.

That's certainly true, mate. The constant money printing by mainstream governments will only lead to inflation. Fiat will devaluate itself at a very fast pace because of governments' intentions to "save the economy". It seems to me that the US Dollar will be severely affected by the huge stimulus payments provided by the United States government. Other countries' currencies may end the same way if governments continue to print more money to tackle the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The only solution to save the mainstream economy is to do a "global reset". And the only way to achieve this is by starting anew with a digital version of Fiat (aka CBDCs).

Now, how fast will it take for banks to replace physical cash in exchange for CBDS will greatly depend on the people themselves. My guess is that it'll take a long time before CBDCs become replace physical cash as not everyone is quite fond with digital payments. Despite the recent advancements in technology, old people still rely on physical cash for everyday payments. Not to mention, most people living in third-world countries lack Internet access. Central banks and governments are going to have to work together in order to help solve these issues the fastest way possible. No matter what happens in the future, there's no denying that crypto/Blockchain tech will change our economy in ways that were never imagined. Just my opinion

They have...right?

The COVID 1.9 trillion plan by President Biden was one of the largest expenditures in US history, perhaps in the world. And that quite literally is a digital creation of money from the US treasury because they press a button, and billions go out to people's checking account directly.

The US government couldn't keep up printing money at the rate they're going so pretty soon USD will be worthless.

They wouldn't be able to and won't want to phase out physical cash even if there is a pandemic, remember there are other pandemics and outbreaks that have happened throughout history like Bubonic plague and Spanish Flu to name some that did not warrant a phase out of physical cash in exchange for something like a barter system or gold, in this case cryptocurrency will not be able to cater the populace because not everyone is connected to the Internet and dirt poor slums would much rather want to have their go at physical cash, not to mention that there are also technologically illiterate people that will be having a hard time. I think the only way that physical cash will phase out is when we are able to connect everyone to the Internet and the price of devices to access are so affordable that you can give them for free.

It will not be rolled-out in all countries.
Maybe in the first world countries, but still in the remote areas, hard to be digital.
Even after 10 years, I believe a lot of us are still using our own fiat currency.
The percentage of going digital may be higher as compared today, but fiat will still remain.
I don't think physical cash will be phased out totally even after 2 decades.

Are you really sure that in 10 years we will become cashless? In certain countries, maybe - yes but not everywhere. Cash is still preferred money for some people because they have full control on it. You can't control your banking account because they can lock it anytime they wish if there is something wrong. In overall, not your keys - not your coins applies to those who own bank account and cards, not your cash - not your money. Crypto is a great deal in digital world when it comes to money but I think that both, cash and crypto has so unique pros and cons that it's hard to say (for me) the actual winner here for our welfare.

An example that should people do look on how government do really still minding of paper fiat even though they are already introducing digital ones.
Really hard to believe on that fiat would really go extinct due on todays tech or development.We had gone through digital but still we do end up on
using paper ones. Assuming that crypto will replace fiat? Even on my wildest dreams, this one wont really happen no matter what.
Banks would exist as long government does exist. Nothing beats out when they do have some money to print on.

Indeed, we already use digital money anyway. But in order to fully pass, I think it takes one generation.

It is unlikely that cash will disappear in a hundred years. Even the Chinese government, which is already testing its digitized yuan, has warned the country's population that it is not worth abandoning the use of cash. Each type of money has its own advantages and disadvantages. Cash is sometimes simply irreplaceable both in certain situations and in relation to certain categories of citizens.
In addition, cash is not tracked and any type of non-cash centralized payments is fully tracked by the government.

Exactly. The transition process will be time-consuming and challenging as not everyone will quickly adapt towards digital currencies issued by mainstream governments. We will expect old people to continue using physical cash for daily payments. That's why I believe that phasing out physical cash will take a long, long time. Consider these moments as the last opportunity to enjoy privacy/anonymity via the use of physical cash. Once it's "phased out", the era for privacy will be long gone. Each transaction you make will be visible by mainstream governments and central banks. It'll be similar to credit/debit cards. At least, people will have an alternative financial system that's private, secure, and outside the scope of third-parties. Crypto will co-exist with CBDCs allowing people to enjoy true financial freedom. The decentralized and open-source nature of crypto/Blockchain tech will make this possible.

Nonetheless, time will tell us what lies ahead with the mainstream economy. While CBDCs are the way of the future, some governments have been reluctant in accepting change. Most third-world countries still rely on physical cash, without any indications of adopting digital payments anytime soon. The lack of Internet access on such countries, greatly delays the adoption of CBDCs. If governments are still interested in making CBDCs a reality, they're going to need to provide citizens the tools they need in order to participate in the new digital economy. Just my opinion