“Cash” (CC BY 2.0) by Ozzy Delaney
There once was time when many people in the UK believed that the safest place for their hard-earned cash was to be hidden away under the bed, or even under the floorboards. Luckily, there were enough stories about these same people being relieved of their life savings for most to see the flaw in this strategy and safely put the money into a bank account instead.But now, as we hurtle ever-onwards through the 21st century, it would seem that cash is not only missing from under our beds – very soon we might not have it in our wallets either.You only have to look at the bigger picture to see that cash is definitely on the way out. Not only are bank branches closing down at an ever-increasing rate, with which.co.uk reporting that TSB and Barclays are leading the way, but an estimated 9,500 free cash machines have also disappeared since 2018.This is definitely a reflection of the way that many of us are choosing to lead our financial lives now. After all, it’s so much more convenient to handle our banking online and through phone apps and most people simply can’t remember the last time they wrote out a cheque.
“Con Apple Pay podrás comprar desde el n” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by iphonedigital
It’s also something that pervades virtually everything in our lives, assisted by technology like so-called proximity mobile payments – Apple or Google Pay to you or me. Around 8.3 million of us are now using this method and there are even rumours that the payment limits are set to be raised to £100 or more.Even in our leisure time cash is taking a back seat. Order a takeaway and everything can be paid for in advance. Book cinema tickets online with one of the big chains and they may already have your debit card details to hand. And if you enjoy playing casino games, no doubt you have visited some of the many operators that you’ll find on a site like bonus.ca. With them, it's not just the bonuses, such as as free spins on selected slots games, that appeal to players but the convenience of playing remotely – and that, naturally, means digital payments.While it might sound like we’re on the verge of a brave new world, there are certain factors that mean that we may never actually reach the status of being totally cash-free. Certainly, if you look to an authority like bankofengland.co.uk they see it as an unlikely prospect. The fact that they have also undertaken a programme of printing longer-lasting plastic banknotes suggests they’ll be with us for some time to come.Plus, there are always going to be times when we need cash, for example for the window cleaner who simply doesn’t have a card machine or even to show our appreciation to a particularly talented busker or street performer.That said, it’s certainly true that our visits to the ATM are definitely going to become less frequent and our wallets might be padded out with receipts rather than notes. So a cashless society might look good on paper, but it’s never going to work out in practice.