Will cash be obsolete

[chrisild]

I just got another portion of that when a phone hacker forced me to restart my phone from zero.

Eeek. Those Google Waze alerts in Ukrainian are of the "weird but not threatening" type, even though the reason behind that – the hack – is not so amusing. Having to restore your account access is definitely a problem especially if it takes that much effort.

By the way, the problem with Verifone's H5000 terminals in Germany persists. The company does not produce that type any more, but apparently they can be used until late 2024. Verifone, or whoever is responsible for the mess, will apparently have to fix this device by device (article in German). As long as the card reader merely reads from the card and the payment is then done via direct debit, even those terminals work. But as soon as an online connection (to verify the card or account data) is necessary, they fail.

In other words, this will take some more time. The "good" thing is that by now most people heard the story, so they will look for alert signs in affected stores or ask whether their cards work. Nobody really knows how many readers there are with that issue; the article says roughly every fourth to every sixth device.

[Figleaf]

No connection between the hack and Waze. The French hackers have come back, but I learned from Apple how to defeat them. Waze is just weird. Those speed zone alerts were in French at first. That changed to American English without any reason and they are now still in Ukrainian.

On the H5000's, economic theory calls for batch processing and prioritising, just like COVID-19 injections: you make a supply of the old terminals and publish priorities (e.g. users with the highest number of transactions just before the problem occurred first), switch all their equipment in one go to save on travel cost and take away their faulty equipment for repair. Openness and flexibility will help.

Peter

[chrisild]

Oh those youngsters. Just when you think "the world" is about to go cashless, they start doing things differently.

Today I read an article about "Cash Stuffing" (ntv, German). Apparently there are young people who talk, on TikTok and YouTube for example, how they "control" their expenses: Once a month they withdraw the money that they plan to spend, put the cash into different purpose-specific envelopes, and then use that cash for payments.

Of course there are a few problems that come with this. First of all, many payments (apartment rent, phone bill, etc.) cannot be made that way. So you either need to transfer the money for those payments back to your account in time, or you withdraw only the money that you can actually use for cash expenses. Another issue is that with a lot if cash you may become attractive for thieves. But still, I find this idea interesting – young people preferring cash?! 

[krishna]

I agree 100% with the above point, one becomes much more thrifty when dealing paying in cash

I feel much more empowered, having some cash in my pocket, when compared with only carrying cards and mobile phones

Cash is the most important mode of payment used by the disabled, uneducated, disadvantaged, marginalized, elderly, inaccessible communities in society

Just that i can use internet based devices, and have the resources to pen this reply, dosen't make me superior in any way to impose my opinion on the large masses of society who are solely depended on cash and other physical currency

Equity starts first with accessibility

[Abhay]

India is indeed moving towards a Cashless society. Now even a small vegetable or fruit seller accepts digital payments via UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions, which have become possible due to large penetration of Smart Phones even in the remote village areas.

But this is all good only for LEGAL transactions - whether small or big. But can India be a totally cashless society? I don't think that the answer is YES.

India still holds a high rank amongst the most corrupt nations. I don't think that anyone will accept Bribe through Digital payments. So, until unless people are comfortable accepting bribes through digital payments, I don't think that any society can become cashless.

Abhay

[Pabitra]

Standing in many parts of the crowded cities in developing nations,  one fails to,get data signal. Some things like traffic jam, missing signals are a part of day to day living which one may need to bear for many years to come in many such countries.

[eurocoin]

Cash stuffing also was in the news in France. Haven't heard of it before and do not know anyone who does it. On the cobtrary, I do know a young person who has a different bank card for every type of expense though..

I have a lot of doubts about how widespread this cashstuffing really is.