Cashless society seems like an inevitable progression into an easier, faster and more convenient future. But this comes at a huge of cost of privacy and anonymity of cash payments, and freedom from control over people’s funds.
Limiting cash payments and banning high-value bank notes is becoming a global trend. In France the cap on cash transactions is only 1,000 euros and in Italy it’s at €2,999.99. The European Central Bank has recently stopped issuing €500-notes, although they will remain accepted as a legal tender indefinitely. India’s Prime Minister Modi banned the use of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes basically overnight. In Sweden, no high street bank in big cities handles cash anymore with 85% of the population banking online.