Are We On The Verge Of A Cashless Society?

Here is the kicker. It actually costs money to move coin and cash around. So for big enterprise, State and Federal, highway toll systems, big chain restaurants, to have cash on hand and to move that cash has a physical and security element to the cost. I can see why big businesses have been moving in the cashless direction. They did the math and found fully digital to be cheaper.

It will likely happen sometime in the future but I still use cash for many local purchases. It sure is nice to have cash in your wallet when the "system" is down and not accepting credit/ debit card purchases...

I think this makes for a more accurate statement. I can easily see my son, nieces, and nephews (those that are under 18) giving up cash. They seem to find it burdensome. I feel like their kids will never use it and by the time we die no one will.

Of course, I could be wrong. If I could predict the future that accurately I would be rich, right?

We are probably much closer than we think. People like us who care will eventually die. If future generations never use cash, why defend its existence?

The thing about fiat currency is that it can be eliminated with one stroke of a pen.

Fair points made.

Even if we were to stop all the mints and printers today, it would probably take a century or longer before we could reach the point of being cashless, i.e. demonetizing all physical coin and currency. Consider:

1) Eisenhower dollars haven't been made in 40 years; Kennedy halves are approaching the 2 decade mark since they officially stopped circulating. I could go out with a pocket full of either and complete a transaction with them at maybe 9/10 stores without any issues beyond a strange look.

2) All coins made since 1793 and most notes made since the early 1900s are legal tender for all debts, meaning they can be refused for a purchase, but not to settle a debt. That can only be reversed by passing a new law, which would likely amount to career suicide for whomever proposed it.

3) Related to the above, a few years ago I was called to appraise and liquidate a coin collection for a member of my father in law's church who passed away. He made some very good investments with his money, but never told anyone and lived in a tiny house in Middle of Nowhere, NC. But the collection isn't important--his family discovered a small shoebox at the back of his sock drawer that contained six hundred thousand dollars in cash. Nobody knew he had it. Imagine missing the redemption deadline on that, or even having to go through the ropes of being investigated as a potential crime lord just for having that.

My children will know about money and it's value (at 2 and 4 they both raid my change to "save up to go to Disney!"). I can't guarantee how long cash will be used, but I guarantee it will be a long, uphill battle before cash is legally dead.

Well, all I know is that just like we can eliminate money with the stroke of a pen, someone can also destroy our online banking systems with a well-placed hack. And that is scary to me.