‘First They Came for the Pennies…’ in the War on Cash

But who is the governments’ strongest ally in their War on Cash? By Don Quijones, Spain & Mexico, editor at WOLF STREET. The War on Cash is advancing on all fronts. One region that has hogged the headlines with its war against physical currency is Scandinavia. Sweden became the first country to enlist its own citizens as largely willing guinea pigs in a dystopian economic experiment: negative interest rates in a cashless society. As Credit Suisse reports, no matter where you go or what you want to purchase, you will find a small ubiquitous sign saying ‘Vi hanterar ej kontanter’ (‘We don’t accept cash’):
Whether it’s for mulled wine at the Christmas market, a beer at the bar, even the smallest charge is settled digitally. Even the homeless vendors of the street newspapers Faktum and Situation Stockholm carry mobile card readers.
A similar situation is unfolding in Denmark, where nearly 40% of the paying demographic use MobilePay, a Danske Bank app that allows all payments to be completed via smartphone. With more and more retailers rejecting physical money, a cashless society is ‘no longer an illusion but a vision that can be fulfilled within a reasonable time frame,’ says Michael Busk-Jepsen, executive director of the Danish Bankers Association.

This post was published at Wolf Street by Don Quijones ‘ November 7, 2015.