The Cashless Society

I got a taste today of what we can expect to come - a cashless society.

The missive came from my private health fund, (which is excellent by the way), announcing some post pandemic changes.

One of those is that they will no longer be accepting cash in any of their outlets. Apparently it’s to protect their workers from cash borne disease.

That’s a load of nonsense of course but it serves a narrative that has long been building.

Before I get into that, I should let you know that I actually thought to deny cash payments in settlement of a debt was to extinguish the debt (with some exceptions).

Based on the decision of my health fund that theory is not correct.

In any event, their announcement won’t have any impact on me as I never even knew they had outlets that dealt in cash. I  have always paid on credit card.

However, this decision is the precursor to a movement that will have an impact on all of us. That’s the move to a cashless society.

’Everyone’ knows cash is dirty because it passes through so many hands. Yet it hasn’t been responsible for any health epidemic that I can recall. But governments and business consider it dirty because it impacts them.

When people deal in cash there is a risk that it can be stolen or the appropriate taxes are not paid. Cash is very hard to trace and supports the ’black’ economy.

It’s also in much reduced use. One recent survey suggests that 90 percent of transactions are now cashless.

So why should the move to a cashless society for the law abiding citizen be of any concern?

For me, one major concern is privacy. Yes, that strange old thing that people trade in exchange for Facebook access and Google usage.

I don’t want the government or my bank or the tax office to know where I spend every dollar I earn. Who knows, they could even use that information against me!

We’ve all heard the stories of home loans denied because of too many smashed avocado breakfasts but think how far this could go.

If the details of your every transaction is a matter of record then it can be used by government and big business against you.

Imagine if you spend too much at Dan Murphy’s or on chips at the local takeaway...you might find it hard to get health insurance. Perhaps you want to purchase some intimate personal item and would prefer no digital record of it. That would be nigh impossible with a cash ban. That’s just the start.

Your data, your spending habits would be available to all. It would detail your habits, desires, impulses and proclivities and could easily be used against you.

That might not bother some of you but I don’t want that for me or for anyone else. Unfortunately it is coming and when it is implemented your right to financial privacy will effectively be lost for good.