Denmark is inching closer to becoming the first cashless society in the world today. Will other more advanced adopt the same proposals being made by the Danish government? Perhaps.
The Danish government is putting forward an initiative that would eliminate the obligation for retailers to accept cash as a method of payment. The removal of this requirement may come as early as next year, and businesses in all sectors, like restaurants and clothing retailers, may not be legally mandated to accept cash payments.
Finansrådet, a Danish finance industry lobbying group, argues that the move would allow retailers to save money by spending less on security as well as diminishing the complex management of currency and change.
With weak economic growth, this proposal made by the Danes is part of a stimulus plan that aims to grow the economy by lowering the costs of doing business and increasing productivity levels within Danish businesses. Moreover, there is an election coming up this year. The modification would first have to be approved by the Danish parliament – a vote has not been scheduled, but experts say it’s unlikely any opposition would come from it.
Denmark is taking advantage of the current trends adopted by the consuming public. Reportedly, one-third of the country utilizes MobilePay, a Danske Bank mobile application that works by linking your smartphone to another user’s mobile device or to a sensor at the cash register.
Many are concerned, however, that it could lead to a greater amount of fraud and security infiltrations. Danes are alluding to the fact that Sweden, another Scandinavian nation that has gradually accepted the idea of cashless society (there are at least five banking branches that are cashless), has experienced double the number of fraud cases.
In North America, we have slowly started to welcome a cashless society. With mobile payment systems, credit and debit cards, bitcoin, PayPal and so on, cash is primarily being used now for small payments. It’s possible there will be very little resistance because consumers of the millennial generation are utilizing this mobile payment technology as well as ecommerce.
Where I see it from, this is another banking situation combined with governments. Cost? Once the banks have no more cash in a market, then the cost of their service will rise, just like the process of banks now beginning to charge customers for their saving accounts.
As was recently written about by a upper level manager at Nike. The automation of society even though it creates good returns for businesses is not a good thing. There are small groups who make large sums of money in the high tech industries but employment within the high tech industry is decreasing instead of increasing.When 1 person creates an application, that is the extent of employment, 1. Yet 100,000’s and millions may use that application.
We need leaders who can look beyond their greed and do the job they were hired to do in a democratic society, which is to work for the people. Denmark is a small inconsequential country, (I am 1/4 Danish), they protect their people by not allowing many into their country (minimum $500,000 net worth cash or retirement funds). In this way the number of emplyment opportunities is kept somewhat steady. The world population continues to grow and the oppotunities decrease, where does it end?
Once this is enacted, combined with bans or scrutiny of cash withdrawals, the war on cash will enter a new phase. Taken to its logical conclusion, it would be impossible for anyone to make a transaction without being monitored, and possible at any time for the state/financial corporation to block one’s access to money.