As Sweden Goes, So Goes the World: The Beginning of the End of Cash

[wa3zrm]

There are many, many things to dislike about analog money. Cash and coins are unwieldy. They're heavy. They're dirty. They leave no automatic record of the financial transactions that are made with them.

Here in the U.S., despite Square and PayPal and other services that would seem to herald the end of cash, bills and coins still represent 7 percent of our total economy. In Sweden, however -- which ranked first in this year's Global Information Technology Report from the World Economic Forum -- cash is scarcer. And it's becoming, the AP reports, scarcer still. While Sweden was the first European country to introduce bank notes in 1661, it's now come farther than any other country in the attempt to eradicate them.

(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...

[lxskllr]

Big Brother's wet dream. I'll be on board as soon as a widespread ANONYMOUS electronic payment method comes in to being.

[jagmanss]

Man! This reminds me.... I was in line at the post office the other day and a manager went up and down the line asking if you are using a debit or credit card go to the last postal clerk and said why wait.... I was like WTF and the guy behind me said the same and said what, Nobody uses cash anymore... I said yeah shouldn't that be the other way around...

I remember when they used to have cash only lines at the grocery store.... Now it's 10 or 20 items or less lines.... Now someone who has no idea how to use a debit/check card and or forgets their pin and now holds up the whole line when it used to be someone paying by check.... WTF... I have seen people use their card for $1.75... and then not get cash back.... I know there are times I didn't have it and am guilty of this, But I least took out cash for my next purchase....

When did cash not be the currency to use and you are the last in line if you now use it?

[Fazer]

There are many, many things to dislike about analog money. Cash and coins are unwieldy. They're heavy. They're dirty. They leave no automatic record of the financial transactions that are made with them.

That's what i LOVE about cash, no automatic record of the financial transactions

Big Brother's wet dream. I'll be on board as soon as a widespread ANONYMOUS electronic payment method comes in to being.

+1 on this point, if it's not ANONYMOUS i don't want to play, i'm staying with cash because it's ....... well, ANONYMOUS

[spinyeel]

Man! This reminds me.... I was in line at the post office the other day and a manager went up and down the line asking if you are using a debit or credit card go to the last postal clerk and said why wait.... I was like WTF and the guy behind me said the same and said what, Nobody uses cash anymore... I said yeah shouldn't that be the other way around...

I remember when they used to have cash only lines at the grocery store.... Now it's 10 or 20 items or less lines.... Now someone who has no idea how to use a debit/check card and or forgets their pin and now holds up the whole line when it used to be someone paying by check.... WTF... I have seen people use their card for $1.75... and then not get cash back.... I know there are times I didn't have it and am guilty of this, But I least took out cash for my next purchase....

When did cash not be the currency to use and you are the last in line if you now use it?

What he says. I fueled up my car recently and had to line up behind twenty card users,because of a power failure.
Needless to say,I was late for work.

[Frankie Reloaded]

Time of gold as currency is near

[sgreger1]

I understand swedens reasoning for this. For the cast majority of people this makes sense. In many countries you buy soda from vending machines with your phone or debit card etc, and cash isn't really convenient or fast. I myself almost never use cash for anything.

On the other hand, this is the government wet dream as Lx said. It's hard to buy crack or anything else that's illegal with a debit card. The reality though is that some other tangible currency will just take its place. I'll end up buyibg my crystal meth and unregistered fire arms with something else instead. Since there is an underground economy, they will find some new currency.

I really liked the idea of bitcoins myself, since they were anonymous and had no central authority that controlled them. I don't think bitcoins are going to work in the end but it's a good proof of concept. I think something like that will eventually become more popular.

[truthwolf1]

I understand swedens reasoning for this. For the cast majority of people this makes sense. In many countries you buy soda from vending machines with your phone or debit card etc, and cash isn't really convenient or fast. I myself almost never use cash for anything.

On the other hand, this is the government wet dream as Lx said. It's hard to buy crack or anything else that's illegal with a debit card. The reality though is that some other tangible currency will just take its place. I'll end up buyibg my crystal meth and unregistered fire arms with something else instead. Since there is an underground economy, they will find some new currency.

I really liked the idea of bitcoins myself, since they were anonymous and had no central authority that controlled them. I don't think bitcoins are going to work in the end but it's a good proof of concept. I think something like that will eventually become more popular.

We are moving towards the global grid so there will have to be ways to go around it.