How soon until wallets and cash are a thing of the past? (2024)

FAQs

How soon until wallets and cash are a thing of the past? ›

Although paper-based currencies are becoming less popular, they will likely stick around for the foreseeable future. Dollars and cents may become harder to use, but as with many obsolete technologies, there are enough users to ensure demand doesn't disappear completely.

As people move toward more electronic or digital forms of payment, it might seem like paper money is on its way toward obsolescence. But experts say that cash will always be around.

Physical currency isn't becoming obsolete any time soon, so it's important to weigh up your options before deciding to go fully cashless in 2024. Ensuring you can accept some cashless payments though, is essential to keeping with today's trends and customer expectations.

But while moving to a cashless society has several benefits that will accelerate its adoption, and there are legitimate concerns over the role cash will have to play as its use dwindles, there's no sign that cash is going to disappear completely.

And it's the primary payment method for a portion of the population who are “unbanked,”—meaning they don't have a checking, savings, or any other kinds of bank accounts. Cash is still moving at a healthy clip through our economy. And that means that it's still moving through the Fed.

The US is moving toward cashless payments, with a substantial increase in the use of mobile wallet apps and contactless cards. A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that payments made using cash accounted for just 18% of all US payments in 2022.

From paper to polymer banknotes

We have been issuing banknotes for over 300 years and make sure the banknotes we all use are of high quality. While the future demand for cash is uncertain, it is unlikely that cash will die out any time soon.

Is the cashless society really coming? Despite the rapid development of convenient, seamless digital payment methods, the 100 per cent cashless society remains a distant prospect. Cash is a trusted, reliable and essentially secure way to spend, and still adds up when it comes to straightforward everyday budgeting.

There is no reason to expect the U.S. dollar to collapse in the near future. 515 Such a change would require the entire world to change its adherence to an international monetary system that has the greenback at its center. As yet, no replacement is anywhere on the horizon.

Sweden's switch to electronic cash started after a surge of armed robberies in the 1990s, and by 2022, only 8% of Swedes said they had used cash for their latest purchase, according to a central bank survey. Along with neighboring Norway, Sweden has Europe's lowest number of ATMs per capita, according to the IMF.

Will cash be used in 2030? ›

Analysis from Barclays Investment Bank, meanwhile, predicts that the global transition from cash to digital payments would reach a tipping point moment in 2025, when absolute cash usage would decline from 41 per cent in 2019 to 20 per cent by 2030.

Cash allows us to make purchases anonymously. Without cash, we would be forced to leave a record of everything we buy. While this may not bother some, there are many who worry that governments and/or corporations could use our purchasing histories as a way to track us, monitor us, and even intimidate us.

Australia's Macquarie Bank is going fully cashless, with critics raising concerns about the resilience, privacy and security of digital-only transactions.

The strong growth in digital payments over the past decade continued in 2021. The volume and value of fast payments reached record levels. Even so, digital payments have not yet fully replaced cash. Public demand for cash remains steady, both as a means of payment and as a safe haven.

Some bank branches have already stopped handling cash, citing a significant drop in transactions. They now refer customers to their ATMs and coin deposit machines. The investment bank Macquarie, which also offers retail services, is phasing out cash and cheque payments next year.