Should We Get Rid of Cash?

Gone are the days when the main way to buy something was to hand a bunch of bills and coins to a seller. That began to change in the 1960s, when paying with plastic—credit cards—became widespread. And in recent years, new technology has brought on an explosion of ways to exchange money virtually, using a computer, tablet, or phone.

With so many digital payment options available—from Apple Pay to Zelle—more and more people are making purchases without ever handling cash. That has left many Americans wondering: Could cash be phased out?

Many people say yes. When shopping in person, paying by mobile app or debit card makes checkout lines go much faster than when shoppers and cashiers have to count out bills. And digital payments are the only way to go for online shopping, which has soared in popularity, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many other people, however, point out that cash remains useful. In the U.S., 88 percent of shoppers still use it at least part of the time, particularly for in-person purchases of $10 or less. Even more important, they say, going cashless would cause serious problems for the millions of Americans who don’t have bank accounts or who lack access to digital technology. For them, cash is still the only option.

Should we get rid of cash? Two experts weigh in.

In recent years, people and businesses all around the world have been relying less on cash. Increasingly, many people prefer the safety, security, and convenience of making payments from their phones, tablets, and computers, or using contact-free devices in stores. And I believe this trend is here to stay.

The pandemic sped up this shift as people avoided handling cash out of health concerns and sent money electronically instead. As online shopping becomes more common, companies like PayPal are working to make digital payments easier and more accessible.

Within two months of the pandemic’s start, the number of people using digital payments began rising at a rapid rate worldwide. But noncash payments had been catching on even before the pandemic. In a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, 29 percent of respondents said they didn’t use cash for any purchases in a typical week—up from 24 percent in 2015.

Digital financial services are helping to solve some of the hassles of paper money, like losing your wallet or waiting in line to get cash at an ATM. No longer limited to cash transactions, with a few taps we can lend money to a friend with Venmo or buy goods from merchants abroad. This supports small businesses and strengthens local communities everywhere.

While some uses for cash remain, I expect to see more people opting for digital payments to shop in safe, affordable, and convenient ways.

—Franz Paasche
Senior Vice President, PayPal

Even as commerce and money have moved into the digital age, access to cash remains essential to millions of Americans.

Most digital payments require a link to a bank account. But more than 7 million households in the U.S.—which include many young people, undocumented immigrants, and low-income Americans—don’t have bank accounts. And many other people, such as older Americans who didn’t grow up with the technology, don’t feel comfortable making digital payments. So far, there is no reliable replacement for cash that would allow people without bank accounts to buy things they need.

Plus, digital-payment systems are linked to your identity. Eliminating cash would mean giving up some of our financial privacy, as the government and data-hungry companies could more easily snoop on our daily lives. Sometimes, for legitimate reasons, people want to pay for things without a record of their names, account numbers, and other personal information being created—and they should be able to do so.

There are other important benefits to cash too. For instance, using cash instead of credit or debit cards may help keep some people from overspending, because you can see how little is left in your wallet after every purchase.

In short, getting rid of cash would impose hardships on society’s most vulnerable people and could jeopardize our privacy.

—Martin Chorzempa
Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics