Featured Image Credit: The Age/7News
Topics: World News, Money
Tom Wood
A letter advocating for people to reject a cashless society and pay for things with actual currency has gone viral.
OK, so there are some fairly compelling arguments in favour of either of these things, so we’ll have to cover a bit of that first.
Obviously, it’s easier to pay for things on your phone or with your card, as you don’t need to have a wallet or a load of physical currency to do so.
Advert
You can access your funds pretty simply, with a tap of the phone or a swipe of the card.
Also, during Covid-19 it was a great deal easier and minimised contact at a time when we did need a bit of that.
However, there are advantages to cash, too.
If you’re carrying a limited amount of cash, that’s literally all you can spend.
Once that’s gone, it’s gone.
That applies to theft as well – as this viral letter points out – as thieves can only get what cash you have, not everything in your bank account.
The letter was written by a woman called Julie Christensen from Melbourne, Australia.
She said: “If some people want to rely solely on digital financial transactions, let them. But don’t take away cash for the rest of us,
“My $50 note can’t be hacked. If I’m robbed, I lose $50, not my entire life savings.
“If my $50 note is accidentally immersed in water, it still works.”
She then went on to further espouse the virtues of carrying cash over the digital alternative.
“My $50 note doesn’t need batteries, it can’t be ‘out of range’, and it won’t break if it’s dropped,” she continued.
“If the system is down, I can still use my note,
“My $50 note can be put into a charity box or given to a homeless person.
“Sure I use a card sometimes for large purchases, but for everything else, please leave me the option of cash.
“It simplifies life.”
A load of people seem to agree with her, judging by the thousands of comments that the letter has received on social media.
The campaign to pay for things with cash has taken off recently, both with completely normal folks who just prefer it and conspiracy theories who think contactless is an excuse for shadowy organisations to steal people’s wealth.
Whatever you believe, it might still benefit you to have both a card and some cash in the wallet just in case, as you’re then covered in any eventuality.