Technology –
Cash Is Dying, So What’s The Future?

Let’s face it:  cash (as we know it) is dying.  So, what’s in store for the future of  cash and exactly what’s in line for its inevitable replacement?

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The concept of paper or minted currency is quickly going the way of the rotary dial telephone.  Almost no one carries around a pocket full of loose change anymore and the same can often be said for a wallet filled with cash.  A credit/debit card, or one of the myriad of mobile or digital payment systems has already trumped the idea of cash and will soon make it obsolete.

If you think about it, cash doesn’t really exist.  Cash is merely an accounting of numbers that we universally use to determine value.  So, “cash” can really be just about anything.

Once upon a time, ancient societies used rocks as their method of cash. Some used a bartering system to trade goods or services as if it were cash (“I’ll give you 2 pigs for 6 gallons of your cows milk”). Still others used a simple handwritten I.O.U., with the signed paper held as proof of value.

In modern times, if you use direct deposit and online banking you may realize that no form of cash or check ever touches your hands. Instead, your cash is a series of numbers the bank simply keeps record of on your behalf.  You may pay your bills electronically and the bank will simply subtract numbers from your account and add numbers to the utility company’s account.  It’s all invisible, because it doesn’t really exist.  It’s simply a series of numbers.

The fact that cash has evolved from a hard currency and into a series of digital numbers is what will kill the dollar and coin for good.  And good riddance.  It’s simply no longer necessary to pay the grocery store cashier $16.72 in actual cash, when you can simply swipe a piece of plastic or wave your mobile phone and allow your bank to digitally pay it for you.  After all, the days of depositing a life savings of cash into a bank, then knowing that currency was physically sitting in that actual building for decades has long gone. Cash is merely a series of x’s and o’s, which is what makes it so easy to shift anywhere around the world with lightning speed.

THE FUTURE OF CASH:

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NFC Payments – With the wave of your mobile phone (or Apple Watch), you can make a payment using Near Field Communication at just about any store or even inside a taxi cab.  As this service catches on, expect airlines and other businesses to adopt NFC technology.

Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal – Online payments have been around for a while and will not be going away anytime soon. Shopping online with Google Wallet or shopping on eBay with PayPal is a staple in ridding society of cold, hard cash.

EMV chip credit cards – Credit cards have been around for years, but the new EMV “chip-encoded” credit or debit card is the future. In a move to end the fraudulent duplication of a credit card, the new chip cards emit a special one-time code whenever you make a purchase.  The cards have been in use in Europe for several years and are slowly making their way to the US.

Digital/Online pay – Online and digital accounts are all the rage. For example, if you have an Uber account, you’ve already entered your payment info into their app.  So when a car delivers you to your destination, you’re able to simply get out of the vehicle and go on your way, as the payment is done digitally.  Many companies already use this system and others will soon follow. Stay tuned.

Selfie-Pay – Mastercard is creating an app that will allow you to pay with a selfie photo of yourself.

OK WASSUP! covers technology news.  Today’s article:
What’s the future of cash?