Cash is dead, long live cash

Abstract

The almost universal proliferation of mobile phones and internet access is having profound implications for society. It has been postulated that one of these implications will be the replacement of physical cash with electronic money and payments, ultimately resulting in a cashless society. This paper first articulates the scope and some of the implications of the mobile and internet revolution. It then seeks to explore the means by which this revolution is replacing cash, using the mobile phone as a means of payment. This review of mobile payments is then balanced by a view of currency-in-circulation and usage statistics for cash, concluding that a cashless society is not imminent and suggesting some reasons why this may be the case.