Do you still carry cash in your pocket? Or do you already pay for everything with a card, MB Way, or other very similar methods? Quite honestly, I believe that we are approaching, extremely quickly, a time when it will not be necessary to carry coins or bills in your pocket, or in your wallet.
After all, have you noticed the evolution of payment systems in recent years? I still belong to that time, when there were no ATMs, much less the possibility of paying using mobile devices. I’m from the time when I would go buy shoes with my parents, and the lady in the store would pass my father’s Visa card through a hand-held machine, with everything being signed at the end. (I’m 31 years old!)
However, after less than 20 years, I already dream of not even having to carry a wallet worthy of the name in my back pants pocket, with all the critical documentation such as the ID, the Driving License, etc… Everything within an app, or virtual wallet, easily accessed through our smartphone, or smartwatch.
But is this a dream attainable, immediately? Or in the very near future?
End of Cash: Goodbye to Cash Notes and Coins?
So nowadays it is even possible to a large extent to live a normal day-to-day life without having to touch real money.
However, despite seeming practical, the disappearance of traditional banknotes and coins does not only bring advantages to our lifestyle! Have you thought about the less good aspects of the thing?
After all, being able to live without cash, the truth is that in a modern world, all our transactions are registered on the servers of several companies, such as SIBS, your bank, Sonae, etc…). Fortunately, the fact that these companies do not communicate with each other (yet), it is possible to guarantee some anonymity, but as you may have noticed, it is much easier to be anonymous with cash.
In addition to the privacy part, it is also much easier for any bank or government entity to block or limit access to their own money. Can you imagine a world where you can be “disconnected” from your own capital? It may be an extremist mentality, but a democratic government can always give way to a government that is less friendly to ‘democratic’ wills. Just look at the political systems of the past, and there is a real possibility that the mistakes of yesteryear will be repeated again. By the way, Portugal was dominated by a dictatorship for more than 40 years, a dictatorship that didn’t end like that for that long.
Can you imagine a bug in the system? An oppressive government? Corruption? Too much power in the hands of a handful of organizations? Government organizations know everything you do on a day-to-day basis? Where do you eat, where do you have lunch, where do you shop, what clothes do you wear…
In short, it might be a good idea to leave some change under the mattress.
However, forgetting extreme situations, and focusing more on the reality of our day-to-day life…
Personally, I’ve tried to live with a modern wallet, where of course, there was no room for coins or banknotes. Result of the experiment? I had to go back and buy a traditional wallet, with space for cash. Yes, living in a city without cash is not very complicated at all. Now try to do the same in Salvaterra de Magos.
I believe that cash will still exist in our lives, at least for another decade.
Also, what is your opinion on all this? Can you live your day-to-day life without cash? Share your experience with us in the comments box below.
