Don’t kill cash

 

For all the benefits of digital money, cash remains the most resilient means of payment

In today’s world of payments, systems are far more fragile than we allow ourselves to believe. When digital networks fail, as they may under extreme strain, the only payment instrument that continues to function without electricity, connectivity or authentication servers is the one many are eager to discard: physical cash.

The argument for preserving cash is not about resisting digitalisation or romanticising banknotes. It is about acknowledging that cash plays a systemic role that no digital instrument – no matter how sophisticated – can replicate. Cash is the last line of defence. Its continued availability and usability should be viewed as a central pillar of economic resilience. (...)