Cashless societies are those that take steps to eradicate the circulation of coins and notes. At present, there is no country that is completely cashless, although Canada, Sweden and Norway are some of those that are very close to achieving it. Will it be possible to pay only with cards and other digital means in the future?
The path to partnerships cashless
Technology is the main driver of cashless societies. An example of this are the innovative online casinos in Ecuador, which only accept digital means of payment. Without going any further, this is a common practice in e-commerce stores and is undoubtedly the first step towards the world cashless. These are some of the technological advances that are pushing banknotes and coins to their demise:
- Contactless payments and NFC: Physical stores are also trying to eradicate the use of cash, thanks to the emergence of contactless payments and NFC. These technologies, present in mobile devices and credit or debit cards, make it possible to operate through wireless networks.
- digital wallets: Platforms that allow you to link bank accounts and cards thrive on the Internet, but they have also reached physical stores. Google Pay and Apple Pay are examples of this.
- facial recognition: In the coming years, we will use facial recognition to make transactions, just as it already works in China with the function smile to pay (smile to pay)
Of course, technology will continue to innovate and new payment methods will appear that will almost completely replace cash.
Efforts to become societies cashless
While no country is currently completely cashless, many are making numerous efforts to achieve this in the coming years. Sweden and Norway are 2 of the European countries that have made the most progress towards becoming cashless societies. In fact, in Sweden, 95% of the purchases that Swedes make are without tickets; in Norway, the percentage is 90%.
For its part, Canada is another of the countries that are carrying out measures to eradicate cash. Without going any further, the North American country expects that, as early as 2030, there will be a 70% drop in transactions made with cash. Whether they reach that goal or not, the truth is that 15% of Canadian society has already stopped using bills and coins to opt for digital means of payment.
Although we are still far from living in a world completely cashless, the truth is that, in the future, we will only pay with cards and other digital means. In fact, Sweden and Norway are 2 of the countries that are closest to achieving it, followed by Canada. To make this possible, technologies play a central role and, currently, it is contactless and NFC payments, digital wallets and facial recognition that will help to achieve this.