The old saying that “cash is king” is being replaced with “technology is king” in the 21st century. According to a new Business Insider poll, 17 percent of the adults in Britain think they will go completely cashless in the future, and another 22 percent say going cashless is a likely scenario in the future. On the flip side of that poll, 12 percent said it’s not likely they would give up using cash, and another 18 percent said they would never give up using cash in the future. Three out of ten people said “maybe” when the question of not using cash to pay for goods and services in the future was part of the poll.
Just the thought of not using cash is a hard concept to understand for people all over the world. But according to Mark Barnett, the head of MasterCard U.K.’s division, using cash to pay for merchandise will be obsolete in 30 years. Carrying pocket change and pulling fives, tens, and twenties out of a purse or wallet will be a thing of the past in 2050, according to Barnett. This is the age of electronic payments and digital banking. The ATM won’t be a cash dispenser in the year 2050, according to some bankers. ATMs may be living dinosaurs in the banking industry, but not everyone is buying the idea that electronic payments will end cash transactions. According to the Bank of England’s chief cashier, cash in not on its way out. But an article in the Guardian newspaper said Britain will move past peak cash this year.
But in spite of all the hype, cash is still king in Britain’s mainstream market. And in certain segments of the British population going cashless is not an option and never will be. Those people still have the same mentality about cash as people in the 19th century had about carrying gold. Carrying cash and paying with cash gives them a sense of worth. Trying to get baby boomers to give up cash is like trying to get Batman to take off his mask in public. It’s not going to happen while they are alive. But people between the ages of 25 and 34 think cash isn’t necessary. Millennials don’t use cash now. They never leave their computer when they shop or when they bank, and that trend will get stronger in the future.
