3 ms·

The biggest issue I see with a cashless society is that we stop owning our money. "Your" money in the bank is just a record in somebody else's database. You do

The biggest issue I see with a cashless society is that we stop owning our money. "Your" money in the bank is just a record in somebody else's database. You do not own the database, you do not have any oversight over how this database is used and your access is limited to their "permissions" list. Is this what we want in the future?

YZF 5y ago
Do you keep all your worldly possessions as cash under your mattress? Isn't your "cash" a database entry in your bank account anyways?
- jjav 5y ago
  There is a very large area between the absolutes of "all your worldly possessions as cash under your mattress" and all your payment ability as numbers in someone elses database which can be cut off any moment. Personally I'd recommend (and do) keeping enough months of living expenses in cash somewhere convenient.
  - YZF 5y ago
    In the hypothetical situation that me and my wife are locked out of all my bank accounts (multiple in multiple countries) and that somehow my family and friends are unwilling/unable to assist I still have assets I can sell. But sure, if you're planning on/for becoming a fugitive from the law (lessay) then it might make sense to keep cash or something like gold. I'm really not planning or going to worry about that sort of low probability event. I have considered keeping gold but that's more because I like how shiny it is than any real concern.
    - jjav 5y ago
      > all my bank accounts (multiple in multiple countries) Realize that puts you in a fairly special position with a lot more flexibility than the average person. A lot of people just have one account, so if that one gets locked up, it's a tough situation.
- bouncycastle 5y ago
  Do you recall the Hong Kong democracy protests and how they started using cash instead of electronic payments to move around the subway? Now imagine if we didn't have cash.

YZF 5y ago

Do you keep all your worldly possessions as cash under your mattress? Isn't your "cash" a database entry in your bank account anyways?

jjav 5y ago
There is a very large area between the absolutes of "all your worldly possessions as cash under your mattress" and all your payment ability as numbers in someone elses database which can be cut off any moment. Personally I'd recommend (and do) keeping enough months of living expenses in cash somewhere convenient.
- YZF 5y ago
  In the hypothetical situation that me and my wife are locked out of all my bank accounts (multiple in multiple countries) and that somehow my family and friends are unwilling/unable to assist I still have assets I can sell. But sure, if you're planning on/for becoming a fugitive from the law (lessay) then it might make sense to keep cash or something like gold. I'm really not planning or going to worry about that sort of low probability event. I have considered keeping gold but that's more because I like how shiny it is than any real concern.
  - jjav 5y ago
    > all my bank accounts (multiple in multiple countries) Realize that puts you in a fairly special position with a lot more flexibility than the average person. A lot of people just have one account, so if that one gets locked up, it's a tough situation.
bouncycastle 5y ago
Do you recall the Hong Kong democracy protests and how they started using cash instead of electronic payments to move around the subway? Now imagine if we didn't have cash.