Cash Is Not King — It’s Democratic

By Frane Maroevic, Director General, International Currency Association

I’m seeing some truly ridiculous advertising campaigns and arguments online about whether cash is still king. Honestly, this whole debate completely misses the point. Cash isn’t about royalty or exclusivity. Quite the opposite. Cash is the most democratic payment method there is.

Unlike digital payments, which are controlled by corporations, cash is public money. It’s issued by central banks, who are ultimately accountable to you, the people. And the beauty of cash? It doesn’t need anything else to work. No phone, no card, no app, not even a bank account.

Cash doesn’t track you, judge you, or turn you away. It always works, whether you’re offline or in an emergency, whether you’re wealthy or just getting by, living in a big city or a tiny village, in a house or a tent.

Cash doesn’t care about your background or your circumstances. It simply works for everyone, quietly making sure every person can be part of the economy. That’s real democracy in action.

This isn’t just a practical issue. It’s a political one too. Cash also protects something bigger than just your wallet. It safeguards national sovereignty.

When countries hand over their payment systems to multinational corporations, they start to lose control over the very rails that keep their economies running.

Most digital payment systems are privately owned, hungry for your data, and often based far from home. In a crisis—think cyberattacks, blackouts, or even conflict—those systems can fail. Cash doesn’t.

Many governments get it. That’s why physical currency is an essential component of national security and a key part of any emergency planning.

But here’s something the critics rarely mention: cash doesn’t just work for people, it works for the public purse too. Through seigniorage - the difference between what it costs to produce money and its face value - central banks generate billions every year.

This profit doesn’t line the pockets of private shareholders. It goes straight back into society, helping to fund schools, hospitals, roads, and the services we all rely on. No private payment system can say the same.