Slower disaster recovery, greater discrimination, loss of freedom and no brake on payment provider fees are some of the concerns raised by a move away from cash, explored in a thought leadership webinar held 18 March on the societal and security implications of shifting to a cashless economy.
Organised by Perpetuity Research—a company working with businesses, international organisations, national and local governments to evaluate people’s behaviours and perceptions, and identify significant trends—and moderated by Martin Gill, Professor of Criminology and Director of Perpetuity Research, the event assembled experts from the humanitarian aid, cash security and secure payment industries to take a deep dive into the cracks likely to run through a society if cash has been eliminated.
James Shepherd-Barron, a Disaster Management Consultant and Humanitarian Advisor to Cash Essentials, noted smart financial technologies can offer convenience, flexibility, speed and benefits such as female empowerment, but they are ‘far from an unqualified social good’, especially in low-income countries, and those facing disaster shocks.
Cashless systems, he observed, allow governments to discriminate against groups they deem undesirable by watching, controlling or simply shutting down their spending.
