The U.S. Federal Reserve estimates that there will be $616.9 billion in cashless transactions in 2016, up from around $60 billion in 2010.
Despite the magnitude of this shift, what is happening from country to country varies quite considerably.
In Sweden, about 59% of all consumer transactions are cashless, and hard currency makes up just 2% of the economy.
In Germany, only 33% of consumer transactions are cashless, and there are only 0.06 credit cards in existence per person.
Governments have been increasingly pushing for a cashless society. Such a move, some say, would decrease crime, money laundering, and tax evasion.
All money would presumably be stored under the same banking system umbrella, and even the most prudent savers could be
taxed with negative rates to encourage consumer spending.
Prerequisites for going cashless:
- Access to financial services
- Micro-economic and cultural factors
- Merchant scale and competition
- Technology and infrastructure
