A Cashless Society?
Cash is no longer king. The latest figures show that in 2014, the total number of cashless transactions overtook ones using cash for the first time in the UK. The change can be ___ 31 ___ to new technology - apps for phones and contactless systems that allow you to pay by waving a card or a phone over a terminal. Many other countries see similar trends.
It's convenient, but are there downsides to a cashless society? Banks have proved to be poor guardians of the public interest, and tech firms disrespectful of our privacy, so it is right to ask this question.
First is consumer protection. E-payment systems are becoming akin to ___ 32 ___ such as water, in that they are indispensable to everyday life. What will happen when someone is "cut off" from a payment system? New regulatory safeguards will be needed to ensure providers act responsibly.
Then there are anti-competitive issues. Visa and Mastercard account for more than 80 percent of the global credit market, and well over 90 percent in many countries. This represents a hitherto unimaginable degree of control over the means of payment. Policies should be adopted to ___ 33 ___ this market or to break up these oligopolies.
Privacy is another key concern. Individual freedoms should only ever be given up knowingly. There has been no such consent to mass surveillance, and privacy is a human right recognized by the United Nations. At a time when a broad swathe of our general communications data is ___ 34 ___ exchanged by spy agencies, a big question mark hangs over the privacy of our financial data as the e-payment revolution rolls on.
Cash may be clumsy, but replacing it entirely means we need more choices and protection from ___ 35 ___ abuse. Otherwise, we risk becoming prisoners of our payment systems. That must not happen.
JEM BENDELL, New Scientist