Tonight programme- Cashless society

The consensus here seems to be against a cashless society which is fine. Everyone is entitled to their point of view. That's what makes a good discussion

Fennel I am not worried because every spend using a card shows up immediately on my banking apps and gives me a balance. I find it easier to have an account for bills and a separate account for spending.

I agree with MamaCaz too. As well as her point of it leading to more govt. control, it's the banks who are making huge profits from overuse of credit cards.
I'm probably very old fashioned, but dread the end of cash. I'll never know whether I'm in credit or not and that worries me a lot.
It doesn't seem to worry other people as much.

I have been saying for decades that in the not too distant future babies will have to have a chip implanted at birth which will hold all their medical, educational and financial details, as well as the ability to lock and unlock doors and navigate. Now consider how easy that would be to manipulate. Thieves could scan and obtain all the information from chips just by you walking past.

Parents would argue that it makes knowing where their children are so much easier, but equally kidnappers would slice open the child to remove the chip. Look at what is happening in China where what you view on social media determines how far you are allowed to travel by train.

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/china-social-credit-system-punishments-rewards-explained-a8297486.html

The Chinese government can take over control of mobile phone cameras

techaeris.com/2018/07/16/mobile-phones-china-spying-users/

Please don't think it couldn't happen here. The technology is already in use by the Metroplitan Police, and facial recognition is becoming commonplace despite currently being illegal.

www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/20/rights-groups-challenge-uk-police-over-mobile-phone-monitoring

telecoms.com/498376/fbi-and-london-met-land-in-hot-water-over-facial-recognition-tech/

Governments seek power. They are not going to refuse the ultimate power to control their populations when it is presented to them on a plate by the technologists. And people make it so easy for them by adopting the 'if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear' attitude. Technology is far from perfect, and mistaken identity happens.

There are not many advantages to being old, but at least one of them is that our grandchildren are not manipulated by the state, but for their own children or grandchildren, I really fear for the future. Please at least put up some form of resistance?

I'm with you Mamacaz. I think there is a lot of danger in a cashless society for ordinary citizens

I can see both sides of this argument .

On one hand the massive amount of undeclared cash changing hands in businesses ( hairdressers, bars, window cleaners , takeaways etc) .

And on the other those who would struggle with PIN numbers and plastic .

Once we (society) are entirely dependent on virtual money - which is what we are talking about here - we will potentially be completely at the mercy of the powers-that-be at any given moment, not just those of our own country, but worldwide.

Can you magine how that could be used against citizens who are even suspected of plotting against their leaders under all but the most liberal of governments?

Imagine a war situation, where there is an invasion - again, the aggressor will have everyone by the virtual purse-strings.

Then there is the huge and very real danger of cyber attack, where a foreign power brings the whole electronic system of its 'enemies' tumbling down, causing utter chaos.
No one can buy anything, partly because they have lost access to their virtual money, but also because almost everything that would be bought with that virtual money is also unavailable because the systems that make /distribute necessities are all computerized and hit by the same attack.
Blimey, it has caused people enough problems when just one bank has a temporary glitch, leaving customers unable to pay bills or get real money for a few days, or even hours, but that is nothing to what could, and quite likely will happen at some stage.

I suppose I will be accused of being melodramatic - maybe I am. Who knows!.
I know these things might sound out of place on a thread about preferences between cash and card, but we are going so quickly now in the direction of a cashless society that these things are already genuine dangers and need to be thought about, taken into consideration before we sleepwalk into a totally cashless world.

I discovered contactless ony 3 months ago and I only use it in very limited trusted shops. I much prefer cash and always have cash in the house and in my purse, I can keep cash under the radar when I give money to my AC.

The old days, we survived only because of getting cash out once every month and by using envelopes lined up in a drawer, it meant that we could afford a teatime treat every month because I always made sure I never overspent. Could only do that with cash

Big brother wants to track each of us

We now know that contactless payments can be taken at a distance of a few metres without swiping, in other words money can be stolen without the cardholders knowledge. To prevent this you can keep your card in an aluminium holder.

I use card mostly but like to pay cash under a fiver. Someone on the other thread mentioned feeling safer using a phone to pay for everything as she didn’t need to carry a bag with cash/cards which could be stolen - but surely the phone could be stolen?

We learnt the value of money by using cash. We could see what we had left and what we could afford.

How will children learn those things in a cashless society? I'm not saying they won't, but a lot of people already seem to live on credit and buy things they can't afford.

I think we need to embrace new technology. That way we move forward, otherwise we're stuck in the past. With regard to The Handmaid's Tale that was far fetched dystopian fiction. Also I love my Alexa - I have two and am considering a third!

I agree with you Quizqueen Anyone who watched the first series of A Handmaids Tale, should resist a cashless society. (For those who havn't seen it, the state transferred all the money from the women's cards to their nearest male relative)

Anyone stupid enough to have a chip implanted in them will find, in the future, they can be totally manipulated by the state. It's the same with that stupid Alexa, which people happily invite into their homes, and any other smart technology like driverless cars.

You dare to rebel against the state and they want you out of the way- the car has a mind of its own- it locks you inside and then ploughs straight into a river. It's not that farfetched; it's almost right on our doorstep now. I don't suppose the likes of Julian Assange will ever see freedom again.

I usually use cash for purchases under a fiver. You do keep account of your money better if you pay by card as you have a record of the transactions. That's what I find anyway.

Wouldn’t appeal to me at all I d probable wave my hand to say ‘wow way to expensive’ and find I d bought it
I never use my card for small purchases... clothes or my big weekly shop yes but certainly not for a loaf of bread