Individual Logic, Collective Idiocy? 3 Perspectives on the Need for Cash

Commercial banks are profit-seeking entities. Cost reduction to maximise profits and automation are core to achieving that. Bank branches and ATMs are expensive, hence the drive to close so many of them and, in the process, the ability to deposit and issue cash goes too. Merchants and the public are pushed towards going cashless, or at the very least, less-cash.

Less cash has a second benefit for banks. It means people have to use bank money and the digital payment system, which earns the banks revenue and gives them valuable customer data. Visa and Mastercard are happy to help. The big tech players such as Amazon are also keen to see this happen because it helps them automate what they do and cash payments are not easy for them to automate.