The ongoing spread of COVID-19 has people everyone rethinking about how much physical contact they have with other humans and dirty surfaces. Cash is known to contain many germs on its surface, and from a payment’s standpoint the demand for contactless payment options has never been greater.

The question of whether we will eventually be a cashless society has never been stronger. Here, we will explore some pros and cons of a cashless society:

Benefits:

Going cashless is safer and cleaner. Having large amounts of cash on hand opens businesses up to safety risks in the following ways:

• Counterfeit bills- When you’re dealing with lots of cash every day, it’s not always easy to spot fake bills. This can result in a lot of loss for businesses.
• Theft- Businesses that are known to carry large amounts of cash on hand are more likely to be the victims of a robbery.
• Dirty cash- Eliminating cash could help to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Most digital transactions offer various levels of security, and this money cannot be lost as easily as cash.

Cons:

Accepting more credit card payments means potentially paying more in processing fees. One way around this is to accept crypto payments, where transactions aren’t processed by middlemen who are each taking a cut, (meaning that the fees will be much lower).

Going cashless disadvantages those who are unable to acquire a bank account (and therefore a debit or credit card). Again, cryptocurrency payments solve this problem, as acquiring and spending cryptocurrency only requires an email address and an internet connection.

Contactless Payments Are on The Rise

Although a cashless society may still be in the distant future, the rise of contactless payments is happening right now. The pandemic is driving increased usage of contactless payments, and these numbers are expected to continue rising. According to a new National Retail Federation and Forrester survey, 58% of retailer respondents accept contactless cards- an increase from 40% last year. The survey also found that 94% of retailers expect contactless payments to increase over the next 18 months.

To get started with contactless payment options for your business, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Bitcoin payments, contact us today!