It looks like cash will soon disappear. With an increasing number of fin tech companies, lowered costs are transforming the customer/bank relationships.
The notion of financial transactions without cash is not a novelty. The idea of a cashless world might seem incongruous to some of us. But one only needs to look at international transactions to see an ongoing trend.
The idea of a cashless transaction is therefore not a revolution in itself.
The true novelty resides in two changes. One is the generalization of cashless behavior at the retail level. The other, the global scale of the cashless trend allowed by technological innovation.
Welcome to the era of global digital transactions
Customers’ relationship to cash is drastically changing.
More people are starting to draw their smartphone when traveling, or shopping. Wallets are now optional.
Nearly half the population in London currently use cards for small transactions. Four out of five transactions in Sweden are already cashless.
The country could well become the first society to abandon cash. The amount of circulating money in the area dropped to 40% in the last six years. Fintech leaders like Azimo drive the innovative rush towards cashless interactions. Following suit are incumbents (Visa or Mastercard) and tech giants (Apple Pay).
The switch to cashless transactions is a global trend.
Fintech startups in Africa like M-Pisa, Irofit or Shield Finance are catering the needs of their specific market. This is driving the continent’s cashless future.
In Kenya already, the total value of mobile transactions was estimated at $24 million in 2013, more than half the country’s GDP.
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The Article “The death of King Cash” was written by Antoine Baschiera, CEO & co-founder at Early Metrics.