I think it is time to start a
debate on having a cashless society as it is now becoming practical. The real loss will be secrecy and I am sorry
to say that I actually have no problem with that. After much thought and far too many years of
experience in human nature, I have come to a singular conclusion. Secrecy never benefits the innocent or
innocent intent. If in fact such
examples can be constructed, then we can construct an exemption.
There will certainly be an
exemption for commercial secrecy, but by the same token, I think even that
needs to be rethought and truly justified as gaming the books is difficult to
do in broad daylight.
Most surely the first victim will
be all forms of criminal enterprise itself that will be driven into some form
of expensive barter arrangement that encumbers the trade and makes it even more
conspicuous.
In the meantime we have Sweden
Vicar Johan Tyrberg in the Carl Gustaf Church in Karlshamn, southern Sweden
March 18, 2012 5:09 PM
(AP) STOCKHOLM - Sweden was the first European country to introduce
bank notes in 1661. Now it's come farther than most on the path toward getting
rid of them.
"I can't see why we should be printing bank notes at all
anymore," says Bjoern Ulvaeus, former member of 1970's pop group ABBA, and
a vocal proponent for a world without cash.
The contours of such a society are starting to take shape in this
high-tech nation, frustrating those who prefer coins and bills over digital
money.
In most Swedish cities, public buses don't accept cash; tickets are
prepaid or purchased with a cell phone text message. A small but growing number
of businesses only take cards, and some bank offices — which make money on
electronic transactions — have stopped handling cash altogether.
"There are towns where it isn't at all possible anymore to enter a
bank and use cash," complains Curt Persson, chairman of Sweden
He says that's a problem for elderly people in rural areas who don't
have credit cards or don't know how to use them to withdraw cash.
The decline of cash is noticeable even in houses of worship, like the
Carl Gustaf Church in Karlshamn, southern Sweden
"People came up to me several times and said they didn't have cash
but would still like to donate money," Tyrberg says.
Bills and coins represent only 3 percent of Sweden's economy, compared
to an average of 9 percent in the eurozone and 7 percent in the U.S., according
to the Bank for International Settlements, an umbrella organization for the
world's central banks.
Three percent is still too much if you ask Ulvaeus. A cashless society
may seem like an odd cause for someone who made a fortune on "Money,
Money, Money" and other ABBA hits, but for Ulvaeus it's a matter of
security.
After his son was robbed for the third time he started advocating a
faster transition to a fully digital economy, if only to make life harder for
thieves.
"If there were no cash, what would they do?" says Ulvaeus,
66.
The Swedish Bankers' Association says the shrinkage of the cash economy
is already making an impact in crime statistics.
The number of bank robberies in Sweden
"Less cash in circulation makes things safer, both for the staff
that handle cash, but also of course for the public," says Par Karlsson, a
security expert at the organization.
The prevalence of electronic transactions — and the digital trail they
generate — also helps explain why Sweden has less of a problem with graft than
countries with a stronger cash culture, such as Italy or Greece, says economics
professor Friedrich Schneider of the Johannes Kepler University in Austria.
"If people use more cards, they are less involved in shadow
economy activities," says Schneider, an expert on underground economies.
In Italy — where cash has been a common means of avoiding value-added
tax and hiding profits from the taxman — Prime Minister Mario Monti in December
put forward measures to limit cash transactions to payments under euro1,000
($1,300), down from euro2,500 before.
The flip side is the risk of cybercrimes. According to the Swedish
National Council for Crime Prevention the number of computerized fraud cases,
including skimming, surged to nearly 20,000 in 2011 from 3,304 in 2000.
Oscar Swartz, the founder of Sweden's first Internet provider, Banhof,
says a digital economy also raises privacy issues because of the electronic
trail of transactions. He supports the idea of phasing out cash, but says other
anonymous payment methods need to be introduced instead.
"One should be able to send money and donate money to different
organizations without being traced every time," he says.
It's no surprise that Sweden
For the second year in a row, Sweden Sweden
Internet startups in Sweden
Swedish company iZettel has developed a device for small traders,
similar to Square in the U.S., that plugs into the back of an iPhone to make it
work like a credit card terminal. Sweden
Most experts don't expect cash to disappear anytime soon, but that its
proportion of the economy will continue to decline as such payment options
become available. Before retiring as deputy governor of Sweden
Andrea Wramfelt, whose bowling alley in the southern city of Landskrona
stopped accepting cash in 2010, makes a bolder prediction: She believes coins
and notes will cease to exist in Sweden
"Personally I think this is what people should expect in the
future," she says.
But there are pockets of resistance. Hanna Celik, whose family owns a
newspaper kiosk in a Stockholm shopping mall, says the digital economy is all
about banks seeking bigger earnings.
Celik says he gets charged about 5 Swedish kronor ($0.80) for every
credit card transaction, and a law passed by the Swedish Parliament prevents
him from passing on that charge to consumers.
"That stinks," he says. "For them (the banks), this is a
very good way to earn a lot of money, that's what it's all about. They make
huge profits."
© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not
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