It's cash, Jim, but not as we know it

Oscar Nieboer, CMO, Paysafe

The evolution of payments has transformed the way we think about cash. We’re seeing more and more stories everyday hailing the death of coins and notes, and while the future is unquestionably digital and paperless, there is no final farewell for hard currency in sight, particularly with a high proportion of the UK admitting they would never go completely cashless. Cash isn’t dying, it is transforming.  

What is often overlooked is that cash itself brings another dimension to the industry of digital payments, for example, pre-paid cards and vouchers for set amounts allow consumers to convert cash into digital currency to pay for goods and services, online and in-store, without having to provide any bank or credit card details to merchants. Likewise, some digital wallets allow consumers to store cash in a digital format and spend online easily or through smartphone apps for in-store purchases. These methods champion the millions of consumers who prefer to use cash, and enables them to spend that cash safely online. Consumers are not moving to a cashless society, instead, FinTech is allowing cash and digital to merge.

Cash has evolved and is reinventing itself with the technological developments in payments, and the proliferation of smartphones allowing contactless, digital wallets, and mobile banking apps to become increasingly mainstream. The future of cash is not non-existent, it’s cash, but not as we know it.