I think we are going to end up with cash still being used for a lot of years, like probably few decades at least. We are not really at a period where we can get rid of it all together. However, it's also true that there are some places now that started to not accept cash, which is rare these days but it has started, and those old people who can only use cash, can't use those places anymore, but most of the time it is just some hippie cafe or something, so not like they are going there anyways, it's clear that we are not really seeing that just yet.
But if that grows, with time, in a decade or two, we could see majority of places not accepting cash, because there is no benefit of accepting cash, we are going to end up with cards paid all over.
But if that grows, with time, in a decade or two, we could see majority of places not accepting cash, because there is no benefit of accepting cash, we are going to end up with cards paid all over.
I doubt plastic debit/credit cards will survive. Everything will be virtual in the new digital realm. In the future, we will only be dealing with digital currencies and commodities. Even Gold will be tokenized on a Blockchain network controlled by custodians. It will be a future where you won't truly own anything. Something like what streaming services do today. They let you enjoy the digital content (whenever it's games, music, movies, etc), but you won't have true ownership of it (intangible). Same as government-backed digital currencies (CBDCs).
I sure hope we have a physical alternative to cash (coins and paper money) for true privacy and freedom. Maybe Monero (although not physical) will be all we need to achieve this? Not even Bitcoin will work, because of the way it's designed (transparent public ledger). We're "lightyears" away before a full-fledged cashless society takes place, so there's nothing to worry about.
