I am embarking on a year without cash.

This is not a simple proposition that eliminates the day to day dross of using notes and coin but rather a philosophical position that addresses why we, as a society, use cash.  Why do we not use more efficient means of exchange?  Why do we rely on forms of currency that are inherently insecure?  Why are we worried about electronic payments such as contactless and why do we call out on the risks of using electronic transactions?

That is the purpose of this blog and over time I will be addressing some fundamental positions, namely:

• We should be worried about the black economy.  Full stop.  Specifically the use of cash to circumvent the taxation systems across the globe.  We all talk about the way large corporates avoid paying tax.  Have we seriously spent time asking why certain industries are famous for not paying tax and why the principals of those industries use $100 bills to pay for their transactions?  Is there a story here?
• Why don’t the tax authorities focus on these companies?  Who pays the piper?
• We must ask why the Central Banks across the world do not regulate the black economy more effectively?
• We should ask the simple question: why does any person need to have denominations for notes that exceed the simple use of low denomination payments.  In other words what use of payments beyond $10 make any sense … which means of course, why would you have notes of higher denomination, if for no other reason than to hide its purpose?  I challenge any person to seriously state why they need a $20 note in today’s world?
• What technology is driving the way we make payments more efficient and should we be embracing these technologies more substantially?  e.g mobile payments

So this blog will wander through these issues over this year.  I will welcome your additional thoughts but the underlying premise will be related to a judgement that states that the use of cash is anachronistic in today’s world and the use of cash will underscore an underlying problem with people using a currency that is no longer relevant to the way society, as a whole, functions.  QED.