A “cashless society" is one where people use Debit/Credit cards and other forms of payment instead of cash. Do the advantages of a cashless society outweigh the disadvantages?

A cashless society is something the world has been trying to achieve for years. For many reasons I think this would be for the best and also unavoidable; although as any other controversial issue, some people are against a cashless society and some support it. In this essay, I am going to discuss both of these points of view by considering different aspects of this matter.

First and foremost, I think we can all agree that a cashless society would benefit the environment which is one of the most concerning issues of our time. Billions of trees are cut every year to produce the required amount of papers so that nations be able to print their national currency on them. It is worth mentioning that all these Departments of Treasury around the globe working 24/7 means more air pollution and worse air quality. That is why people who genuinely care about the environment, are one of the biggest supporters of a cashless society.

In addition to being more environmentally friendly, I personally believe that using any kind of digital payments is more convenient than carrying cash around with you. For example; do you ever forget your wallet, you can pay using your phone, you don’t have to spend a lot of time counting the money and also avoid miscounting and being financially harmed.

On the other hand, a world without cash depends too much on technology and for some older generations, it is tough to cope with all these modern changes. As cybercrimes are getting more common nowadays, people who are not familiar with technology are the usual target of online frauds. So moving forward to a cashless society, most people should at least have a basic understanding of how these things work.

To conclude, while paying without paper currency can benefit society in various ways, people still need to be cautious and educate themselves on modern technologies and cybercrimes. Although, in my opinion, the advantages of a life without cash still outweigh the disadvantages.