The Reality of Going Cashless
Supporting cash payments have been declining for the last decade. Everyday life for the average person anywhere in the world is now cashless.
Today, paying for any good or service supports many payment methods, but most likely, cash is not one of them.
This practice has expanded in the last couple of years because of the pandemic. Card-only payment is an ordinary phrase printed on every store cash register.
Because it is more convenient, we have adapted to this situation quickly without realizing all its aspects.
Using credit cards and online payment methods means all our spending is recorded somewhere, along with our details.
Since it is financial details, the security of this data is a serious matter. As well as, the companies that operate on those payments must have transparent authorization terms and strict data protection laws, which many of them do not.
What is happening behind the scenes of any card payment transaction might not be a concern for the majority of people. But in my opinion, it is something we all should be more aware of.
Everyone should know the process and the parties who are involved in a payment transaction. Whether it is a direct card payment or a payment through a digital wallet.
Despite using credit/debit directly being the safest option, many of us today do not find it convenient enough.
Since services like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal allow you to have a virtual copy of your card on your phone, people tend not to carry their physical cards with them anymore.
Although the transactions through these wallets are encrypted, the companies behind these services have access to the original details.
In addition, we opt for cashless payment methods when shopping online, as it is the standard practice for online shopping. This results in our financial data being exposed to more companies and unnecessary parties.
However, the main problem with online payment is that it is the best tool to identify each user and their nature.
By shopping online, we use different platforms and payment services. In which we share our financial details along with other personal information.
This practice is an accurate way to recognize each user.
To identify users on the internet, payment details such as name and address are used frequently.
Making the payment details the perfect clue to recognize anyone on the internet.
It is a treasure for technology companies and marketing agencies to hold this much information about someone. They use the gathered data to analyze each user’s behavior.
As a result, the user has less privacy and could be more exposed to exploitation by one of these companies.
Contactless and online payments are a large circle with many parties with different interests and varying levels of user protection.
But the common most valuable asset for all these companies is user data, which in today’s world is the most profitable resource.
It is possible that any of the involved companies may use user data to increase their profits.
As the digital financial services sector expands, more companies enter this cycle. This means the user’s data has more stops to pass through, and the bigger the cycle, the more possibility of a data breach occurring at some stage.
When it comes to user data, it is a real weapon that, if it gets into the wrong hands, can lead to chaos, let alone financial data.
On the other hand, using less cash results in less control of our money. Owning money in a bank account is not the same as owning physical assets like cash.
We have less control over our money when it is held by someone else. When an online service is down, we simply avoid it, but what if bank services are inaccessible?
It is a likely scenario that is already happening today. Since 2019, banks in Lebanon have restricted the withdrawal of U.S. dollars and Lebanese pounds after the country’s economy collapsed. Lebanon’s central bank has set a withdrawal ceiling of $1,600 per month for each account.
Today, being an average person in Lebanon who wants to spend her own money is difficult because it is held by a bank.
In today’s world, it is difficult to live a cashless life, as it is the easier option to go contactless and use digital wallets. Further, cash not being an option for most trades.
While it is inconvenient to carry around all your savings in cash. And it is inadequate to pay with a payment method other than cash for some services and products.
It is possible to adopt cash in some cases. In this case, it is wise to find a compromise and choose the right option for each situation.
