Do you know which could be the first country to eliminate cash?

15 years ago the 500 euros bill came into circulation, but its life time seems about to come to an end, as the European Central Bank has announced its progressive elimination between 2016 and 2018 (although those that remain circulating will continue to maintain their value and be accepted by the banks after that date).

This measure, which has been the subject of debate, has been partly overshadowed by an even further measure radical on the part of the government of Denmark, which considered eliminating cash in 2016 completely.

Do you know which could be the first country to eliminate cash?

The measure regarding the 500-euro bill makes sense, if it is considered that more than 50% of Europeans have never seen a ticket of such high denomination , and that it lends itself to be used in activities illegitimate such as drug trafficking and money laundering; and that of Denmark has a similar tenor: since the last decade of the last century the use of coins and bills decreased dramatically, and nowadays all adults have credit cards and make most of their payments through the electronic banking .

Do you know which could be the first country to eliminate cash?

The Danish government's reasons for ending cash transactions, starting with restaurants, clothing stores and gas stations (to gradually test the effectiveness of this measure), are mostly economical: Producing and maintaining money has economic costs ranging from the issuance of bills and coins to their transfer, care and replacement.Denmark has a reliable digital structure, and there is already a clear trend in citizens, who make a 75 % of your transactions using the elect platform Ronic , and a large percentage do not even carry bills or coins (the latter are badly considered because they damage the pockets of the pants, or merit the use of cumbersome purses).

Do you know which could be the first country to eliminate cash?

Interestingly, the other government that It has been proposed to embark on the path of elimination of cash has been that of Ecuador, but for different reasons, and in a different context to that of Denmark.

The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, announced in December 2014, the implementation of an electronic money system to facilitate access to this resource by a larger sector of the population.

An initial advantage of this system is that it would reduce the current cash ( the government must replace about 1,200 million dollars a year, to cover the deterioration), and for another increase There would be access by Ecuadorian citizens to virtual money, which when moving through telephony would not depend on Internet service, not yet as consolidated as in Europe.

There are other advantages to consider when using electronic money : it would lower state and financial spending as many services and infrastructure that revolve around the handling of cash are not necessary (bank locations with safes, security guards, special transports, etc.), would be ecologically responsible (less forests cut down, less mines exploited) and even more hygienic, if we consider the number of hands that a ticket can pass through.

It would also make it easier to track the origin of the funds, and more difficult tax evasion , because electronic transactions are not as easy to hide as those made in cash (one of the reasons that have been used most frequently for the elimination of the 500-euro bill).

With everything, neither in Denmark or in Ecuador they believe that the disappearance of cash in both countries is close to becoming a reality, but the Ecuadorian economist Fausto Valencia, Director of the Electronic Money Project of the Central Bank of Ecuador, does not see it that far: “I am sure that my grandchildren would live in a society without cash.”

Do you think that in your country such a system would be possible? Read also our article on banks, so you know how long the paper is used in the West Currency.

Images: Mira Rijavec, Will, Robert Scoble

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