For many individuals, money is more than just currency. They also see it as valuable and interesting items. Some people even collect coins and paper bills. Money also has educational value since it tells a lot about the history and culture of a certain civilization or country.
However, physical cash presents numerous problems. Aside from being bulky, it can easily be stolen, counterfeits can be made, and improper handling and sanitizing can spread several illnesses such as salmonella, MRSA, Norovirus, and even Covid-19. Physical money is also difficult to track, which makes it a great vehicle for different types of illegal activities. Because of this going cashless has become a trend.
However, this begs the question: will a cashless society bring more advantages than disadvantages? Read on to know more about the impact of a cashless society.
Let’s first define what a cashless society is?
A cashless society is an economic state where all financial transactions happen via the transfer of digital information instead of physical coins and paper bills. Cashless societies already existed in the past when humans were involved in the well-known barter system.
Now, cashless payments are possible due to credit cards, debit cards, internet banking, mobile banking, point of sales (POS), mobile apps, and etc.
Types of Cashless Payments
There are various ways a person can make payments without using cash. Here are the different types of cashless payments:
- POS Terminals
Typically, POS terminals are no more than handheld devices found at stores. They are used to read the bank cards of customers. Yet, the scope of POS continues to expand as these services are now available on numerous mobile platforms through the internet.
Today, POS can be divided into several types like physical POS, mobile POS, virtual POS, and etc. Small businesses benefit from mobile POS because they don’t need to purchase costly electronic registers since the mobile POS operates via tablets and smartphones.
- Contactless Payments
Contactless payment is an easy and safe method that enables you to buy items by simply tapping their card near a POS (point of sale terminal). You can use a credit, debit card, or smart card which is also called a chip card that is based on RFID or NFC (near field communication) technology.
Contactless payments are handy since you don’t need to use any PIN or signature. In addition, you can also make contactless payments through NFC-enabled mobiles that are directly connected with a mobile wallet. So you can simply keep your mobile phone near the reader to pay. You can also use contactless payments in the gas stations or toll booths.
- QR Codes
A QR code or a Quick Response code is a 2-dimensional code with a pattern of black squares which are contained inside a square grid. A QR code is read using an imaging device like a smartphone camera. QR codes are typically used for making cashless payments in which an individual can just scan the merchant’s QR code to complete the transaction.
- Bank Cards
Bank cards like credit and debit cards are one of the most popular cashless payment methods available. They come with numerous benefits such as convenience, secure payments, and many more. Visa, Mastercard, and American Express are some of the most reputable bank cards existing today.
A huge advantage of using bank cards is that they can be used for making other kinds of digital payments. For instance, a user can store his/ her card information in digital payment apps or mobile wallets to make a cashless payment. You can also use these cards in PoS machines, online purchases, online transactions, and etc.
- Gift Cards and Vouchers
Gift cards are an excellent gift idea besides offering a convenient way to go cashless. It allows the receiver to purchase anything using a gift card. You’ll find many stores that give discounts on gift cards.
- Mobile wallet apps
Mobile wallet apps are quickly gaining popularity because they offer a secure, convenient, and fast way to pay. These mobile apps enable users to store, send, and receive money.
You can store or add money in your wallet by simply linking your bank account. You can quickly send money to other people by entering an email ID, phone number, or scanning a QR code. You can also pay your utility bills and other bills directly from your mobile wallet application.
The 5 Amazing Benefits of Cashless Payment
1.Speed of transaction
Paying using cash is time-consuming for customers as well as the employee or business owner. That is why various companies have switched to cashless payment so that they can experience faster transactions and improved efficiency.
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one such company that went cashless and found out that it resulted in lower waiting times, faster transactions, and reduced reconciliation time.
Salad chains such as Sweetgreen also experienced similar benefits. Sweetgreen discovered that they were able to process 5 to 15% more transactions per hour at their cashless stores. Tender Greens also found out that cash transactions were up to five times slower compared to card transactions. Faster transactions also brought about enhanced revenue, fewer errors, and increased customer satisfaction.
2.Decreased costs and business risks
Cashless payment transactions eliminate various business risks such as counterfeit money, theft involving employees, and cash robbery. Additionally, it also reduces security costs, withdrawing cash from the bank, counting, and transporting.
3.An efficient tool against corruption
There are about 1.4 billion people worldwide who make less than $2 a day. However, around an estimated $1.6 trillion is stolen from developing countries through tax evasion, bribery, and corruption. We can easily help those 1.4 billion individuals if we try to reclaim that amount. Cashless payments can become one of the major ways to fight organized crime and corruption globally. If everyone was connected through an end-to-end payment system to create a cashless environment, then there would be absolute transparency in the flow of money.
Whether it’s an international aid or private investment, everyone virtually connected in a cashless environment would be able to determine where specifically the money went and how it was spent. Also, any amount of money found outside of the framework can be easily seen and investigated.
4.Seamless global payments
If you visit a foreign country, then you’ll need to buy the foreign currency. However, with cashless payments, you don’t need to do it anymore since you can make transactions directly from cashless payment applications based on the currency’s exchange rate.
5.liminating the middleman
The idea of a cashless society is a broad one and it’s so much more than just shifting from cash payments to cashless payments. It’s because the mere shift won’t have a major impact as private companies are already processing cashless transactions. So, even if we successfully transition, there will be costs involved.
A real cashless society would be one where there’s a complete exchange of value sans any loss (processing costs or any other cost). In order to achieve this, we would need the national government instead of banks or any other payment provider, thus making it a state-backed operation.
POS terminals are also widely used for cashless transactions by numerous business establishments. At POSRG, we offer efficient POS solutions to take your business to the next level. We provide our clients with top-notch, dependable POS products and services that will suit their needs.
Call POSRG now at +1905 332 8809. Our friendly staff will gladly share their knowledge to help you find the perfect POS system that will enable your business to grow.
