Is COVID the Death of Cash?

Financial Futures

In the age of COVID, a lot of us are feeling more squeamish about paper money and the germs that may be hitching a ride on it. All across the world, people are using way less cash. But the pandemic only accelerated a trend that was well underway, with the rise of contactless cards and digital payment apps making a cash-free lifestyle more appealing than ever.

In the debut episode of “Financial Futures,” we ask: does COVID spell the death of cash? What would a cashless society look like, and do we really want to live in one? And how can financial institutions attract a new generation of customers ready to ditch the clutter of coins and bills, while weathering uncertain times that leave others longing for the comfort of cold, hard cash?

Melissa Kopp joins us to offer her take on these questions as director of business development at FIS, a global leader in financial services technology. We talk about:

• How both consumers and merchants have embraced contactless payments during the pandemic
• The benefits and risks of a cashless society, and who it might leave behind
• What we can learn from Sweden, a trailblazing model of a (nearly) cash-free country
• How financial institutions can adapt and lead the way into the digital-payments future