Is a completely cashless society a possibility for the U.S.? Why or why not?

I assume there is a chance we might go cashless.  I am very skeptical of that prospect—there are too many opportunities for cybercrime, hacking, etc.  The dangers could come from domestic or foreign entities.  Let’s just stick with physical currency and coins.  Keep printing “In God We Trust” on the currency and coins.

 KRE, Germantown, Ohio

A completely cashless economy will not work in a society that values Freedom and Privacy as highly as the USA. There is too little freedom and a serious lack of privacy in a computer-based economy based entirely on the exchange of zeros and ones.

And what happens if another Carrington Event occurs?

Bob Evans, Hopewell, Ohio

Many concert and sports venues are totally cashless so I think it’s POSSIBLE that the entire U.S. could move to cashless.

Greg Yesh, Grant, Mich.

The U.S. can absolutely go cashless. If the government stopped printing money and dictated that we must use wireless devices for every transaction, what choice would we have?  

Now, if you had asked, “Should the U.S. go cashless?” the answer would have been absolutely not. With all the identity theft out there, let’s create another channel for hacking our personal info.  I always use cash for transactions of $60 or less and a credit card for larger transactions.  

As businesses and venues go cashless only, I stop patronizing them.  If everyone goes cashless, I guess I’ll have to get over it.

Richard Bumpus, Marion, Mass.

Far too many people lack cash, credit (worthiness), intelligence, need, or other factors for the system to work. 

Problem #2 is that the powerful banks and financial institutions that have Credit Cards in the wild, earning interest rates in the 15-25% range, DEPEND on those revenue streams, and have clout in Washington.

Finally, I believe there is not enough interest in general.

Name and address withheld

No, as there will always be a diminishing component of society that will utilize cash.

 Lorne Lavertu, Herndon, Va.

I do not see this working.

I had 160 employees, and eight did not even have bank accounts. They lived paycheck to paycheck and were dependent on buying with cash only!

 Jerry Roberts

A cashless society will hurt individual Americans. If cybercrime gets into my account and cleans it out, who is going to help me? Today, I need to pay the mortgage. Where do I go for my payment? The bank? The government? The mortgage company? By the time the bureaucracy checks the claim, I will have lost my house. 

The U.S. government prints more money if it wants to, just like it does today. Imagine if all they had to do was order more cyber money. Our politicians would have a heyday, becoming richer more easily than they do today.

Yes, but only when we stop printing paper money and making coins. This applies to the U.S. and other countries that use our money.

Name and address withheld

Of course, it is the future of the Western World, including the United States. Many stores and venues are cashless.  The majority of customers no longer carry cash and are utilizing credit or debit cards.

Other than a small minority who purchase gold and silver with cash, we transact online, in-store, and at shows with customers who do not utilize cash. It is not coming; it is already here.

Carl Hornburger, Integrity Coin Store, Poquoson, Va.

I do not believe it will work. There have been other smaller countries that tried this and failed. 

There are too many people who don’t believe in credit cards or trust the government to ensure your accounts aren’t hacked, or they turn your account off because you didn’t vote for one party or the other, you were accused of a crime, or any other reason the government wants to turn your account off.

Tim K., Pa.