Is a cashless society problematic? / by Walter Engert, Ben S.C. Fung and Scott Hendry.: FB3-6/2018-12E-PDF

"The use of bank notes in Canada for payments has declined consistently for some time, and similar trends are evident in other countries. This has led some observers to predict a cashless society in the future. This paper considers the implications of the abandonment of the use of cash in the future. More specifically, we look at a variety of ways in which the emergence of a cashless society could affect key concerns of a central bank, including seigniorage, monetary policy, payments and financial stability considerations. We find that a cashless society would not generally cause material, system-wide problems. There are a few areas, however, where concerns could emerge: the maintenance of both operational reliability and contestability in retail payments, and the provision of a safe store of value in an (extreme) financial crisis. We note policy options to address these potential concerns"--Abstract, p. ii.

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Publication information
Department/Agency Bank of Canada.
Title Is a cashless society problematic? / by Walter Engert, Ben S.C. Fung and Scott Hendry.
Series title Bank of Canada staff discussion paper, 1914-0568 ; 2018-12
Publication type Series - View Master Record
Language [English]
Format Electronic
Electronic document
Note(s) "October 2018."
Includes bibliographical references (p. 22-23).
Includes abstract in French.
Publishing information [Ottawa] : Bank of Canada, 2018.
Author / Contributor Engert, Walter.
Fung, Ben S. C.
Hendry, Scott.
Description 31 p. : col. charts.
Catalogue number
  • FB3-6/2018-12E-PDF
Subject terms Currency
Electronic funds transfers
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