refusing to accept cash

December 11th, 2016 at 10:51:36 AM permalink
Pacomartin
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The Euro Zone is circulation 1,128 billion in Euro banknotes and coins, while Sweden is circulating the equivalent of 6.436 billion Euros in their own banknotes and coins of their currency (the Swedish Crown). The EZ is circulating 175 times as much currency as Sweden.

If Finland's national bank develops a blockchain based digital currency it would be denominated in Euros, which could have ramifications for the entire Euro Zone. A Swedish digital currency will probably have very little effect outside of the country. Even though Sweden is part of the EU, the Swedish currency still floats within certain bounds.

I have some serious reservations about how much the ECB would permit one of it's member nations to develop a digital currency.
January 3rd, 2017 at 12:06:35 PM permalink
Nareed
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Cash may be bad for your health:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dirty-money/

One reason I keep a bottle of alcohol gel on my desk is that I handle cash several times a day.
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January 23rd, 2017 at 6:15:46 AM permalink
Pacomartin
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After issuing all of the new banknotes in 2017 and the new lighter coins, the central bank in Sweden is going to consider issuing an electronic currency, the first of major central banks.

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winning economist recently said that the U.S. should phase out fiat currency and move toward digital currency, at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Speaking in the session called Ending Corruption, Stiglitz said that phasing out money and introducing digital currency has ‘benefits that outweigh the cost,’ in the long term.

The smallest coin (1 krona) is worth between 10¢ and 11¢.


Printing the new banknote worth about $5.
February 8th, 2017 at 11:11:58 AM permalink
Pacomartin
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Central banks are reporting their year end circulation of cash.
USA is up 6% which is standard since 2001.
Euro-zone is up 4% for all denominations but the 500 Euro banknote is down 12% since they announced that it will be discontinued.

Mexico is up 14.5%, but that is probably not even enough to cover the massive drop of peso against the dollar.

Sweden is down 16.7%, but they dropped another 5% in January 2017 as that country continues it's war against cash.Sweden is considering issuing an electronic currency next year which should even further diminish the need for physical cash. Norway continues to maintain fairly steady supply as they have for the last decade. Denmark has not released it's figures so there is no way to know if they are following the other Scandinavian countries in reducing cash.

The Bank of England releases results at the end of February. They are printing a large number of the new polymer £5 banknote, but rumors are very strong that they will discontinue the £50 banknote in a few years.

South Korea has not published results, but the decision to end coins as legal tender is bound to have some effect. Once you've established electronic payment methods to cover small purchases, people are bound to use them for all purchases.
February 9th, 2017 at 7:38:42 AM permalink
DRich
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Quote: Pacomartin


South Korea has not published results, but the decision to end coins as legal tender is bound to have some effect. Once you've established electronic payment methods to cover small purchases, people are bound to use them for all purchases.


I like that concept and would be very happy if we implemented something similar.
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February 9th, 2017 at 9:07:03 AM permalink
Pacomartin
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Quote: DRich
I like that concept and would be very happy if we implemented something similar.


At end of 2015 South Korea published that they had 436 coins per capita in four denominations of which 165 were worth less than a penny. They were also circulating 29 banknotes per capita of their smallest denomination (roughly 85 cents). Traditional currency reform would be to stop making the smallest coin and try to turn the smallest banknote into a coin.

The coins in South Korea are worth less than US$40 per person, while in the USA they are worth about $140 per person..

By abolishing coins they force everyone in the country to acquire some means of doing electronic transfers from credit cards to google wallet or some other smartphone app. It should be a major boom to the vending machine industry or even stores without cashiers.

South Korea is also circulating 25 of their largest banknote per capita (worth about $43 apiece). By not attacking these notes directly people are not as threatened. But once everyone can pay electronically they may follow Sweden by reducing the number of larger banknotes.

The large banknote was only introduced June 23, 2009 as South Korea was deeply concerned about counterfeiting operations from North Korea. But using only small bills become a real problem. I think their ultimate goal may be to become cashless so there is no threat, but this is their way of sneaking in the back door.
June 21st, 2017 at 4:24:11 AM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
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Quote: AZDuffman
Universal Basic Income is just the latest socialist idea. Thought process is that welfare ends up a patchwork so instead of a bunch of programs with varying requirements just one handout for all.
Finland adopts Universal Basic Income on experimental basis. The Economist 6/20/17
June 21st, 2017 at 8:06:37 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
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Quote: Fleastiff
Finland adopts Universal Basic Income on experimental basis. The Economist 6/20/17


Can you imagine how many stories would be written about people using their UBI to purchase whores and malt liquor?

But one side benefit of digital currency is that UBI would be much easier to implement.
June 21st, 2017 at 11:04:25 AM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
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Quote: Pacomartin
Can you imagine how many stories would be written about people using their UBI to purchase whores and malt liquor?
Malt liquor is very bad.

Actually I think its India that wants to establish ways to electronically live beyond the debit card system so that non taxed work will continue. So much of their economy is non taxed, electricity is tapped, taxes are based on 'apparent wealth'.
June 21st, 2017 at 6:40:10 PM permalink
Pacomartin
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A Taxing Woman (マルサの女?) is a thirty year old Japanese film where the cute Nobuko Miyamoto (Born March 27, 1945), is a tax investigator for the Japanese National Tax Agency who employs various techniques to catch tax evaders. The director reportedly was inspired to make the film after he entered a much higher tax bracket after his initial film success three years earlier.

The Japanese have one of the most cash intensive economies in the world. The amount of cash per person circulating at the end of 2015 was ~ 20% of GDP.

Currency USD-2015 GDP% 2015
Japan $6,738.65 19.44%
Hong Kong SAR $6,550.01 15.51%
India $195.48 12.25%
Switzerland $9,213.47 11.76%
Euro area $3,570.81 10.63%
Russia $799.51 10.56%
Singapore $4,910.88 9.55%
Saudi Arabia $1,708.47 8.20%
United States $4,433.23 7.90%
Mexico $598.78 6.84%
Korea $1,460.33 5.56%
Turkey $457.94 5.37%
Australia $2,319.93 4.65%
Canada $1,641.02 4.08%
Brazil $282.42 3.82%
United Kingdom $1,583.28 3.72%
South Africa $113.36 2.39%
Sweden $872.15 1.73%
China ??? ???
excl euro area $1,292.39 8.48%
incl euro area $1,557.61 8.92%


Japan has considered going to a crypto-currency simply to catch tax evaders. Sweden is switching almost entirely from banknotes to "commercial bank credit", but Japan remains stubbornly attached to cash.