Book review: The End Of Money, by David Wolman

I WAS wondering how I will pay tradesmen when cheques are discontinued, but David Wolman is ahead of me with a much more serious problem. How will we pay when cash and notes are no longer available? The coming of the cashless society is, he says, no joke. It is happening all around us.

Hitachi in Tokyo have developed technology that will allow people to use their fingertip to pay for goods in vending machines or subway tickets. And while that may take time to catch on, we have plenty of other ways of paying our way that don’t involve cash.

Cash allows an individual to have a degree of anonymity and that doesn’t only suit drug dealers, dodgy plumbers and discreet maitre d’s. But new ways of paying would, Wolman believes, help most of us. A cashless economy would in many cases save 1 per cent of GDP , which could go on reducing taxes. Poor people – the most at risk of being robbed - would particularly benefit, and taking the harmful germs that accompany so much cash out of circulation would leave us all healthier.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Wolman’s history of cash is fascinating. As he points out, money has no intrinsic worth but has survived for 2,600 years because we agree to confer value on it and use it in transactions. Having a currency was once a sign of national identity but many countries have realised that this is neither necessary nor wise. We are now, he says, primed to take the next step.

To prove it, he travelled the world for a year without using cash. Sometimes he had to rely on his companions to pay bills but most of the time there was no problem. The idea of settling a shared restaurant bill as we all transfer money via our mobile phones will take a bit of getting used to – yet it makes sense when you realise that a billion people have mobile phones but no bank account. If you store money in your phone, you don’t need a bank account.

So a phone becomes a “mini bank branch” in your pocket. I have my answer. That’s how I’ll pay the tradesmen.

• De Capo Press, £16.99

Related topics: