Global IT outage shows dangers of cashless society, campaigners say
Cash provides essential fallback when digital payments break down, Payment Choice Alliance points out
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jul/20/cash-global-it-outage-cashless-society-dangers-payment-choice-allianceOpen linkView original on lemmy.zip
2 replies
So does writing down a card number or writing a check or even the dreaded IOU. Double also, if things break like they did on Friday, ways to get cash(ATM, tellers at a bank) will also be impacted as well as the things that you might spend cash on (gas pumps, cash registers etc).
I dont think that cashless needs to exist and having paper currency is useful in a lot of cases but in 2024 the idea that cash is the solution to much of anything is a little silly.
I don't know of any shop or street/market trader that will "write down a card number" or accept a written IOU from a random customer. In Europe cheques are practically extinct. When electronic systems or banks fail, cash is the obvious and generally the only working solution "in 2024".