[Town & Country] In our steady march toward an all-digital world, an ever-growing array of tangible forms of communication and culture—from printed books and newspapers to handwritten letters (imagine!) to DVDs—are being relegated to history’s dustbin. And now we’re on the cusp of arguably the biggest transition yet: ditching cold, hard cash for a future in which all money is digital.
Actually, it might seem we’re already a good ways along. Just look at our exploding use of credit and debit cards: In 1990 debit cards in the U.S. were used for 300 million purchases; today the total exceeds 40 billion. Swipe technologies like Apple Pay are taking off, as are person-to-person apps such as Venmo and Zelle. Other technologies, involving things like microchip implants, fingerÂprint scans, and facial recognition, are even eliminating the need for phones and smartwatches. In some places using cash is beginning to feel as outmoded as mailing a check to pay your electric bill. |