Blog: The Future of Cash

“So, when will cash go away?”

It’s a question I get asked frequently when people find out I’m a market intelligence analyst for Diebold Nixdorf. And it’s understandable – stories about cash don’t make for exciting news. We want to hear about the latest bitcoin drama, or the new way to pay with our mobile phone, or how in the future we won’t carry wallets at all and we’ll pay for things just by blinking our eyes.

But the truth is, despite the many articles and data points about the increasing use of digital payment methods, contactless payments, bitcoin, and the rest, cash isn’t disappearing anytime soon. In my research, I find over and over that people simply trust the physicality of cash more than an image on their smartphone or tablet screen. And they find it convenient – for paying friends, making small purchases and getting in and out of a store more quickly.

Our latest infographic explores the big, complicated ecosystem of cash, with recent statistics and figures that may surprise you. What I see in our future is not a cashless society, but a payment landscape where digital and physical methods of payment coexist, and empowered consumers choose the method that’s right for them at any given moment.

At Diebold Nixdorf, we’re working on solutions that sit at the intersection of digital and physical transactions. Find out more about how your organization can better manage the cash cycle – and how the right technology could help make things easier and more efficient – with True Cash Cycle Management.