The Case for a Cashless Economy

The military has gradually realized that the anonymity of cash makes it easy for terrorists and insurgents to smuggle in money and make purchases without a trace. That’s why for the past few years the military has been striving to replace its cash transactions with electronic fund transfers and debit card payments in the hopes of achieving a “cashless battlefield,” in the words of Peter Kunkel, a former assistant secretary of the Army. So, why not eliminate the use of physical cash worldwide — not just a “cashless battlefield” but a “cashless economy”? From a technical point of view, such an initiative is entirely feasible.