Our trend “From Dirty Cash to Digital Trash” has been embraced to the COVID-minded public who fear the virus can be lurking any place and on anything.
An August survey conducted by Rapyd, a global payment network, shows more than half of all Americans are fearful of catching the coronavirus from touching paper money and coins.
Even more said they would use “touchless” forms of payment in the future.
Highlights from the survey include:
- 54 percent of consumers surveyed are concerned about handling paper money/coins as a result of COVID.
- 60 percent plan on using digital/touchless payments instead of cash/coins in the future because of COVID.
- 32 percent want to see paper money/coins phased out in the future because of COVID.
- 45 percent would like to see pennies phased out/eliminated.
- 30.5 percent want to see all coins phased out.
- 81 percent have heard about the US coin shortage.
Asia still leads the way in phone-based digital transactions, but the U.S. is catching up. According to Rapyd CEO Arik Shtilman, it will take time to replace the ubiquitous “point-of-sale” systems requiring credit/debit cards with computerized units that allow purely digital transactions.
He pointed out the coronavirus will likely be the impetus of governments across the globe to greatly reduce the amount of bills and coins currently in circulation.
In the U.S., however, the U.S. mint has resumed full production of “dirty cash” after slowing production down in the spring, generating over $7 billion more coins by the end of this year compared to last.
Here Comes the Digital Wallet
Digital Wallets, also known as e-Wallets, allow two or more parties to make financial transactions electronically by bartering digital currency for products and services.
Southeast Asia is leading the way. According to the Boston Consulting Group, close to 50 percent of all commercial bank customers in the region are already using digital wallets. That percentage is expected to grow, especially with the concerns about the coronavirus, with estimates up to 84 percent will employ this digital money exchange over the next five years.
Juniper Research estimates this year alone could see a doubling of digital wallet activity worldwide with Apple Pay having over 200 million users and both Google Pay and Samsung to have over 100 million each.
TREND FORECAST: The world will go digital. It is especially the way of younger generations who have been born into the Digital World. It is their new normal.
As the world grows poorer and tax revenues decline, by having a digital track of record of who spent money on what, governments will grab every tax dollar they can.
TREND FORECAST: Just as easily as the masses obediently followed the orders of their masters and marched off to the COVID War, so, too, when nations introduce digital currencies, they will readily accept them.
The trend toward digital trash is also a factor driving up gold and silver prices, as investors seek hard currency safe-haven assets.
The going-digital trend will also prove bullish for cryptocurrencies, particularly for younger generations who live in a digital world and are fearful of an economic future of worthless money.
TREND FORECAST: As central banks and governments flood systems with digital money backed by nothing and printed on nothing to pump up overvalued equity markets and sinking economies, the value of their currencies will continue to decline.
For what the digital future looks like and what to expect, please see Gregory Mannarino’s article, “THE ENGINEERED EXTINCTION OF THE USD” and Joseph Maxwell’s article “FROM DIRTY CASH TO DIGITAL TRASH.”
TRENDPOST: Despite no scientific evidence – and the fact that for centuries people have been handling money and have not died from it despite virus and flu outbreaks of much greater proportions than COVID-19 – under the new ABnormal, many businesses and consumers have been living under newfound anxiety that touching bills and coins increases their chance of catching COVID.
Thus, more and more businesses will ban cash transactions.
This unproven fear affects many vulnerable members of society including the elderly who are uncomfortable with technology, people with no credit, and tips for workers in service industries.
According to LendEDU, the common assumption that bills and coins, since they go through physical contact with so many different people, would be riskier in this pandemic is in fact wrong.
Using a “germ score,” the study revealed the average score for credit and debit cards was 285 compared to an average score of 160 for dollar bills and 136 for various coins.
TREND FORECAST: As central banks and governments flood systems with digital money backed by nothing and printed on nothing to pump up overvalued equity markets and sinking economies, the value of their currencies will continue to decline while gold, silver, and even digital cryptocurrency prices will rise.