NEW DELHI: Universal acceptance, its ease of use, its contingency role and its educational role will all help to create the sustained demand for currency notes and coins and despite several alternative payment instruments, none can match its full range of benefits, says a report by Paris-based AGIS Consulting.
In a white paper titled “Cash Essentials”, drafted by international payments industry expert Guillaume Lepecq, he has argued in favour of cash, against virtual money. “Cash is a robust payment technology ideally suited to fast-paced modern economies. Cash payments are supported by state-of-the art security and distribution technologies that keep fraud to very low levels – often much lower than those of competing payment technologies,” says Lepecq.
Technology has enabled the development of new equipment including contactless cards, mobile phones, tablets, smart watches and biometric devices. Further, the deregulation has allowed non-banks into the payments market, which has been a banking prerogative for centuries, the paper said.
“Cash is a public good and everyone benefits from it: from the people in developing countries trying to join the financial system to those in more advanced economies looking for a secure payment mechanism and store of value,” says Lepecq.