Around the world cash usage is on the decline as governments from India to Kenya to Sweden promote cashless payments in the name of public health; the European Commission vice president for financial services Valdis Dombrovskis tweeted at the start of the pandemic, “Time to swap your coins for payment cards — safer for containing coronavirus”; credit card issuers are working with governments to increase the limits on contactless and in France it was raised to 50 euros to entice shoppers to use cards instead of cash; Visa reported a 100% increase in contactless payments activity in the US from a year ago; Tappit, a British company that that provides data gathering and cashless solutions such as wristbands and apps connected to a credit card for use at large events, has seen a surge in new interest as companies are looking to go cashless; central banks are also looking at replacing banks with digital currency with a pilot program already under way in Sweden. The New York Times.
