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posted by cmn32480 on Sunday December 27 2015, @11:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the i-bet-the-last-$10-in-my-wallet dept.

The New York Times is reporting that Sweden is getting close to eliminating cash as a method of payment:

Parishioners text tithes to their churches. Homeless street vendors carry mobile credit-card readers. Even the Abba Museum, despite being a shrine to the 1970s pop group that wrote "Money, Money, Money," considers cash so last-century that it does not accept bills and coins.

Few places are tilting toward a cashless future as quickly as Sweden, which has become hooked on the convenience of paying by app and plastic.

This tech-forward country, home to the music streaming service Spotify and the maker of the Candy Crush mobile games, has been lured by the innovations that make digital payments easier. It is also a practical matter, as many of the country's banks no longer accept or dispense cash. [...]

Bills and coins now represent just 2 percent of Sweden's economy, compared with 7.7 percent in the United States and 10 percent in the euro area.

But, as anyone with a brain can predict:

Not everyone is cheering. Sweden's embrace of electronic payments has alarmed consumer organizations and critics who warn of a rising threat to privacy and increased vulnerability to sophisticated Internet crimes. Last year, the number of electronic fraud cases surged to 140,000, more than double the amount a decade ago, according to Sweden's Ministry of Justice.

My take: With cash, identify theft and credit card fraud becomes more difficult. But more importantly, I like the anonymity of cash. It lets those of us who pay too much in taxes cheat on sales tax by buying expensive things in a tax-free state when we visit. I also like using cash to tip underpaid servers at restaurants so they don't have to report that portion of their gratuity. But there is a civil liberties element to it as well. The government has no business knowing or being able to know where I spend my money or how much I spend.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Unixnut on Sunday December 27 2015, @05:28PM

    by Unixnut (5779) on Sunday December 27 2015, @05:28PM (#281456)

    Bitcoin isn't anonymous. In fact all transactions are public. What is anonymous is the wallet address, which, if you ever go buy something in person, or have it delivered to your address, or use your home IP address, or otherwise expose your identity with, then the public ledger to that address is associated with yourself.

    Yes, you can create multiple addresses, use money laundering services, VPN/TOR/internet cafe, etc... but it is a law of diminishing returns, and quite frankly it is harder to stay anonymous online than it is to show up somewhere with a wad of cash and make your purchase.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 27 2015, @11:20PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 27 2015, @11:20PM (#281533)

    Gift credit cards. Pay in cash. Get someone who does not care to buy it.