Demonetization: Transactions Under The Watchful Eyes Of Bankster Cronies

When it comes to the distribution of wealth, we know that we are living in a world which is unequal. This move towards a cashless society may aggravate inequality even further and it is just another way of legally forcing common people of this country to reach for their wallets and shell out more.

- Sidharth Shekhar

Demonetization has crippled the cash and it is under attack in India, and elsewhere around the world. It is facing a backlash from the propagators of a cashless system and private businesses are playing a major role in this.

Behind the hype of technology and change, fin tech companies are trying to make money but there is nothing wrong with that.

In The Nature of Technology, W. Brian Arthur – an authority on economics in relation to complexity theory, technology, and financial markets – tells us that the history of technology is not one of the more-or-less independent discoveries, but an evolutionary story of related devices, methods, and capturings of phenomena. Similarly, a cashless system depends on the internet and other technical innovations.

The advancement in the field of information technology has facilitated innovation in electronic payment where goods and services are traded without the use of physical cash. In a cashless system, the usage of currency as a medium of exchange for goods and services is eliminated by allowing electronic transfer payments or non-electronic payment via cheques.

New ways of paying will continue to be introduced but Indians need to recognize the risks and benefits of different payment instruments. People in India generally prefer cash over digital payment solutions as they find it more secure. Bank notes are convenient and universally accepted, and they offer unparalleled privacy as a payment instrument which is not the case with the cashless system.