The future of banking: Living in a cashless society

Email replaced postcards, digital bill payments made cheques obsolete, and ride-sharing apps have almost made waving down a taxi a thing of the past.

Out of all that, there seems to be one decidedly un-digital institution that’s survived the tech revolution: cash.

Or has it?

Society is rapidly becoming cashless, whether people realize it’s happening or not. Thanks to all of our online banking accounts, smartphone-enabled payment methods, and even the humble credit card, cash is clearly on the way out.

For many people, the thought of living without cash seems absurd, but it turns out that there’s a whole lot we have to gain from taking our financial system into the digital world.

Your KOHO prepaid Mastercard® account is actually already set-up to give you an advantage when the physical loonie falls by the wayside. Here are 5 key things to know about living in a cashless society and how your KOHO account will help you make the most of this digital financial transformation.

1. It’s easier to budget without cash

Think about it: When was the last time you looked at a $5 bill and said, “I’m going to save this instead of spending it on pizza.”

Yeah, that’s probably never happened (but we like pizza, too, so no judgement here).

When we have cash in hand, we humans just want to spend it on things that we might not actually need, rather than saving it up to pay for school, buy our dream home, or simply to pay off our debts.

As society goes increasingly cashless, it may actually get easier to budget your money. That’s why cashless tools, like your KOHO prepaid Mastercard, are so valuable.

A KOHO prepaid Mastercard is accepted pretty much anywhere that accepts non-cash payments, so you can spend your money how you like.

When you use your KOHO card rather than cash, you also get real-time Insights into what you’re spending your money on. As a result, it’s easier to identify key areas where you can cut back on your spending and stick to your budget.

"Society is rapidly becoming cashless, whether people realize it’s happening or not."

2. Saving is more simple when you go digital

Budgeting and saving go hand in hand, so it’s no surprise that it’s easier to build up your savings when you stick to a cashless lifestyle.

In fact, with your KOHO account, cashless saving is the name of the game.

Every time you make a purchase using your KOHO prepaid Mastercard, you automatically get cash back on the must-haves. You can easily boost your cash back by opting for KOHO Premium or shopping with our brand partners.

Show us a $10 bill that can do that!

In addition to cash back, living in a digital society has other perks, too.

Paying with your KOHO card allows you to save up on every transaction with RoundUps, so you can contribute to your savings with every purchase. By going digital, it’s easier to track what you spend and to set savings goals, which would be really difficult to keep tabs on if you bought everything in cash.

3. Boosted security & secure transactions

One of the biggest benefits we get from taking our financial lives online is added security that you just can’t get if you pay in cash. There are certainly some not-so-nice people out there that are trying to steal people’s identities, but new technological advancements have made digital payments the clear path forward.

These days, digital payments are quicker, cleaner, and much more secure than paying in cash or cheque. This is especially true when you make contactless payments on your KOHO prepaid Mastercard.

While contactless payments may seem too good to be true, they’re actually built using the same secure technology found in a chip-and-pin card. They also have some of the lowest fraud rates when it comes to digital payment options.

There’s even research that suggests paper money and coins can be vectors of disease. Going digital using your contactless card or by adding your KOHO card to your digital wallet on your smartphone can help keep you away from germs as you shop.

"There’s even research that suggests paper money and coins can be vectors of disease."

4. Online shopping made easy

If you’ve ever bought something online, you understand how important it is to have a non-cash payment option. In fact, you can’t buy things online in cash and you’d be hard pressed to find an online retailer that’s going to wait for you to mail them a cheque.

Going cashless means that online payments are so much easier. Although online shopping identity theft can be an issue, digital payment options have stayed one step ahead of these fraudsters.

Your KOHO account actually provides you with free access to a virtual card so you can shop online with confidence and without the need for cash or even a physical card.

By using a virtual Mastercard while shopping online, you protect yourself from identity theft, all while making online payments that just wouldn’t be possible if our world relied solely on cash.

5. More investment opportunities

Living in an almost-cashless society also provides us with plenty of great investment and savings opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise exist.

In addition to TFSAs and RRSPs, going cash-free with our financial lives opens up doors to investing in cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin.

Although they’re not regulated like your regular bank account, cryptocurrencies can be an investment option for folks that are okay with a bit of risk in exchange for a potentially big payday.

Investing in cryptocurrency isn’t possible in a cash-based society, though, because buying Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other crypto requires digital payment.

Something to note, however, is that not all payment cards are accepted by major cryptocurrency exchanges. This means that having a card like your KOHO prepaid Mastercard, which is accepted by the majority of crypto exchanges is essential for taking advantage of all the cash-free investment options out there.

The future is cashless

Our world is quickly going cashless, so having the right digital finance tools at your disposal is critical. That doesn’t mean physical, hard cash is going to cease to exist tomorrow; our guess is that cash will still be an impactful part of the economy for decades to come.

But as infrastructure changes to better accommodate cashless payments and transactions, it’s important to understand how that could impact everything from daily purchases to long-term savings. With your KOHO account in hand, you’ll be one step ahead of the game when society nixes cash for good — or at least as physical cash becomes less convenient!