The central bank is considering new ways of ensuring access to physical money when power and telecommunications fail. Read more at straitstimes.com.
WELLINGTON – The cyclone that tore through New Zealand last week has exposed the dangers of a cashless society, prompting the central bank to consider new ways of ensuring access to physical money when power and telecommunications fail.
“What it is showing is the importance of physical cash still in society today,” Reserve Bank Assistant Governor Karen Silk said in an interview Friday in Wellington, adding she was unsure if there could ever be a truly cashless society.The RBNZ is now looking at whether non-bank entities such as supermarkets that already offer cash-out services could play a greater role, though this brings additional challenges, Ms Silk said.
The Reserve Bank has been examining the future of money in society for the past few years and has raised concerns about the declining use of physical cash as the payment system becomes increasingly digitalized. Many towns in New Zealand are now without bank branches, which have been replaced with cash machines that rely on electricity and the internet to operate.
“You’re seeing and reading some horrific stories out there at the moment of isolated communities,” Mr Orr said. “When people lose the ability to transact, when they don’t have a means of exchange, then social cohesion is very quickly challenged.”
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