Microsoft Word - ECCU Creative Youth Competition Essay KAH

Towards a Cashless Society: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Realities for the

Eastern Caribbean Currency Union

Moving towards a cashless society is a trending topic for most financial institutions,

governments, and everybody in society because of its supposed inevitability. However, how

would it affect the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union? A cashless society can be defined as an

economic state or concept in which transactions are made using electronic money (e-money) via

digital technology rather than the usage of physical forms of cash; banknotes and coins. Once

this movement occurs within the ECCU there will be challenges, opportunities, and realities

which will have to be considered.

The concept of a cashless society is no longer fantasy due to mankind’s ability and the

aid of technology but, it manifests in the challenge of marginalizing some members of society.

Statistics from a 2015 World Bank report show that one in two people in the Caribbean do not

have basic banking services, such as a bank account which emphasizes the difficulty of this

movement. Primarily, the elderly, minors, and some small business owners would be

marginalized due to the level of understanding necessary to perform these transactions amongst

other things. Furthermore, elderly in particular tend to be suspicious of technology and some

even refuse to adapt.

In addition to this, the necessary technology for a viable cashless society may not yet be

exposed to the ECCU member states and even if it was, not everyone would have the ability to

manipulate and easily understand it. How does one introduce a concept like this to fishermen

for example, who may only possess a GPS radio and maybe a flip phone? Before capitalizing

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