I’ve always admired the Swiss and sensible approaches. I’m pleased to read about the very recent referendum.
‘Going cashless’ is one of a series of modern-day social-reform threats, over-bearing nanny-state nonsense and governmental surveillance and control.
Is cash a fraud enabler? Absolutely it is.
Will getting rid of cash stop fraud? Absolutely not. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
International cards, prepaid, gift cards, SIM cards. Do we ban those? Do we ban QR codes to stop Quishing?
On the security front, not privacy, looking at the 2026 fraud landscape, would I want all eggs in one banking basket and at risk of account takeover? I think it’s fair to say a lot of this is personal responsibility to be alert, question requests, have a robust threat model with secure MFA - particularly e-mail accounts.
Within those stats, money muling via accounts is also prevalent. Also, insider threats with unscrupulous employees. What with KYC and a wealth of other data and tracking being collated by financial institutions, mobile networks, investment companies, companies house etc, this is an exposure and a credible threat. With societal shifts, global migration, cultures, feeling the ‘financial squeeze’, morale and pay stagnancy, a myriad of factors can change people’s perception, integrity and moral compass. Every action has a reaction kinda thing.
Cash isn’t a crime, nor should it be. It is none of anyone else’s business where I spend my money, nor what I spend money on. Tesco Clubcard (other shops apply) is a good example. They know where/when/what you spend your money on. Don’t want them to know? Pay exorbitant prices.
The general public are slowly starting to understand the repercussions of decisions like ‘going cashless’. They used to be seen as ‘crackpots with tin foil across their windows’ (I can confirm no tin foil here 
). But there is a sufficient uprising of people waking up to what is going on around them. And I’m here for it. Not everyone will ‘get it’ at the same time. Some see it early, some see it too late. Some may never see it and simply be one of the “I don’t care, I’ve not nothing to hide” people. And that’s okay. Balance is key.
The bottom line is, in my opinion, there are pros and cons to both. But you will always sacrifice privacy (and sometimes security) with convenience. ‘Cashless’ will do nothing for fraud and just pushes the fraud elsewhere and the genuine average Joe giving up more of their data to third parties and the state. Go cashless and all financial institutions better get ready to employ a lot more people/systems/anti-fraud mechanisms. I suspect ‘going cashless’ will put a lot of strain on financial institutions. What repercussions will come of this? Higher costs = less profits, or costs passed to the consumer?
So, what have the U.K. gov got in store for us next? Monitoring your internet usage? Requiring your ‘proof of age’ ID under the guise of ‘child safety’? Thinking of banning VPNs? Digital IDs? Oh, wait…
