Frank Shostack: Cash Removal Will Damage the Market Economy

According to certain experts, there is an urgent need to remove cash from the economy. It is argued that cash provides support to the shadow economy and permits tax evasion.

Another justification for its removal is that, in times of economic shocks which push the economy into a recession, the run for cash exacerbates the downturn (i.e., it becomes a factor contributing to economic instability). Moreover, it is held that, in the modern world, most transactions can be settled by means of electronic funds transfer. Money in the modern world is an abstraction.