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This is exactly the point. We're boxing out people who are already at the bottom rung economically, making it increasingly difficult for them to be part of our transaction system at all.

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Django Wexler

@DjangoWexler

Jun 23, 2021

Replying to @DjangoWexler and @JamesSACorey

So I both see why they do it, but I also worry about creating a two-tiered system like you said, where poor people literally can't even get in the door of rich-people shops because they won't accept their money.

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James S.A. Corey

@JamesSACorey

Jun 23, 2021

And this is pretty personal for me. When I was 18 I had a shitty job and a tiny apt I could barely afford with a roommate. But I need to pay bills so I got my first checking account. Then a few unforeseen money hits later, I unintentionally bounced a couple checks.

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James S.A. Corey

@JamesSACorey

Jun 23, 2021

The bank closed my account. And because this closure showed up on my credit report, I could not get another account even once I'd gotten my finances in order. It took over a year before I could get a new account. In a cashless society, that is a year where I can not buy stuff.

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James S.A. Corey

@JamesSACorey

Jun 23, 2021

And I wasn't even homeless. Just poor. I imagine being poor and homeless in that society. You are now completely shut out.

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Daniel Micay

@DanielMicay

Replying to

@JamesSACorey

Financial services also keep a record of purchases and can make it available to others. They often sell it to other parties. The data can also be compromised or leaked. Mass surveillance of payments is the status quo. It puts some people at risk and impacts what people buy too.

9:04 PM · Jun 23, 2021Twitter Web App

Replying to

and

Law enforcement certainly wants cash gone to be able to look at transaction records. A lot of countries are actively restricting and phasing out cash. In practice, mass surveillance + censorship from financial services hurts people like sex workers not people harming others.