The decline of cash is only the beginning – soon we will face: A FUTURE WITHOUT MONEY

Imagine the drive-through queue to a restaurant in the near future. You order breakfast and drive to the next window, where your food bag is handed through the car window, and you drive away. Did you forget to pay? No – it happened automatically, no credit card or payment app required. Instead, a sensor has recognised electromagnetic radiation from your car, confirmed your car’s identity and transferred the money from your account.

This could be reality in just a few years. It's not only coins and notes but also wallets, purses and cards that are becoming obsolete. Instead we will pay with our bodies, our belongings, or even our time. It might eventually become obsolete to think of money as numbers in a bank account – scientists will create new ‘money’ from quantum states.

Farewell to cash

Metal coins and worn-out bank notes are disappearing. Scandinavia is one leader in this digital transition, assisted by an average smartphone use of 92% across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. In Spain cash is still used for 87% of all purchases, but the figure for Sweden is