cashless society update - 07.07.2014

Is a cashless society on the cards?
By Tara Kelly and Katie Pisa, for CNN
July 3, 2014 -- Updated 0921 GMT (1721 HKT



larger image, here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/02/business/is-a-cashless-society-on-the-cards/

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7 JULY 2014 - 8:14AM UPDATED | POSTED BY JOHN GLENDAY | 0 COMMENTS
London buses drive cashless society closer

Anyone looking to hail a London bus with a pocket full of small change is in for a disappointment from today after Transport for London (TfL) moved to make the service entirely cashless.

The switch means only passengers with a valid Oyster card, pre-paid ticket or contactless payment card will be able to hop onto one of the iconic red double decker’s, an initiative geared toward improving travel times.

TfL cites falling customer demand for notes and coins as fueling the change with surveys showing that as many as 99 per cent of all passengers plump for non-cash methods of payment.

Explaining the move Mike Weston, TfL's director of buses, commented: "The way our customers pay for goods and services is evolving, so we need to ensure our ticketing evolves too. Removing cash from our bus network not only offers customers a quicker and more efficient bus service but it enables us to make savings of £24m a year which will be re-invested to further improve London's transport network."

more here:
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/07/07/london-buses-drive-cashless-society-closer

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Wednesday, 02 July 2014 17:20
Establishment Pushing “Cashless Society” to Control Humanity
Written by  Alex Newman



The global establishment is increasingly pushing the notion of what it calls a “cashless society” — a world in which all payments and transactions would be conducted electronically, creating a permanent record for governments to inspect and track at will. Multiple governments from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Americas are explicitly working toward that goal, and in recent months, even more have joined the effort. Powerful globalist forces and organizations including the United Nations are helping, too. However, analysts are warning that the implications of such a shift would be nightmarish for liberty and privacy. 

Proponents of the government-enforced move away from physical currency cite a wide array of potential real and imagined benefits. Among them: possible reductions in armed robbery, tax evasion, black-market commerce, the cost of printing and securing physical cash, and more. Critics, though, are warning of the dangerous and Orwellian schemes that could be unleashed in a world where out-of-control governments can monitor literally every purchase, transaction, and bit of economic activity. In light of the recently exposed NSA snooping scandal, the possibilities for abuse and total surveillance are more than hypothetical, obviously.

As the supposed “debate” on the alleged merits of the controversial plot rages on, more than a few governments and central banks are already working hard to reduce reliance on cash among citizens and businesses. The end goal, as they openly admit, is an ultimate end to all cash transactions, supposedly ushering in a wonderful world of safety and flourishing digital commerce. The darker side is rarely discussed, but as the move toward a “cashless society” accelerates, critics are increasingly sounding the alarm.

more here:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/item/18619-establishment-pushing-cashless-society-to-control-humanity