棄用現金，實屬不智

By+David+Butterfield

Can we do without cash？ Since 2015， digital payments in the UK have outnumbered those in cash， and we are invited by the great and the good1 to cheer this on. The fully cashless era will be magnificently convenient， they say， with goods delivered directly to the door： no fumbling for change，2 just tap and go. Some London branches of several chains dont accept cash any more. Many others fast-track3 customers who can pay by contactless means. Businesses and banks want to abolish cash because they have nearpathological4 fears of the black market and tax avoidance. Yet we should worry about the death of cash， because physical money possesses worth far above its face value.

Cash is the great leveller. Every penny， pound and banknote sits the same in every hand， identical in value and appearance. A pocketful of change is a gallerycum5-museum. Yes， the Queen is the mainstay， but coins abound in symbols of the Union： the medley of Tudor roses， thistles， ostrich feathers and lions still circulates， now jostling with shards of the Royal Arms.6 These numismatic quirks reveal the strata of history that shaped the United Kingdom.7 Where else worldwide would a pocketful of change include royal portraiture， papal titles， Virgilian tags，8 Roman and Arabic numerals， and three languages？

Actual physical money， in the hand， teaches us its true value. With cash， what you see is what you have. Exchanging it demands personal engagement and oils the wheels of a community. At a shop till or pub bar， the exchange of cash takes time： it involves a flutter of physical contact，9 eye meeting eye and a reminder that trade is human. A digital touch payment is done in a flash： no human interaction necessary.

Spare a thought， too， for high-street communality.10 The more that transactions are ceded11 to electronic devices， the less human the reality of work and trade becomes. Black Friday once denoted disastrous losses of life； now it heralds an artificial， week-long whip-up of slaveringly uncritical consumerism.12 A life of full e-wallets is one of empty e-wantonness13.

Were told that digital payment is a welcome liberation from the shackles14 of cash， but exclusively digital payments actually restrict the reach of money. The need for Wi-Fi， electricity and phones prevents serendipitous and anonymous expenditure； buying power evanesces with battery power.15 Impulsive gifts of money become impossible： no more helping a fellow passenger with a bus fare， no loose change to charity， the poppy seller， a busker or beggar.16 Cash keeps options open： its the lifeblood of the village fête， school fundraiser or car boot sale.17

Worse still， the lack of cash means even the most fundamental aspects of etiquette18 are under pressure. Tipping in restaurants is changing beyond recognition. In simpler times， any amount of cash， warmly generous or pointedly small， could be left furtively as a bespoke reward or Parthian shot.19 In the digital age， theres no winning strategy： a numerical amount must be declared to the waiting staff， which if low causes instant embarrassment， and if high represents either a panicstricken， face-saving gesture or a genuine bonus that may never reach the staff pocket.

Cash is a sober20 reminder of what money stands for. It promotes independence and engagement. Security concerns are reduced to the age-old matter of keeping hold of what you have. By contrast， a cashless society is a joyless one. Digital selfservice is dispiriting and cold： staring silently at an automated checkout or laptop that abets consumer autocracy and little else.21

Yet Mark Carney， our ever industrious governor of the Bank of England， has already announced his wish to begin the cull with the one penny piece，22 as he did in Canada in 2012. With some ten billion pennies still doing the rounds， cash in while you can.

我們是否可以不用現金？自2015年起，英國的數字支付就已經超過現金支付，而那些大人物們則想讓我們為此歡欣鼓舞。他們認為，完全無現金的時代將會極其便捷，貨物直接送到家門口，再也不用手忙腳亂地找零錢，只要一鍵下單就可以了。一些連鎖商店在倫敦的幾家分店已經不再接受現金，其他很多店家也極力敦促顧客使用非接觸手段進行支付。公司和銀行想要廢除現金，是因為他們對黑市交易和逃稅現象有著近乎病態的恐懼。然而，我們應該擔心現金的“消亡”，因為實體貨幣所擁有的價值遠遠超過了其面值。

現金是極佳的公平之物。每一便士、每一英鎊和每張鈔票，在每個人的手里，都有著完全等同的價值和樣貌。滿滿一口袋零錢就像一個美術館兼博物館。是的，硬幣和紙幣上大多都有女王頭像，但硬幣上還鑄有各種英聯邦的象征：都鐸王朝玫瑰、薊花、鴕鳥羽毛和雄獅圖案的硬幣還在流通，如今還增添了皇家軍隊圖案的硬幣。這些錢幣圖案反映了英國發展至今的各個歷史階段。世界上還有哪個地方，從一口袋零錢上就能看到皇家人物頭像、教皇頭銜、維吉爾名句、羅馬和阿拉伯數字以及三種語言？

我們手中的實體貨幣使我們了解到了其真實價值。現金在手，所見便是所有。現金交換需要人參與其中，這個過程是社會運轉的“潤滑劑”。在商店收銀處或是酒吧里，給錢找錢都需要時間：這個過程會產生一些肢體接觸和眼神交會，提醒著我們交易是人的行為。……