Aggregate Demand and Supply

Another little footnote in the ongoing debate about the extent to which the UK economy is going cashless - there's been a marked rise in the use of contactless payments, with the technology accounting 40% of card payments.

My wife and I were discussing the 'cashless society' this morning, arguing that our children's primary school should have a system of electronic payment for school meals and breakfast club and so on. We think that it would be much easier and cheaper for the school and for parents, and also reduce the amount of cash held on the premises.

However, perhaps we've overlooked the poor and those without internet access - as this article implies. That said, I can't think of many people who always carry odd sums - like £4 - to pay for breakfast club.

And ATMs are closing at an alarming rate too - so, does the dash for 'cashless' transactions raise distributional issues?

Certainly those living in rural communities seem to think so - but it could also be argued that by choosing to live there, that's a price they have to be prepared to pay. And, equally, does it discriminate against SMEs. In this day and age, I'm less convinced.