The force to quit cash, which may be the final consequence of the introduction of CBDC – money from a digital central bank – must be seen in the context of the global civilization dispute, which is primarily in the West. Of course, the quantifiable interests of circumstantial sectors, in this case government or financial, are besides part of this dispute. However, talking about a civilian dispute is not an exaggeration: an effort to liquidate cash is included in a package of changes that they push the environment with a clearly defined ideological line.
But first, an crucial reservation. The issue of keeping cash in circulation and the right to usage it at any transaction and the minute affects each of us. The author of this article too. That's why I honestly admit that I usage cash truly rarely. It's just a substance of convenience. But all the more reason I will defend its availability, due to the fact that like convenience I besides value freedom of choice.
It is my choice to usage non-cash methods for payment, but it may besides be my choice to pay in cash at any time and for reasons for which I do not gotta explain myself to anyone.
Yes, I would like to be able to pay any amount in cash - and this may shortly be impossible following the EU AML Directive (Anti-Money Laundering, the Money Laundering Directive).
How do Poles pay?
I am not isolated in the tendency to non-cash payments in Poland. Test "Preferences for payments of Poles 2024", ordered by PolCard (i.e. a non-cash payment organization), showed that 75% of the citizens of our country "regularly chooses non-cash payments" – but this is, of course, a very general message which is intended to correspond to the needs of the contracting authority a survey alternatively than showing the real image of the situation.
This one's in more retail data. In relation to the year 2022, the percent of respondents to the question “How frequently do you pay without cash?”: “very frequently (a fewer times a week)” – from 19.2% to 22.7% – and “commonly (once a week)” – from 10.1% to 13.7%. The group clearly declined saying that it never pays without cash – from 15% to 9.8%.
But note: at the same time, the percent of those who are asked how frequently they pay without cash is reduced, they answer "always or almost always erstwhile I have the opportunity" – from 41% to 38.3%. The percentages of non-cash payments have besides increased – from 5% to 7.8%.
These fresh changes, though small, are curious, especially against the background of propaganda, to detest paying cash. It is besides worth looking at data about the tendency to non-cash payments depending on the age of the respondents. The most people utilizing non-cash forms whenever possible are between 40 and 49 years of age – 48%, while in the youngest group, 18-29, specified people are 1 percent point less, and in the 30-39 group there are clearly little – 41%. This is surprising, due to the fact that we would instinctively presume that in the group of the youngest percentages paying without cash on all occasion will be the largest.
Perhaps we are dealing with a trend in cash among young people?
What can be the consequence that almost 3 percent points of Poles more than 2 years ago declare that they pay only in cash? I would read this not so much as an answer consistent with the facts – especially since even paying bills in cash, if possible, is already highly hard - alternatively as a declaration of a certain attitude, not necessarily consistent with material truth. It is very possible that any respondents thus show their disagreement to force non-cash payments on them.
The survey asked those who like cash – where did they come from (there was more than 1 answer). 58.7% said they were just utilized to it. However, as much as 47.5% found it easier to control spending erstwhile utilizing cash.
This means that people are instinctively sensing what is actually 1 of the most serious arguments for utilizing cash and which is besides 1 of the fundamental reasons why the financial strategy is fighting it, and banks and corporations in particular:
It's easier to get people to buy – including those actually unnecessary, and only due to marketing impulse – erstwhile they pay with abstract "points" than erstwhile they spend murmuring bills they gotta put on the counter.
This correctness has already been proven in technological experiments.
The 3rd reason for utilizing only cash (39%) is simply a reasonably enigmatic answer "I don't like to pay in this way [no cash]" – respondents were no longer asked why. The another 2 responses, which have almost the same share – 24.8% and 24.1% respectively – are "I don't think it's safe" and "I'm afraid individual can check what I'm buying and cash gives me more anonymity." It is peculiarly worthwhile to draw attention to this last answer, due to the fact that respondents have mistakenly grasped 1 of the fundamental reasons why cash should stay in circulation: if we want to make an anonymous purchase, we must pay in this way. Anonymity, on the another hand, will be claimed by the AML Directive in the case of regular transactions in a store worth more than EUR 3 000.
CBDC emissions
The next step after the forced digitisation of payment transactions would be to issue CBDCs. There is no request to repeat these warnings in detail. It's just worth reminding you.
This is, above all, a full state control – going far beyond what we know or can imagine even with a crucial regulation on the right to usage cash – over our money.
Control that the State could be able to turn off its portfolio to an disobedient citizen, reduce expenditure or mark the money it can spend on circumstantial purposes. The limitation of the perfidious applications of CBDC is only the imagination of officials and politicians with totalized aspirations. With power it is usually that if he gets the instrument in hand, sooner or later he begins to invent increasingly oppressive ways of utilizing it.
In fact, this is the realization of the imagination they described in their novels in the field of technological or sociological fantasy Philip K. Dick in the 1956 "Minority Report" (I urge a large screening of 2002 with Tom Cruise and Max von Sydow in the lead roles) and Janusz A. Zajdel in the unparalleled "Limes inferior" of 1980 (where alternatively of money there was a strategy of points, awarded depending on the social class). – Zajdel was indeed a visionary).
The CBDC introduction plan is not a conspiracy theory. On the NBP website read: “The NBP is cautious about the anticipation of introducing digital gold and now, without seeing a convincing justification, does not decide to issue it. The current position of the NBP on digital gold emissions may be modified if there are factors (national or international) justifying specified change.’
On the Atlantic Council website we will find a large interactive map countries showing the degree of work on CBDC. It shows that only 3 countries in the planet have introduced the digital currency: Nigeria (where this was done with large opposition from citizens), Jamaica and the Bahamas. However, pilot programmes run as many as 44 countries. Further 20 develops the CBDC concept. On this map Poland is not marked at all.
Cash reports from France and Switzerland
However, there are testimonies showing that perhaps, as in many another cases, the trend is reversed. Very interesting results test conducted for 3 years in France by the Institute of Ifop for the Paris Mint (Monnaie de Paris). In his introduction to the report, Marc Schwartz, president of the Mint, points out that in France, money has been being beaten by the state since 864 and writes: “We want to item present the function of physical money inactive as crucial as it is. [...] Our investigation confirms this all year: the French are tied to cash, the determinant of Inclusion, individual freedom, liquidity and sovereignty."
As many as 74% of the French declare that they usage cash regular – and this is an increase of 6 points compared to 2022! Over 80% of respondents say that they are tied to cash – so they do not want to give it up.
86% pay cash to tiny traders (petits commerceçants), 61% in this form transmits pocket money (l’argent de poche) your children.
The study states: “The increasing usage of electronic payment methods does not mean discouragement to cash: The French inactive want freedom of choice between digital and physical payments, and more generally, between all forms of payments."
Another very interesting insight into the situation is test "Swiss Money Map", implemented by scientists from St. Gallen University, Switzerland. It shows, among another things, that starting in 2020 the number of ATMs, which this year is nearly 6400, is steadily and rapidly decreasing. At its peak, however, it was over 7,200 machines.
As you know, the availability of cash depends enormously on the availability of ATMs.
Helveck researchers made precise calculations, and it turned out that to the nearest point where you can collect cash – not necessarily an ATM, but besides message or a bank – the average Swiss is on average 800 metres, but to the ATM – on average 1.2 kilometres. According to the authors of the report, the unacceptable distance from the point of access to cash is only a minimum of 5 kilometres, and specified a distance would gotta overcome only 1.2% of the Swiss population. Therefore, although the cash access parameters in Switzerland have somewhat deteriorated in fresh years, they stay very favourable. The question is what these values would look like in Poland – but we have not conducted specified an advanced survey (the full study "Swiss Money Map" together with maps and tables are as many as 71 pages of truly detailed data).
Where is Poland going?
Unfortunately, as usual, in Poland the situation in many respects looks worse than in the rotting West.
Our country has long boasted about the advancement of digital payments – and there would be nothing incorrect with it, on the contrary, if it did not mean increasingly hard access to cash.
The fresh ticket strategy is planned in Warsaw as a symbol of the actions that are expected to banish it in a alternatively tricky way. His assumptions even attracted the attention of the Ombudsman, who expressed in late 2023 anxietythat the strategy may mean discrimination against those excluded digitally and who want to pay in cash. ‘The introduction of restrictions on payments in cash for public transport tickets may limit the availability of collective transport to the inhabitants of the municipality and thus lead to the exclusion of communication. Taking into account the scale of the phenomenon of transport exclusion in Poland (which may affect even 1 3rd of the population), the provisions of local law and regulations which may make the situation worse should be formulated with peculiar caution" - we read in a letter that the RPO office sent to the Warsaw Municipal Transport Board in November 2023.
However, the system's assumptions have not been changed. Responding to my enquiry in February of this year, the spokesperson for ZTM wrote that "cash payments will be possible at fixed ticket vending machines and points of sale, e.g. at Passenger Service Points". The question is, how many of these stationary vending machines will there be? due to the fact that sending passengers to a fewer POPs open in office hours is, of course, fiction. This attitude of ZTM is not amazing – Warsaw under the management of Mr Rafał Trzaskowski aims to be in the vanguard of progress, and part of this is to quit cash.
But this is just an example.
The phenomenon of calling ATM networks in Poland is more worrying. In the first 4th of 2024 more than a 1000 ATMs were deleted in our country – attention! At the end of March, little than 20900 machines were operating in Poland.
Let's do a simple mathematical action, comparing it to Switzerland, where 8.85 million people live. 1 ATM comes out to 1382 people. In Poland (36.69 million people) 1 ATM is accounted for importantly more than 1755 people. And let us remember that in Switzerland it is much easier to get cash in another places of access than in Poland.
It is hard to blame ATM network operators: they are not a charity. They will disassemble and disassemble ATMs that are unprofitable and the profitability of ATMs depends on the rates offered by the operators of the 3 main systems: Visa, MasterCard and Blik. In all 3 cases, these operators are deaf to calls for a change of commission for handling cash payments. It is hard to be amazed – in their interests is pushing customers towards, cheaper for banks and card exhibitors, non-cash payments.
Let's effort to put this information together.
Firstly – governments, corporations, financial environments – each of these stakeholders for their own reasons to the planet without cash. The motivations are different, but the direction is the same.
Secondly, non-cash payments mean regular comfort, so it is not amazing that a large number of people usage them. It is impossible to blame citizens for choosing comfort.
Thirdly, the more specified payments and the little cash payments, the easier it is for those stakeholders to convince that cash is no longer needed.
Fourthly, moving distant from cash means inevitably expanding control over citizens' lives and privacy, culminating in the introduction of CBDC, a solution like Dick and Zajdel's nightmare anti-utopias.
Since the reversal of marketplace trends is hard and would take a long time, and it is not easy for citizens to require them to act against their own convenience by carrying cash-filled wallets (even if there are signs that this 1 is becoming fashionable again), it so seems to be a primary issue in the Polish legal strategy to warrant access to cash and the right to pay it. This should be completely independent of all marketplace conditions. I have no uncertainty that specified provisions should be included in the Polish Constitution.
Of course, they would gotta conflict with the aforementioned AML Directive. There's no place for an accurate analysis. Suffice to say that reading this act entitles to thesis that its authoritative purpose, namely to prevent money laundering, is simply an excuse to strike into cash. Criminals will always find ways to transfer money; erstwhile we talk about sums of tens of millions of euros, it is not physically possible. For example: the value of drugs seized in 1 time only operations Albanian and Italian services are EUR 70 million. It is 700 000 banknotes worth EUR 100, each weighing 1 gram, giving 700 kilograms of banknotes, not to mention the volume. It's truly hard to imagine this kind of cash circulation.
Polish law has superiority over the EU, and here we would talk about absolutely fundamental law. Therefore, the Constitution should stand above the anti-cash surveillance EU Directive.
We are, of course, talking about an perfect planet in which there would be a constitutional majority ready to make specified changes to the basic law.
It is crucial for as many people as possible to realize that the fight against cash is at the same time a fight against our right to choose, freedom and privacy. All another reasons officially presented are just a smokescreen.
