Complete abandonment of "paper" money and transitioning to 100% cashless transactions at present is unlikely, however, the share of card transactions will continue to steadily rise.
This opinion was expressed by Anna Dovhalska, Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board of Globus Bank.
"A certain decrease in the share of cash transactions is beneficial primarily to the country's economy. Because in this case, money remains within the banking system, resulting in lower interest rates on loans. So, there is a connection: the more cashless transactions, the 'cheaper' money is in banks and the cheaper the loans," she said.
The expert believes that no country in the world is capable of completely abandoning cash, as such a transition has both pros and cons. The main advantages of a "cashless economy" include freeing up banking efforts for storage, security, logistics, and protection against counterfeiting. But the most important factors are security, transparency of transactions, and increasing tax revenues to the budget, as the banker emphasizes that the absence of cash would automatically lead to the disappearance of "envelope" salaries, reducing significantly tax evasions.
"It's no secret that unlike electronic money, coins and paper bills don't require electricity, internet, or a charged power bank. And the first days of military aggression convinced us that at least during a force majeure, the optimal solution is to have both a card and cash. It must be admitted: complete abandonment of cash in Ukraine today is technically unrealistic, as there is neither economic nor infrastructural readiness for it. For the whole country to switch to cashless transactions, we need at least 4G internet even in the most remote villages," concluded Anna Dovhalska.
