A cashless society

In the near future, it is possible that cash will not be accepted as a means of payment in Sweden. People are already using alternative ways of paying, such as mobile payment, card payment and internet payment. Currently, over 95% of citizens in Sweden have internet access.

Many people in Sweden claim there are advantages of using an app developed by Swish. The Swish app allows friends to share a restaurant bill, pay where credit or debit cards are not accepted, for babysitting or parking tickets, or make a donation at church.

However, other people in Sweden claim that making the Swish app the only means of payment may increase inequalities within the country.

Discuss whether countries should pass legislation making apps such as Swish the only means of payment.

Answers may include:

Benefits of apps such as Swish being the only form of payment (claim)

• No need to carry cash (digitalization) / credit cards – no risk of being stolen/no risk of not having enough cash.
• No risk of credit card being used fraudulently (values).
• Transactions are recorded – there is proof of payment, and the system should increase transparency / acceptability.
• Payments are made immediately – no need to wait until person has time to go to bank to get cash (feasibility).
• Can solve other problems regarding money – bills can be shared, one person pays, and money is transferred (feasibility).
• In an emergency, money can be transferred to dependents without them being close (e.g., children at university) (feasibility).
• Allows money transactions between individuals.
• Can limit the amount of money to be transferred, thus preventing individuals spending more than they have available (acceptability / feasibility).
• Many people are already used to the app, so it would be a good choice if the country were going cashless (acceptability).
• Easier for users to track budgets / spending, as all transactions are digital (transparency).

Disadvantages of apps such as Swish being the only form of payment (counter-claim)

• Swedish banks will be able to obtain more data on their users’ transaction habits (privacy concern, ethics, values).
• Is not available to people who do not have a bank account, so a potential digital divide concern (equity).
• May be problematic for tourists who may not have the app or who cannot link the purchase to their bank account (systems, equity).
• Removes the anonymity of the payee in transactions – the app may store a user’s transaction history. This would include date, item, recipient of the money and cost of the item (values, ethics).
• The bank controls (power) the maximum amount of money that can be transferred, which may limit a person’s spending and may not be appropriate in certain situations (acceptability).
• It may not be technically possible to make the transition from a society that uses cash for transactions to one that does not (change, systems).
• If a single app is used, it would give Swish an unfair monopoly over the technology (power, values, ethics).
• Digital divide – smartphone ownership and use by mature adults.
• If a person loses their phone, breaks it, or its battery runs out, they have no way to pay for anything (systems, equity).
• Failure in / lack of phone network coverage could affect when and where people could use the app (systems, equity).
• Failure of the system / technical issues / down time would prevent people from making transactions (systems, feasibility).

Accept implicit and explicit references to apps such as the Swish app.

In this question it is expected there will be a balance between the terminology related to digital systems and the terminology related to social and ethical impacts.

Keywords: business, families, digital divide, access, inclusion, acceptability, feasibility, equity, digitalization, anonymity, privacy, change, power, systems, values, ethics

Refer to HL paper 1 Section B markbands when awarding marks. These can be found under the "Your tests" tab > supplemental materials > Digital society markbands and guidance document.