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Should We Become a Cashless Society?
Julie Starr • November 10, 2020
Over the past century, technology has revolutionized the way we pay for goods and services. From painstakingly counting out coins by the checkout in order to purchase a pint of milk, to buying a brand new Mercedes with a single tap of a thin piece of plastic on a
card reader
.
American consumers now use cash in only 26% of purchases , and this figure is falling every year. There are many more convenient ways to pay for things, and the act of carrying cash around now seems archaic and outdated. Contactless debit cards and mobile apps allow us to pay for items without a second thought while keeping our money and personal data secure at the same time.
Only a few years ago, services like vending machines and taxicabs required you to pay with cash, but now it’s more difficult to find one that will accept your dirty pennies. It’s clear that we are rapidly moving away from a reliance on physical currency, but will we ever become a truly cashless society?
There are several implications of a cashless society, only some of which are positive. To determine whether it is a good idea to become completely cashless, it is worthwhile to delve into the pros and cons.
The pros of a cashless society
- It’s cheaper: Manufacturing and distributing cash costs the US government $877.2 million each year . And it’s the taxpayer who ends up bearing the weight of this cost.
- It is sustainable: Getting rid of cash means fewer resources wasted on the production and distribution of currency.
- It reduces crime: Cash is untraceable, making it easier for people to engage in tax avoidance scams and accept cash in hand payments. As a result, a great deal of tax revenue is lost. When all money is digital, every transaction can be traced, thus reducing financial crime. Businesses will no longer store cash on-site, which will undoubtedly lead to a reduction in robberies and burglaries.
- It is more convenient: Paying for goods and services digitally is considerably quicker and more efficient than dealing with cash. Consumers no longer have to carry around notes and coins wherever they go, and queuing times will be dramatically reduced.
- It is cleaner: In light of the coronavirus pandemic, it has become apparent that handling and exchanging cash is unhygienic and can transmit germs. Going cashless will eliminate health risks.
- It is more secure (in some ways): Stolen cash is gone forever, but it is easy to trace digital transactions and get your money back if you have been a victim of online fraud.
The cons of a cashless society
- It can lead to bad spending habits: When you can make expensive purchases with a single click, people may become less aware of their cash flow and compulsive spending habits.
- It is less social: Paying with cash requires interaction with cashiers and retail staff. Digital finance removes the social side of payment and leaves a simple, emotionless transaction.
- It is LESS secure (in some ways): Digital payment makes us more vulnerable to technical failures, online hackers, and cyberattacks.
- It is threatening the high-street: Digital payment has led to a rise in online shopping, which threatens physical stores and forces them to close down.
Although it will lead to a much more sustainable and reliable form of currency, going cashless will present a few risks that must be managed if we are to completely abandon physical money.
Every April 22nd, Earth Day reminds us of our shared responsibility to care for the planet. It’s a powerful moment for reflection, recognition, and renewed commitment to environmental stewardship. But for companies like Taiga, Earth Day is not just a day—it's a checkpoint in a journey that spans all 365 days of the year. Beyond the Day: The Power of Year-Round Storytelling While Earth Day is an excellent opportunity to spotlight your company's environmental efforts, the true impact lies in consistent, transparent communication about your sustainability strategy. Customers, investors, employees, and partners are increasingly interested in how companies plan, act, and improve over time. To build trust and inspire action, companies should: Share clear targets: What are your goals for emissions reduction, circularity, or biodiversity? Make them specific and time-bound. Report results honestly: Celebrate wins and be candid about setbacks. Progress, not perfection, is the story. Connect efforts to impact: Highlight how your initiatives benefit ecosystems, communities, or supply chains. Leveraging Earth Day as a Strategic Moment Think of Earth Day as a milestone that anchors your broader communications. Some ideas: Launch or preview new initiatives that reinforce your long-term strategy. Tell human stories: Showcase employees, community members, or suppliers contributing to sustainability. Host interactive events: Webinars, volunteer days, or innovation showcases invite people into the journey. Publish a sustainability snapshot: A visual, engaging recap of the past year's progress. Engaging Stakeholders Year-Round To keep the momentum going beyond April: Create a sustainability content calendar to share updates, behind-the-scenes looks, and educational content. Invite feedback: Use surveys or listening sessions to understand stakeholder priorities and ideas. Collaborate: Partner with NGOs, academics, or startups aligned with your mission. Recognize champions: Celebrate employees and partners who go above and beyond. Bringing It Together: A Continuous Narrative Earth Day is a valuable opportunity to raise awareness, but lasting impact comes from building a continuous narrative. At Taiga, we see sustainability not as a series of campaigns but as a shared journey with our stakeholders . When we connect the dots between moments like Earth Day and the year-round work behind the scenes, we not only deepen engagement—we accelerate change. So this Earth Day, let’s celebrate progress and recommit to transparency, collaboration, and bold action. The planet needs more than promises. It needs a plan. And it needs all of us.
In the race to decarbonize our world, one area often overlooked is digital marketing. While it might seem inherently clean compared to print or physical campaigns, our online activities have a real and measurable environmental footprint. From servers powering your website to emails filling up inboxes, every click, stream, and scroll contributes to carbon emissions. At Taiga Company, we believe digital strategies can be powerful and low-impact. Here’s how to get started. Optimize for a Low-Carbon Web Why it matters: Websites and digital ads are hosted on servers that consume electricity, often powered by fossil fuels. Every time a user loads your site or ad, it uses energy. How to reduce your impact: Host green: Choose web hosts that use renewable energy or offset emissions. Clean up your code: Streamlined, efficient code reduces load times and energy use. Compress and reduce images: Smaller files mean faster pages and fewer emissions. Limit heavy media: Videos and animations are carbon-intensive; use them mindfully. A faster, leaner website isn’t just better for the planet—it also boosts SEO and user experience. Email Marketing with Intention Why it matters: Every email sent, received, and stored requires energy. Multiply that by millions of sends, and the impact adds up. How to reduce your impact: Clean your lists: Remove inactive subscribers to avoid waste. Segment wisely: Only send emails to those who will truly benefit. Use plain-text when possible: It’s lower in data and often more accessible. Reduce frequency: Send fewer, higher-quality emails with genuine value. Intentional emailing reduces not only emissions but also improves deliverability and engagement. Sustainable SEO and Content Strategy Why it matters: Search engines crawl, index, and serve up billions of web pages daily. Thoughtless content and bloated sites add to the load. How to reduce your impact: Create evergreen content: Focus on high-quality pages that stay relevant longer. Streamline your site structure: Fewer clicks to find content = less energy use. Use minimal plugins and scripts: Especially ones that load on every page. Green your CMS: Some content management systems are more resource-efficient than others. Sustainable SEO isn’t just eco-friendly—it’s good strategy. Fewer, better pieces often perform better than content mills. Rethink Marketing Automation Why it matters: Automated emails, ads, and data syncing can create a lot of digital clutter. That clutter eats up storage and energy. How to reduce your impact: Audit regularly: Retire old workflows and outdated automations. Optimize syncing: Reduce how often and how much data is transferred. Segment with purpose: Better targeting means fewer wasted sends. Use expiration dates: Don’t let outdated content or assets live forever. Efficient automation can reduce emissions and improve performance. Digital marketing isn’t going away—and it shouldn’t. It offers powerful tools for connection, education, and growth. But like all tools, it can be used more sustainably. At Taiga Company, we’re committed to helping organizations lower their environmental impact without sacrificing reach or results. Sustainable digital marketing is not only possible; it’s essential. Ready to make your marketing aligned with your company's corporate sustainability plan? Let’s start the conversation.