Global Banking & FInance: Could digital exclusion in payments be a barrier to a COVID-free society?
Cash is in decline in every country around the world. That has only intensified since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, swiftly leading us towards a cashless society. Many retailers have stopped accepting cash altogether, instead encouraging customers to use contactless card payments or mobile apps to pay in a touch-free, and more hygienic way. Given concerns around the virus staying on bank notes for around 48 hours, and ATMs potentially being touched by hundreds of hands without a deep clean in between, many of us have instead embraced touch-free payments.