Believe it or not, but my country is quite cash reliant, many of the businesses in here, especially in the hospitality sector are dealing with quite a lot of paper. I personally hold myself some cash as well, although I realize it's just a matter of time until all of it will become as valuable as old stamps...
Not the rare ones of course. It's years since Sweden was announcing that it will become the first European country to go cashless and from what I am told by a friend who's living there for almost twenty years, that's close to fruition.
There are already businesses over there where owners simply don't accept cash any longer, cuz all the paper work and hassle that involves in dealing with monopoly money. Some are even throwing that look at you when you show up with a hand full of cash.
Banknotes aren't extinct though and their life might take another few years until they'll end up in trash. I don't believe the transition will happen all over the world at pretty much the same time. I guess Romania will lag a bit behind for this matter.
On one hand we don't have the infrastructure for that and on the other the corrupt leaders are biased towards the cash society we currently have. I do believe though that CBDCs will be a trigger in this regard.
I don't see cash running side by side with CBDCs for too long, thus I consider such rat poison to be the de facto in our society going cashless. The more developed countries will be the first ones to do that and we're probably less than five years away until such a trend shall be enforced en mass.
China is pretty much there yet, but China is a living hell and not the best example in this regard. I don't see much value anymore in the current financial system, but I believe cash is still king due to the privacy and the freedom to transact it can offer. Next to it comes crypto.
Curious to see what lane will crypto be pushed in when we'll all finally go cashless. What do you think?
Thanks for attention,
Adrian