[thablackbull]

Except those are just market forces and it is more convenient to use electronic payment. I'm not sure what you mean by China, it's China's government that is forcing all merchants to accept cash [1].

> The People's Bank of China (PBOC) is looking to close the widening digital divide and has warned merchants that they must accept cash or face disciplinary action,...

[1] https://www.pymnts.com/cash/2020/china-issues-edict-warning-...

[colordrops]

Are we really still beholden to such simplistic and wrong ideas such as everything being explained by "market forces"? Do they exist? Yes. Are they they only factor? No. Are they they main factor? Depends on what you are talking about. Power brokers in the US will do whatever it takes to move things a certain way if it benefits them.

I dare you to find an anonymous visa card that actually works. You won't.

[where_to_inc]

I don’t disagree that there are other forces aside from market forces.

In the case of people paying via WeChat though, it is legitimately market forces. If you don’t use WeChat, people around you will urge you to use it because it is so much easier than cash. No more going to the bank. No more handling change. You just open your phone, scan, and pay. Small businesses you frequent where you get to know the proprietor will tell you they think it’s a little funny you’re paying in cash and even offer to help you set up your WeChat Pay because it is “so easy.”

I honestly don’t know anyone other than me who pays for things in cash. Everybody else is on WeChat. Nobody forced them to; it was just rapid, collective adoption, analogous to what happened when smart phones hit the market. You can still buy dumb phones that work great, but nobody does.

[colordrops]

As it so happens, I lived in China for 9 years, swam in the startup tech circles, and built a startup around WeChat. I can tell you with authority that you are wrong that WeChat won through market forces. China operates by allowing many startups to flourish, and when a particular industry becomes dangerous or important to their national interests, they shut down all but one, and put state backing into that one. They play king makers. Tencent, and WeChat, while well run and built, is basically state owned software.

I saw this whole ordeal play out with Twitter clones. There were maybe ten with traction. Then the gov stepped in and there were none. And then Weibo rose from the flames as the winner.

[hwehgq]

Speaking as a former weed delivery driver in California who got robbed at gun point twice... I honestly cannot wait for cashless to come. You know what's fun about dealing with cash? Nothing! It sucks! At least give me the option to opt out of having to deal with people who transact in cash and give me a badge that says "This guy doesn't carry money!" That seems fair to me since I don't want to be involved with that nonsense or the problems that come with it.

[searchableguy]

You cannot buy a macbook pro in all cash in India. It is illegal to use cash above certain limit. There are restrictions on what a business can claim as an expense if they are paying in cash. There are onerous compliance and tax hits which come with accepting cash.

Businesses are reluctant to accept cash when government punishes them with compliance and additional paperwork + tax + tds.

[QuarterReptile]

The US is trending this way with inflation. 10k is the numerical limit at which everyone treats you like a criminal in the US, which was roughly equivalent to 60k (in 2022 dollars) when the law went into effect. Now it's not even enough to buy a middle of the road 10 year old used car.

One of my bank accounts has been blocked for the last 6 months over this, despite hours on the phone beforehand and countless assurances that this wouldn't happen. It reminds me of traveling to Canada with a credit card in the mid 00s.

[andylynch]

Not just market forces. Moving away from cash is encouraged by govts as it’s a really effective step against tax evasion.

Although for the local shops who are cashless around here the main motivation is reducing theft/risk of robbery.