The Automation of Cash: How Physical Currency Becomes Electronic Proxy

Summary

The article explores the declining use of cash in the United States and other countries as electronic payments dominate everyday commerce. It reflects on the loss of cash's perceived freedom from intermediation and simplicity, while paradoxically noting how cash itself is increasingly automated throughout its lifecycle. The piece questions the fundamental difference between physical cash and electronic cash when both begin and end their existence through automated processes, suggesting that Benjamin Franklin's face on paper currency may be little more than a proxy for database transactions.