# Is "cashless society" the new great conspiratorial battleground? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 6, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261 "2026-03-06T18:54:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/1 "2026-03-06T18:54:45Z")
So a couple I’m friends with who used to live in NYC but moved down South were just on vacation at a resort that is cashless. This did not sit well with the wife. Apparently, it is not simply a matter of inconvenience that a resort hotel does not allow you to pay your bill will a large Scrooge McDuck sack-o-cash. This represents an attack on our very liberties where the banks and the government will use the power of digital payments to track and control your every spend and where her daughter will lose her precious freedom to pay for stuff from her piggy bank full of $20 bills given to her by her grandparents. Soooo…yep ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/2 "2026-03-06T19:13:28Z")
Not sure where the debate is. Yes a cashless society will control everyone. Its inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/3 "2026-03-06T19:16:57Z")
Haven’t some airports gone completely cashless? I know many/most airlines have. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/4 "2026-03-06T19:17:44Z")
Most MLB and NFL stadiums are cashless. I use cash more than most, but I’m fine with it ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/5 "2026-03-06T19:20:43Z")
This doesn’t seem like chemtrails and lizard people to me. Being extremely dubious about being forced to pay for everything in a way that leaves a permanent record of who brought what from whom, that the government and big corporations can use at will, seems entirely sensible. I’d have said that 10 years ago but right now with the countless things that have gone from being hypotheticals from a dystopian future to routine everyday life in America, there is nothing conspiratorial about it. It’s a bad idea. The fact it’s happening doesn’t make any less of a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/6 "2026-03-06T19:22:32Z")
It’s also common that resorts are cashless. I wonder what rock the OP’s friends have been living under that this is news to them? Which is a separate issue than whether it’s outrageous to them. My general experience is that people object loudly to a cashless society for one of two reasons. - They’re paranoid cranks, perhaps amplified by internet nuttiness. - They’re in a business that generates lots of cash and they love the idea of understating and underpaying their income taxes by 50-90%. They _really_ don’t want to give up their secret advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/7 "2026-03-06T19:26:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s also common that resorts are cashless. I wonder what rock the OP’s friends have been living under that this is news to them? Must be the same rock I live under. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/8 "2026-03-06T19:52:52Z")
Soooo…are you saying she is wrong and, if so, why? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/9 "2026-03-06T20:05:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Soooo…are you saying she is wrong and, if so, why Is that directed at me? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/10 "2026-03-06T20:06:09Z")
It was supposed to be directed at the OP. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/11 "2026-03-06T20:17:11Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Yes a cashless society will control everyone. Its inevitable. What do you mean by “control”? Yes, information about your spending becomes a matter of record, but who cares? And it’s not publicly available unless there’s a data breach, but even then, who cares? As Bill Maher put it in a different context, about anti-vaxers claiming that the COVID vaccine contains a tracking chip, “look, folks, nobody is interested in tracking your fat ass when you go down to the Piggly Wiggly!” Yes, I think in general privacy concerns should be taken seriously, but there’s a point at which it just becomes mindless paranoia. Pretty much 100% of all the things I buy are on credit cards, so a determined entity could get access to records showing what stuff I’m interested in buying. But again, so what? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/12 "2026-03-06T20:21:44Z")
What you buy, when you buy, what charities you give to, what causes you support. It adds up fast. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/13 "2026-03-06T20:23:59Z")
There is a fringe Christian take on it that says credit cards and barcodes and such are the mark of the beast and are part of some evil conspiracy by the Devil to entrap the souls of sheeple. At least that’s as much as I can or want to understand such nuttery. There could be some component of that here, but I doubt it. On the other hand, sticking with cash is a way of saying “the government has no business knowing where or what I spend my money on,” and I tend to agree with that. It’s a little different when you’re a business taking in payments, but I do think cash should be accepted everywhere even if credit/debit aren’t, within reason (like no jars of pennies, etc). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/14 "2026-03-06T20:30:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What you buy, when you buy, what charities you give to, what causes you support. It adds up fast. But what, exactly, does it add up to? A “profile”? How about this profile: “a furtive individual who uses no traceable means of payment, and is in the habit of regularly withdrawing large amounts of cash”? If I was involved in law enforcement, I’d investigate the shit out of that guy! ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/15 "2026-03-06T20:30:52Z")
The thing that is an actual problem with cashless society is that different people will pay a different price for the same item, and it can be within minutes of the purchase. This is what they call surge pricing, and is starting to happen more and more. It is not just when you purchase, say, a plane ticket, but when based on what they know about you and how much you usually spend, they will charge not what the market can bear, but what **you** can bear. Being skeptical of a cashless traceable society is actually something to be concerned about. I am not saying that paying without cash is inherently bad, it is the way that data is shared, and with whom, and what the people who receive that data do with it. `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/16 "2026-03-06T20:37:17Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My general experience is that people object loudly to a cashless society for one of two reasons. My objection is that “no cash accepted” and “there is a 4% fee to the purchaser for using electronic payment” are likely going to end up converging. My take? If we are going to be a cashless society, then we should have a government-run electronic payment infrastructure (yes, funded by taxes). Allowing private, for-profit interests to charge me for the privilege of paying for my groceries (or, charging the grocery store for the privilege of accepting digital payment) is a wealth siphon of epic proportions. As far as privacy goes… that ship has sailed for 99.99% of the population. Yes, one can hide specific purchases from the data collectors by using cash, but for the most part, for most of our purchases, it’s too late. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/17 "2026-03-06T21:45:17Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Yes, information about your spending becomes a matter of record, but who cares? I genuinely don’t get this attitude. Have you actually seen the news recently? In 2026 the idea there can be no negative repercussions from the government knowing all the details about every single financial transaction, is laughably naive IMO I mean right now it seems reckless and asking for trouble to buy abortion pill on credit card, and f\_ck knows it must feel like putting their life on the line every time an undocumented person uses their debit card ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/18 "2026-03-06T21:49:53Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > Yes, information about your spending becomes a matter of record, but who cares? > > I genuinely don’t get this attitude. Have you actually seen the news recently? I don’t live in the US. I should maybe have made that clear earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/19 "2026-03-06T21:51:16Z")
The “cashless society” is just part of the plan to confine us to 15-minute cities under chemtrail-induced mind control, with mRNA-laced food and microchip-containing vaccines. Baa-baa-baa, you sheeple herds! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261/20 "2026-03-06T22:28:42Z")
Its not the knowing all our transactions thats a problem. What if the government.doesn’t like something you posted online? No money for you! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cashless-society-the-new-great-conspiratorial-battleground/1028261.md?page=2)