We are used now to playing with plastic, yet we still hold cash. The fact is that there are still plenty of occasion where only cash can be used for transactions, either because the amount is very small, or because for some reason the merchant does not want to accept plastic. Not infrequently, it is because of the fear of a paper trail, or rather an electronic trail, or because of some tax avoidance. The fact that plastic money discourages the latter should be seen as beneficial, right?
Victor Olajide thinks that is not necessarily the case when the informal sector is substantial. Taking the example of Nigeria, he points out that if the informal sector cannot use cash anymore, then this could have strong implications for banking, as reserve requirements rely on deposits, and those could go missing. That does not seem to be a major problem to me, as reserve requirements can be changed or redefined. I find more problematic that the Central Bank of Nigeria is pushing for a cashless economy while many of the market participants simply do not have the means to tool up for it. I think there are more important issues to tackle in Nigeria than going cashless.
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