Dear members—
Can you imagine a future without cash? For the first time since paper money was invented more than 1,000 years ago, a cashless world seems possible. Cash is still widely used but, in addition to credit and debit cards, digital payment platforms are growing rapidly.
This week’s presentation for members is all about that shift away from cash, and whether it’s desirable. Lots of fintech companies pushing mobile payment apps claim their solutions will help those traditionally excluded from the financial system. But critics warn that going cashless discriminates against those very same people. Nearly half of US small business owners say going cashless is elitist, and multiple US states have sought to ban cashless stores.
Sweden, a leader in going cashless after a series of sensational robberies, is now rethinking the drive to ditch cash after pushback from seniors.
You can read all our presentations, available exclusively to members, here. You’re free to reformat and edit them as you wish.
PROFIT OR PURPOSE?
We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s field guide on B Corps and their push to reform capitalism. Quartz member John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll, a market research firm, left a contribution in response to the guide that I appreciated and thought you would too:
“A recent (2019) Harris Poll we conducted among American Millennials and Gen Z found that 72% said they’d work for less money at a company whose values aligned with theirs. B Corps may be small in number now, but their influence could be outsized in setting new standards for expectations among young talent, for whom a strong market provides them leverage to do, not just say. Great read.”
As a reminder, members can leave contributions on all our articles on our site and app.
CONFERENCE CALLS
We’re pausing our weekly conference calls and working on new ways to hear from you and connect you with our newsroom. If you attended any of our conference calls and want to leave your feedback, please share it with us here. We really enjoyed hearing your comments and answering your questions on those calls and are excited to introduce new ways of doing that in the future.
As always, you can email us at members@qz.com with your feedback and questions.
With best wishes for a relaxing and thought-filled weekend.
Walter Frick
Membership editor, Quartz