Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Keep calm and carry cash’: Keep banknotes at home to prepare for
crises, researchers say
Nowadays, most stores, restaurants, hospitals, services, public
transportation, and businesses close transactions without hard currency, or
cash. Especially in developed countries, credit cards, debit cards, and QR
codes are preferred or even standard methods of payment, even though non-cash
transactions incur service fees to the sellers. In China, most transactions are
made either by WeChat Pay or AliPay, and there is scarcely anything that requires
cash payment. In Singapore and South Korea, credit card payment is the de facto
standard. They are convenient and relatively safer than cash. However, when a power
line or internet connection is disrupted by an event such as war, domestic
conflict, earthquake, storm, blackout, or outbreak of a contagious disease, the
last resort of payment is cash. Having faced catastrophic weather events and
Russia’s aggression, several European governments advise their citizens to keep
some cash along with a stock of food, water, and other essentials. In that
sense, cash is like a spare tire, which is only used when necessary. Preparedness
is the key to survival.
Read the article and learn about why cash might play a key role in an
emergency.
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