The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

[Thailandnotes]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

ANY BUSINESS THAT ACCEPTS PLASTIC, MUST BY LAW, OFFER A DISCOUNT FOR THE USE OF CASH OR CHECK for payment.

Walked into a computer store today here in Chiang Mai. Every item had 2 prices, "credit" and "cash."

New Dell laptop was 13999 baht with credit, 12999 with cash.

8% off with real fiat dough.

[Jay]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

Walked into a computer store today here in Chiang Mai. Every item had 2 prices, "credit" and "cash."

New Dell laptop was 13999 baht with credit, 12999 with cash.

8% off with real fiat dough.

Wow, you live in Chiang Mai? What a great city; some of the best food in the world and a great vibe.

Sorry for the hijack but I couldn't resist.

[BadJuju]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

Back years ago, I read about a Muay Thai training camp near Chiang Mai. I was going to save up money and live there for a year training. Nothing ever came of it, though.

[Jay]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

Back years ago, I read about a Muay Thai training camp near Chiang Mai. I was going to save up money and live there for a year training. Nothing ever came of it, though.

You should do this!

[Fiat Currency]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

I will not even be surprised to see the €500 note taken out of circulation.

And right on cue ...

The Next Capital Control: Banning The €500 Bill

As SF Fed's John Williams notes (here), cash is king, but the strange thing is that while credit/debit transactions rise exponentially, the cash in circulation is also rising at a rapid pace. So where does all the cash go? The short answer is into large-denomination bills and out of the country by his findings. While low denomination bills suffer (as we discussed here) it is worth asking who is 'hoarding' the $100 bills? This is the question that BofAML asks in Europe as the huge EUR500 Bill (the developed world's highest value note in circulation) remains in great demand (apparanelty by shady offshore types). This is not good news for the central banks of the world as they run dry of monetary policy tools to drive velocity in money (or spending).

BofAML's proposal: Ban the EUR500 Bill; force those shady people who 'stack' these high denomination bills to spend that money into circulation. This would appear to be the latest 'capital control' strawman, 'floated' to eliminate the people's right to keep cash segregated from a banking system and out of broad electronic circulation. So in both the US and Europe, high denomination bills are being hoarded (or exported to 'safe' havens) as Williams notes, "around the world, during periods of political unrest or war, cash - especially the currency of a stable country... - is seen as a safe asset that can be spirited out of harm’s way with relative ease."

This, of course, is not what the elites want - and we suspect a "ban the EUR500 Bill" legislation will be coming soon to the EU Commission.

The US Fed is worried about it (pdf here)

According to one estimate, the share of U.S. currency held abroad rose from about 56% before the tumultuous events of the past five years to nearly 66% in 2012. The chart below shows the surg ein high denomination notes dominates the low (sub-$50) deonomination for currency in circulation...


And so is Europe...

Via BofAML, Time to get rid of the €500 bill?
Demand for the euro as a store of value has started declining. We use the demand for the €500 bill, which is by far the highest currency denomination in G10, to document this trend and argue that it could eventually weaken the euro.

Although the ECB has no plans to remove the €500 bill from circulation, we argue that it should do so. It will weaken the euro, supporting the economy. It will address concerns that the bill is primarily used to hide illegal income. More importantly, we propose a scheme in which the removal of the bill will be a tax on illegal income, allowing using the proceeds to address the periphery crisis.

The €500 bill is by far the highest currency denomination in G10 and one of the highest in the world (Chart 1). Its issuance started with the introduction of the euro banknotes on 1 January 2002.


An ECB study suggests that only one-third of the €500 bills in circulation are used for transaction purposes. The remainder is used as store-of-value.

But who is 'hoarding this store of value' outside a bank?

Holding large amounts of “mattress cash” to store value outside the banking system raises many questions. A number of banks in the Eurozone remain weak after the global and Eurozone crises, but European banks were considered to be strong and enjoyed the public’s confidence in the pre-crisis years. Indeed, some evidence suggests that the €500 bill is popular with criminals and tax evaders:

• Money exchange offices in the UK stopped selling €500 notes from 20 April 2010, because of their use in money laundering. Indeed, according to the Serious Organized Crime Agency, 90% of all €500 bills sold in the UK are in the hands of organized crime.
• According to the New York Times, one fourth of the €500 notes in 2006 were in Spain, despite a GDP of only 11.5% of the Eurozone’s GDP at that time. This may have to do with the large share of the underground economy in the country. The Spanish public had nicknamed them “Bin Ladens”, as everyone knew they were there, but nobody had ever seen them.
• Reports suggest that the police in various countries use the bill to track money laundering.
• Other countries have removed large denominations because of such concerns. US President Nixon issued an order in 1969 discontinuing the US$500 bill as a way of combating money laundering by organized crime. Canada withdrew C$1,000 bills in 2000, because of growing concerns over their use by organized crime.

The fear is that the drop in demand for EUR500 bills reflects on the more general decline in the demand for the euro as a store of value...


And we can't have that... so...

and BofAML's Suggestion... Plan....

Time to get rid of the €500 bill?

Despite no plans by the ECB to remove the €500 bill from circulation, we see a number of benefits if it does so. It will reduce the demand for euro to store value, which will weaken the currency helping the Eurozone economy recover from its continued recession. It will address concerns about the use of the bill to hide income from illegal sources. And, more importantly, removing the €500 bill from circulation can help raise substantial revenue by taxing illegal activity, based on a scheme that we describe below. Consider the following:

• The public has only a month or so to deposit all €500 bills in a bank, after which the bills become worthless. The deposit can take place only in a European bank, in Europe or abroad.
• Depositors will have to present evidence of legal income sources for deposits of €500 bills above a specific amount, let’s say €10,000– such requirements are already in place regardless of the currency denomination of new deposits.
• All €500 bills that are not deposited in a bank within a month or are not justified by legal income sources become ECB profit.
• The Eurozone can then use the proceeds to recapitalize banks in the periphery, capitalize the ESM and/or reduce the periphery’s sovereign debt burden.

We believe that the revenue raised in such a scheme could be sizable. The value of €500 bills amounted to €290bn in February 2013. If most of it cannot be justified by legal sources, as our discussion above suggests, the Eurozone can raise a substantial amount of funds to help address the ongoing periphery crisis. For comparison, the capital of the ESM is €80bn. Moreover, the scheme will be politically popular, as it will be equivalent to a 100% tax on €500 bills resulting from illegal activities and tax evasion. We have seen nothing to suggest that the ECB and the Eurozone authorities have ever considered such a scheme, but we believe that it would be a win-win idea.

And so there it is, the strawman for the latest cash-liberating capital control for the world's safe-haven seeking cash hoarders...

Don't you love all this talk about how killing cash will stop drug dealers and criminals, but it is the bankers who are laundering money and committing the crimes.

[bagginz]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

And right on cue ...


Don't you love all this talk about how killing cash will stop drug dealers and criminals, but it is the bankers who are laundering money and committing the crimes.

Indeed.

And btw this is inaccurate:

> the huge EUR500 Bill (the developed world's highest value note in circulation)<

CHF1000 notes are in relatively common use here in Switzerland (1000 swiss francs = about €820 ) Many ATM machines dispense them.

Nobody appears to looks at me as if I'm a drug dealer or criminal when I use them. Likewise, neither do I suspect the people I do business with of racketeering or embezzlement when they use CHF1000 notes. (Unless of course they work for UBS, Credit Suisse et al )


1suisse_1000chf.jpg

[doom&gloom]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

IIRC, Canada did the same thing with the changeover of their currency recently, trying to drive the old money into the system so they could 'question it' and tax it or take it.

Governments all over are looking to grab cash any way they can any time they can. Except from the banksters, who control said governments.

[Thailandnotes]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

Updates from itulip members around the world are appreciated.

Cash is still king in Asia. And businesses are very agressive about charging 3 % more for hotels etc. paid for with credit cards. I can still withdraw the equivalent of 3,000 US from an ATM here in one 24 hour period. When I go back to the US, I usually go into our bank and cash a check for 5,000 or so. No eyebrows raised. Is this just Europe?

[bart]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

hmmmm...

[Sharky]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

I just had an interesting thing happen.

Although I live in New Zealand now, I still have an account with a small bank account in the US. I've had the account since the bank first opened their doors, more than 25 yrs ago.

I received a letter from them today, saying that they will no longer allow me to use wire transfers to withdraw funds. They say this is part of a larger effort to reduce wire fraud, but given my history with the bank, I'm highly skeptical, to say the least. ACH is still apparently OK, but not wires -- so, this mainly effects transfers out of the country.

Makes me wonder if this is happening at other banks, too. Could this be the next phase of currency controls? (limited withdrawals, as mentioned earlier in this thread, were the first phase). Seems like the kind of thing that could easily backfire on the banks, as it certainly will in my case. If I can't move funds easily, then why in the world would I want to continue to do business with them?

[reggie]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

There is a lot of suspicion already out there on the subject of cash and the government's attempt to track its' use. I suppose an interesting tipping point will be reached when gun sales are required to be effected with a credit card or other searchable source. As a well armed liberal, I find myself in unusual company on the issue of cash for guns, but I think it remains a bastion of liberty in an increasingly Big Brother world. If I owned guns (which I won't admit here) they sure as hell wouldn't be traceable by any government agency if I could help it. The Bush Administration taught me that an unarmed liberal is by definition an outgunned one.

While you won't find this published anywhere, RAND Corp was contracted to develop methods for tracking cash, and the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) was born. Hence, cash has been monitored and tracked for quite some time, albeit, not at the granular level ultimately sought.

[Forrest]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

Are we witnessing the slow but certain death of cash in this generation? Is a truly cashless society on the horizon? Legislation currently pending in the Mexican legislature would ban a vast array of large cash transactions, but the truth is that Mexico is far from alone in trying to restrict cash. All over the world, governments are either placing stringent reporting requirements on large cash transactions or they are banning them altogether. We are being told that such measures are needed to battle illegal drug traffic, to catch tax evaders and to fight the war on terror. But are we rapidly getting to the point where we will have no financial privacy left whatsoever? Should we just accept that we have entered a time when the government will watch, track and trace all financial transactions? Is it inevitable that at some point in the near future ALL transactions will go through the banking system in one form or another (check, credit card, debit card, etc.)?

Yes, and Yes. It is the time people have been speaking of...the end days...when all money is traced, and you get nothing without complying with the Leader of the day. In the beginning it is just forced honesty on all transactions...not that the Banks or governments will be complying.

No problem...Just wince, and pay the tax, and hope the Leader doesn't plan on outlawing personal property. The Prophecies merely say not buying or selling unless you comply.

But since it does seem to be heading towards what is taught in the Scriptures (Yes, it sounds nuts, but LOOK...it's beginning to happen!),

If you happen to be a Believer, pay off all debt, buy trade goods, and back-up food, get off the grid, own your own source of energy and water, and start getting that greenhouse going. Raise a few chickens. Bury your gold and silver, and don't trade with anyone you don't know.


And if the Leader wants you to do more than give him your money, DON'T. Your allegience needs to be elsewhere.

[Fiat Currency]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

Soon legal tender won't even be legal. They are going to force us all on e-fiat ...

But don't worry ... it's only Nigeria, right?

Alarming: Nigeria to force all its citizens to go cashless

This 'pilot program' could become the template to steal the independence and privacy from every citizen around the world.

By Timothy Alexander Guzman

Global Research, May 16, 2013

It was recently announced at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa that MasterCard and the Nigerian National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) under the government of Nigeria would form a partnership to distribute a new identity card to every Nigerian citizen.

The purpose of the card is to have all Nigerian citizens participate in the financial services sector under the control of MasterCard, a multinational financial services corporation headquartered in New York. MasterCard’s press release ‘MasterCard to Power Nigerian Identity Card Program’ stated:

As part of the program, in its first phase, Nigerians 16 years and older, and all residents in the country for more than two years, will get the new multipurpose identity card which has 13 applications including MasterCard’s prepaid payment technology that will provide cardholders with the safety, convenience and reliability of electronic payments. This will have a significant and positive impact on the lives of these Nigerians who have not previously had access to financial services.

The program is also designed to move Nigeria into a cashless society, one that is dependent on financial institutions, Wall Street and the Nigerian government. It will be managed by the financial elites of Wall Street, technocrats and of course Washington. All forms of financial transactions would be exchanged through plastic credit and debit cards that would have implanted RFID chips. Michael Miebach, President of the Middle East and Africa division at MasterCard supports the Nigerian government’s decision for a new cashless society,

“Today’s announcement is the first phase of an unprecedented project in terms of scale and scope for Nigeria,” said Michael Miebach

“MasterCard has been a firm supporter of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Cashless Policy as we share a vision of a world beyond cash. From the program’s inception, we have provided the Federal Government of Nigeria with global insights and best practices on how electronic payments can enable economic growth and create a more financially inclusive economy.”

The problem with a cashless society is that the state can terminate your electronic financial lifeline if anything were to happen within the country, for example any form of protests, economic downturns, a war or if a financial institution such as MasterCard were to go bankrupt. There are many other reasons that the state or its’ corporate backers can decide to turn off the RFID chip. When you a have a powerful financial institution issuing payments electronically with a government that is supported and controlled by Washington, unlimited control of the populace becomes inevitable. 70% of Nigeria’s population is living below the poverty line as of 2010. How can MasterCard and the Nigerian government benefit millions of Nigerians who are living in abject poverty? Is MasterCard going to offer low interest rates on its credit cards in a country that has a more than 70% of the population in poverty with many living with less than a dollar a day?

Another aspect about the National Identity Smart card is that it can be used for surveillance of individuals under the state. With Nigeria facing a civil war between Islamists insurgents and minority ethnic groups from the oil rich Niger Delta, the National Identity Smart cards can be used to identify its enemies. The MasterCard press release stated how it identifies the individual cardholder:

The new National Identity Smart Card will incorporate the unique National Identification Numbers (NIN) of duly registered persons in the country. The enrollment process involves the recording of an individual’s demographic data and biometric data (capture of 10 fingerprints, facial picture and digital signature) that are used to authenticate the cardholder and eliminate fraud and embezzlement. The resultant National Identity Database will provide the platform for several other value propositions of the NIMC including identity authentication and verification.

According to MasterCard, the purpose of the Nigerian Identity Card Program is for the economic prosperity of Nigerian people. Is it a facade? Is the Nigerian government on the verge of controlling its population financially with Washington’s support? With MasterCard and Wall Street involved, Washington will support the Nigerian government in order for it to succeed with the plan:

The announcement was witnessed by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy in Nigeria, who stressed the importance of the National Identity Smart Card Scheme in moving Nigeria to an electronic platform. This program is good practice for us to bring all the citizens on a common platform for interacting with the various government agencies and for transacting electronically. We will implement this initiative in a collaborative manner between the public and private sectors, to achieve its full potential of inclusive citizenship and more effective governance,”

The Nigerian based independent newspaper The Guardian with reporter Marcel Mbamalu along with the Africa Press Organisation (APO) interviewed the Division President of Sub Sahara Africa for MasterCard, Daniel Monehin in an article called ‘Identity Card: Biometric Data of Nigerians Remain with FG, Not MasterCard, Says Monehin’:

Marcel Mbamalu: You talk of something close to general application of the card; yet, the finance Minister was quoted as saying that it will begin with government pensions before...

Daniel Monehin:That was in response to the question that was asked the honorable Minister as to what would be the criteria for selecting the pilot citizens. She responded that she’s really excited at the auspicious time that this is going on because there’s a lot of work that is being done centrally for central treasury and for payment within the federal government, and she would like to see pensioners being part of this first group of the pilot, so that the federal government can begin to load their payment automatically, take out the physical nature of it so that the old tale of people dying on the line while trying to wait on the line to collect their pension would be a thing of the past. The whole thing that is happening is that this is a platform not just for receiving government tension but for receiving government pensions, benefits, bursary payments, NGO’s that are funding private segments of the society can be funded directly; salaries can be paid directly. Anybody with that card has a whole new world opened to him or her. So, from government-to-people payments, from people-to-people payments, ATM all of those platforms or avenues are open. This is not a card that is restricted, its not even restricted to Nigeria; it is loaded.

You can go out of Nigeria to Ghana, Gambia, USA, China and use it. It is accepted in 210 countries and territories, and over 35 million acceptance locations around the world.
So, in terms of potential, this is a massive platform and what the minister just alluded to is just one segment of its use, not all.

The issuance is starting within the next three months. The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is going to do an event locally to flag it off.

Nigeria’s decision to have a cashless society under corporate control in the near future is a disturbing trend for humanity. Let’s hope that the Nigerian people resist MasterCard and the government and find an alternative economic solution that will allow them to live in free society they deserve.

http://chasvoice.blogspot.ca/2013/05...e-all-its.html

[Fiat Currency]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

Something about the Moneychangers and the Temple comes to mind …

Government Plan Would Transform Israel Into The World’s First Cashless Society

Will Israel be the first cashless society on the entire planet? A committee chaired by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff has come up with a three phase plan to “all but do away with cash transactions in Israel”. Individuals and businesses would still be permitted to conduct cash transactions in small amounts (at least initially), but the eventual goal is to force Israeli citizens to conduct as much business as possible using electronic forms of payment. In fact, it has been reported that Israeli officials believe that “cash is bad” because it fuels the underground economy and allows people to avoid paying taxes. It is hoped that requiring most transactions to be conducted in cash will reduce crime and help balance the national budget. And once 98 or 99 percent of all transactions are cashless, it will not be difficult for the Israeli government (or any other government) to go the rest of the way and ban cash transactions altogether. But is a cashless society actually desirable? This is a question that people all over the world will have to start asking as governments increasingly restrict the use of cash.

Back in September, it was announced that the Israeli government had formed a committee to “examine ways to eliminate cash from the Israeli economy”…

The government on Tuesday authorized establishment of a committee that will examine ways to eliminate cash from the Israeli economy – the better to prevent citizens from cheating on their taxes. The committee will be chaired by Harel Locker, director of the Prime Minister’s Office.

This committee had the full backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and some of the goals of the committee included finding ways to increase tax revenue and prevent money laundering…

Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office declared that “around the world, it is recognized that cash is a key element of the illegal economy and money laundering. It allows a wide gap between reported and actual incomes, with the corresponding effect on tax revenues.” By eliminating cash, the PMO said, “it will be possible to expand the tax base, and prevent money laundering.” The committee will study the issue from all its perspectives and make recommendations, the PMO said.

The committee has had quite a few months to examine these issues, and now they have come back with their recommendations. Just this week we learned that a three phase plan is being proposed…

A special committee headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Harel Locker, has recommended a three-phase plan to all but do away with cash transactions in Israel.
The motivation for examining a cash-less economy is combatting money laundering and other tax-evasion tactics, thereby maximizing potential tax collection and greatly expanding the tax base. This is important considering the enormous strain put on Israel’s national budget by the army, healthcare system and other public services.

The committee estimated that the black market represents over 20 percent of Israel’s GDP, and cash is the facilitating factor. Cash enables tax evasion, money laundering and even financing terrorism.

So what do the specifics of the plan look like?

Well, there will be very strict limits on the use of cash for individuals and businesses, any violations will be considered criminal offenses, and all Israeli banks will be required to issue debit cards to all account holders …

What the committee would like to see happen, pending government approval, is greater restriction on the use of cash, limiting the use of checks as a means of payment and exchange for cash, and promotion of the use of electronic (and therefore verifiable) means of payment.
The following guidelines were set out by the committee for the short-term:

• Limit business transactions done in cash or by check to NIS 7,500 ($2,150) immediately, and reduce that further to NIS 5,000 ($1,433) one year from the date of legislation;
• Limit private transactions done in cash or by check to NIS 15,000 ($4,300);
• Any violation of these limits would be a criminal offense warranting a stiff fine.

In conjunction with these new restrictions, Israeli banks would be required to provide all account holders with debit cards to further promote electronic payments.

But of course this move toward a cashless society is not just happening in Israel.

In Sweden, it is estimated that just 3 percent of all transactions involve cash at this point. In fact, according to an article in the Washington Post, some Swedish banks do not handle cash at all anymore…

In most Swedish cities, public buses don’t accept cash; tickets are prepaid or purchased with a cell phone text message. A small but growing number of businesses only take cards, and some bank offices — which make money on electronic transactions — have stopped handling cash altogether.
“There are towns where it isn’t at all possible anymore to enter a bank and use cash,” complains Curt Persson, chairman of Sweden’s National Pensioners’ Organization.

And the U.S. is starting to move in that direction as well.

According to a study conducted by MasterCard, approximately 80 percent of all consumer transactions in the United States are now cashless.

But isn’t there a downside to all of this?

Just about everything that we do in life involves money. So yes, a government can track electronic payments to make sure taxes are being paid and money laundering is not happening, but it would also enable a government to do so much more.

If a government can track all of your transactions, it will essentially be able to monitor everywhere you go and pretty much keep track of virtually everything that you do.

If you doubt this, just try to live without any money some time.

You won’t get very far without putting some gas in your vehicle.

And without being able to buy food, you will get hungry pretty quickly.

Are you starting to understand?

This is why governments love the idea of moving toward a cashless society. It would give them an immensely powerful surveillance tool.

So let us hope that this does not happen in Israel or anywhere else in the world either.

http://endoftheamericandream.com/arc...shless-society

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: The Death Of Cash? All Over The World Governments Are Banning Large Cash Transactions

I understand that our Federal Reserve Notes are pure fiat, just scraps of paper.
But the cashless society is one level of abstraction too far for me.

Right now I can take my life savings as a suitcase full of paper notes and hold it myself. I have never done that, but I can.
In a cashless society I can't even hold my fiat in my hand, it's all done on the books.
Books kept by people I have never met, in places unknown to me.

When I contemplate an economic sudden stop event my little doomer checklist starts with going to the bank and withdrawing several thousand dollars in cash to have around the house until the system reboots.
Not possible in a cashless economy.
.
.
.