"Smartphone users believe we are quickly moving closer to becoming a cashless society and predict we will no longer be using notes and coins by 2022.

Ditching payments made using plastic and cash could be overtaken by customers whipping out their smartphone to pay as our addiction to devices soars.

The Westpac Cash Free Report which surveyed more than 1000 smartphone users found four in five people expect all electronic payments to be done via a smartphone in seven years time."

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/how-we-could-become-a-cashless-society-by-2022/story-fnkrnsj1-1227543873498

I'd like these people to prove this with facts and provide the benefits. At present, I shop at the Adelaide Central Markets each week and when my "cash" runs out - I stop shopping, so I have to budget.

Yet I hear of so many others complaining about their high bills at supermarket checkouts.

Absolutely no chance! Smartphones are no alternative, as running out of phone credit would then become a much bigger problem!

This is truly sinister. I rather starve to death than have one of those evil devices (but hopefully I'll get a chance to escape Australia before that happens, to live in a more "primitive" country where cash is still accepted).

What's evil about a 4G phone? I pay $55 a month for mine and you know the best part about them? The camera, it's an incredibly useful tool in business because instead of getting a prospective client to describe their cracked wall or lifting tiles you can get them to send a photo. Then there's QR codes, very useful, then there's the GPS, maps, email in the palm of your hand etc etc.

Jay Of Melbourne - After someone clones your phone or sim card and uses it to buy lots of things that you end up paying for let me know how much you like going cashless.

GPS Government now knows every where you have been.
Camera, hackers can remotely activate cameras and microphones, hope you are not doing anything controversial at that moment.

The phone storing your data on the cloud, just waiting for the hackers and NSA to get.

No thanks.

Ha! Phillip I'm always doing something controversial, I was "outed" in 2010 by Anonymous and to date there's been absolutely no comeback upon me whatsoever.
"They" whoever your own particular "they" may be can always find out anything they want about you but government surveillance groups have no budget and no inclination to interfere with citizens.
Credit card companies have policies on fraud and security programs which detect unusual purchase patterns and alert the bank's security teams who then contact the customer, usually you're not liable for fraudulent purchases.

......At present, I shop at the Adelaide Central Markets each week and when my "cash" runs out - I stop shopping, so I have to budget.

Nathan, that cash you refer to comes from a bank. So, you simply transfer money from one account to your card, then , when you exhaust the funds, you stop shopping, exact same result and, you can't loose your cash.

JOM, don't worry about Phillip, if we'd followed people like that we would not have invented the wheel.

Just to put your mind at rest Phillip, I have quite a few customers who now buy the meat, then transfer the amount required onto their card, then pay the bill. There is always a way around fraud.

rehctub,

Most people in Australia today, shop in (big brand) supermarkets. I don't - I shop at a food market.

So with large supermarkets having around 98% that market, and with people having the option of shopping at nearby stores (like in in a shopping mall), these people are more likely to keep more money on some type of card or electronic device.

"JOM, don't worry about Phillip, if we'd followed people like that we would not have invented the wheel."

If we take what the report says (paid for by a bank's profits) "more than 1000 smartphone users found four in five people expect all electronic payments to be done via a smartphone in seven years time."

This insinuates that I must have a smartphone and be forced to buy one. Why? I thought in a free country you couldn't be forced to buy something including items with or without wheels.

Finally using smartphones comes with costs. How could I pay for something (say like a school fete) - with a smartphone?

I can't agree with you on this rehctub. I have absolutely no intention of getting, & even less of carrying, any smart phone. I have a phone now only because my kids gave it to me, & demanded I carry it. I'm not sure if it is a hand me down or not.

I rejected the first thing they wanted me to carry, as it was uncomfortably heavy in my shirt pocket. It appears that after years of miniaturisation, these new things are becoming bigger & unpleasantly heavy.

Of course I can't use the one they gave me without my glasses, & usually don't hear it ring, so it's pretty useless.

I don't use a card on my main bank accounts, & most of my purchases are with cash or cheque. If you don't want either, I will not be doing business with you.

I allocate myself a certain a certain amount of cash each month, & that is it. There is nothing retards silly spending better than seeing just $150 left in the wallet, with a fortnight to next pay day.

I have an account with little money in it, with a debit card with a minor bank, & use it to pay my main bills. I have to drive 17 kilometres to put more money into it, which mitigates against impulse purchases.

I learnt years ago that it is seeing how much you are spending that controls impulse spending. Credit cards or other electronic spending get far too many particularly young into trouble, their use should be banned, not expanded.

Nathan, if you shop at a food market, chances are you are aiding the very tax evasion you are opposed to by the big end of town. Just an observation.

Hasbeen, your phone is not a hand me down, it is a hand me up !
I have had several as the latest fashions come in.
I even get hand me up computers.

Hello! I just need some advice and I did not know where else to post.

My dad needs oxygen therapy and I was wondering if this product http://oxygensolutions.com.au/inogen-one-g2/ would be good to utilize at home?

[url="http://oxygensolutions.com.au"]Oxygen Solutions[/url] offers hiring it, has anyone used their hires before - was the experience good?

Some feedback would be much appreciated!
Thank you.

Out of interest, NathanJ, where does your cash come from?

>>At present, I shop at the Adelaide Central Markets each week and when my "cash" runs out - I stop shopping<<

Let me assume for a moment that, like most of us, you retrieve money from a Bank in order to pay the tradespeople in the market. I'd guess that in order to do this, you use a piece of plastic, or sign a cheque. There would need to be a positive balance in your account for you to do this, or an agreed overdraft/loan capability. Once this cash is in your pocket, it is then exchanged for goods.

What, apart from the immediacy of emptying your pocket of cash, is the difference between paying the stallholder in a) cash b) plastic or c) cheque?

Choosing to use a phone will not change the concept, only the medium. Plastic cards have been in use for decades, but paper cheques are still accepted by Banks. Many people will choose to use their phones in the future, in the same way that people chose to use plastic over paper in the past. And security will undoubtedly keep pace, otherwise people will not move across - as many folk resisted plastic too, until the risks and rewards equalized themselves out in their minds.

I think you are worrying over nothing.

Pericles,

Banks are supposed to be "smart" and also have plenty of "phones" in their offices and call centres.

The article clearly states: "The Westpac Cash Free Report which surveyed more than 1000 smartphone users found four in five people expect all electronic payments to be done via a smartphone in seven years time."

If a smart banking operation, like Westpac, can make such a comment, then I am simply asking them to prove it, particularly with their cashless society element by 2022.

I don't want to be paying silly bank fees and charges for silly reports with no real basis to them - or be forced to buy anything in the future I don't want.

If we remove currency in a physical format (completely) many people including myself, will go towards areas like food swapping programs (I have a herb and vegetable garden).

P.S Don't forget the Liberal Party also has a policy to get rid of 5c coins in Australia.