Canada

In Canada we got a solid reminder of the importance of cash when the Rogers outage took Interac and many credit card processing systems offline...

Just make it illegal to not accept cash at brick and mortars, like many cities have done. Problem solved.

The powers that be will likely push for cashless society because it gives them more surveillance & control

If credit/debit cards were the norm and cash was invented today, it would likely be outlawed down because criminals/terrorists/child kidnappers will use if for nefarious purposes

This is the best summary I could come up with:

A consumer group is urgently calling on the federal government to follow other jurisdictions in the U.S and Europe and bring in legislation to stem the slide toward a cashless society.

A recent online poll of some 1,500 people commissioned by a different group, Payments Canada, found that a majority of respondents were worried about the prospect of cashless stores and want to maintain the option to use cash — which is free from bank fees, isn't susceptible to privacy breaches and can be used during internet outages.

"For many — such as Indigenous peoples, unhoused individuals, older Canadians, victims of domestic abuse and others who are vulnerable — cash is a beacon of economic security, a source of financial autonomy, an emergency lifeline and an emblem of cultural traditions," Ahmed wrote.

In 2019, Philadelphia became the first city in North America to prohibit "a person selling or offering for sale consumer goods or services at retail from refusing to accept cash as a form of payment."

In New York, the regulation proposes fines of up to $1,500, with the councillor who sponsored the rules declaring that a ban on cashless businesses protects privacy, equity and consumer choice.

In Ireland, the law would require a cash option at businesses like pharmacies and grocery stores that sell essential products and services.

The original article contains 662 words, the summary contains 213 words. Saved 68%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

If people had free access to their own money, then there would be too many protests.

Such a stupid contrived Make-Believe concern. If there are too many places that only take card, it will create a niche for cash based merchants and merchants will fill that niche. Next?