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Comment by apsec112 | Hacker News Reader

I got robbed going to work this morning. I fortunately had some cash saved at home, but in a cashless economy, what would I do? I can't use credit cards, since the robber stole those, and I had to cancel them all to stop fraudulent purchases. I can't use payment apps or digital wallets, since the robber stole my phone. Would I just not be able to buy anything, until I got new cards and a new phone, however many weeks later?

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The natural reaction to that is that at least you didn't actually lose any money. If you were carrying around cash then that cash would be gone forever.

It may be the case that people need to carry around cards like they are cash. That is, to keep a card at home or in a bank box that's tied to some other account with emergency funds.

It does say something terrible about our current bank system that nearly everything takes a least day if not a week to process, but keeping around cash won't change that.

Australia is close to being cashless.

Cancelling cards is effortless, and for the CBA, ANZ and Melbourne, your new card will arrive tomorrow, unless it's a weekend.

As to immediate concern for money, you can walk into a branch, and walk out with a card, after verifying identity.

You don't wait weeks. It can take hours.

Assuming you have access to a no-fee checking account, you could save that cash in a separate bank account and store the corresponding debit card at home.

If you have access to a no-fee credit card, you can also have a back-up at home.

It's probably a good idea to have some cash at home, but you can do the same with cards.

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