A cashless society protest of an elderly man in a UK grocery store was captured on video and has gone viral, for his refusal to conform to what he describes as a “dystopian” move towards a cashless society.
The footage shows the man leaving cash on the counter for a clerk who refuses to accept it.
“I’ve paid my legal tender and I’m going out with my strawberries,” the elderly man says.
“You can’t do that,” the clerk responds.
“I paid my legal tender in this dystopian place,” he says, as he leaves.
The confrontation highlights a growing concern among many that the shift towards digital-only transactions could lead to increased surveillance and control, akin to social credit systems implemented in places like China, where the state monitors citizens’ behavior and can restrict access to services based on their compliance with societal norms.
In other words, a cashless society is more closely aligned with a surveillance state.
It’s not the first run in UK citizens have had with stores trying to go cashless. In 2022, there were widespread calls to boycott Starbucks after one store in the UK posted a sign saying it would be going cashless. Coffee lovers wondered if all the stores would go cashless, but Starbucks responded by saying this is not the case, and the change is limited to individual stores and their licensees.
WEF promotes cashless
Last year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) patted itself on the back for its role in moving more countries away from cash in the name of “digital inclusion.”
An update from the unelected organization stated that its “global initiative” launched in 2022 has grown from three partner countries to six.
“The EDISON Alliance, a global initiative launched by the World Economic Forum to advance digital inclusion and accessibility, announced today the integration of Honduras, Togo and the United Arab Emirates as partners in its Lighthouse Countries Network,” the WEF stated.
The three countries now join Bahrain, Bangladesh, and Rwanda in the WEF’s digital project.
“Our founding Lighthouse Countries, such as Rwanda, are utilizing EDISON’s partners to move toward a cashless society,” said the WEF’s head of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Sebastian Buckup.
Small businesses in the partner countries are being encouraged to move away from cash and instead become dependent on loans, digital payment solutions, and “micro-credit opportunities” from Mastercard.
