The Extinction of Cash

Feb 28, 2025 • 10 min read

According to the Global Payments Report 2024, countries that once thrived on cash transactions are watching their usage plummet at staggering rates. Some nations are already past the point of no return, where cash accounts for less than 10% of transaction value, making its future in those economies nothing more than a rounding error. The data tells the story: cash isn’t just declining—it’s being wiped out.

India: The Biggest Cash Collapse on the Planet (-61 percentage points)

No country is ditching cash faster than India. In 2019, cash accounted for over 70% of all transactions. By 2023, that number had nosedived below 30%, and by 2027, it’s expected to be nearly non-existent. That’s a 61 percentage point drop, the single biggest decline worldwide. The reason? A full-scale digital finance revolution fueled by UPI (Unified Payments Interface), government-backed demonetization efforts, and an explosion in smartphone adoption. Indians aren’t just shifting away from cash—they’re leapfrogging over plastic, straight into mobile payments. The government’s push for a cashless economy has worked, and India is now one of the fastest digital payment adopters on Earth.

Thailand, Japan, and Mexico: Cash’s Rapid Decline in Cash-Centric Cultures (-33 to -45 percentage points)

Thailand, Japan, and Mexico were once deeply cash-reliant societies. But the pandemic, fintech growth, and merchant incentives to go cashless have flipped the script.

• Thailand (-45 points): Bangkok street vendors now accept QR codes more than they accept paper bills. The rise of PromptPay, a government-backed digital payment system, is eliminating cash from everyday transactions.
• Japan (-33 points): Historically a holdout for cash due to its aging population, even Japan is now caving to digital payments. Contactless cards and mobile wallets have spread rapidly, eating into what was once a bulletproof cash economy.
• Mexico (-37 points): Mobile banking and fintech startups like Clip and Konfio have made it easier for small businesses to operate cash-free, while government crackdowns on cash-heavy transactions have accelerated digital adoption.

Germany and Brazil: Two Cash Giants Falling Hard (-21 to -36 percentage points)

Germany, long known as a country where cash was king, is experiencing a dramatic reversal. Germans once distrusted card payments, preferring physical currency for everything from groceries to high-end retail. But with a 36 percentage point drop, that era is officially over. Meanwhile, Brazil, another historically cash-heavy country, is following a similar trajectory. The introduction of Pix, a real-time payment system, has disrupted the financial ecosystem, cutting into cash transactions at an unprecedented rate.

USA and UK: The Tipping Point Has Passed (-7 to -15 percentage points)

The United States and United Kingdom were already well into their cashless transition by 2019, but the decline continues.

• USA (-7 points): Americans are still using cash, but mostly out of nostalgia or necessity. Tap-to-pay has taken over retail, and even tipping culture has moved to digital platforms like Venmo and Square.
• UK (-15 points): London might as well be a cashless city at this point. A few years ago, the idea of a pub not taking cash would have been outrageous. Now, it’s the norm.

China and Australia: The Last Nails in the Coffin (-11 to -20 percentage points)

China’s dominance in digital payments is well documented, but even here, cash continues to slide. WeChat Pay and Alipay process trillions in transactions, leaving paper currency as a relic of the past. Australia, meanwhile, has seen one of the most aggressive shifts toward a cashless economy, with an increasing number of businesses refusing cash altogether.

Norway: The First Cashless Society? (-11 percentage points and counting)

Norway is already ahead of the curve, with cash making up just a tiny fraction of transactions. By 2027, it may become the first country to functionally eliminate cash as a means of payment entirely.

The Global Trend: A Future Without Cash

The common denominator across every country on this list is technology. Mobile payments, real-time banking, and digital wallets are steamrolling over traditional cash transactions, and once consumers experience the speed, security, and convenience of digital payments, there’s no going back.

Governments and businesses are accelerating this shift. ATMs are disappearing, retailers are refusing cash, and the digital finance ecosystem is reaching a level of ubiquity that renders paper money obsolete. The extinction of cash isn’t just a possibility—it’s happening right now.

By 2030, cash won’t just be rare. In many places, it will be gone.