Subscribe now

Do we really need cash any more?

By Jacob Aron

22 February 2012

See more: An illustrated version of this article will be published within the next two weeks on our CultureLab books and arts blog

David Wolman’s The End of Money looks to a future without hard cash; some of us may already be there

CASH, dough or moolah – whatever you call it, you can’t live without it. Or can you? Increasingly, money is an abstraction residing on a computer drive. How long will it be until hard currency disappears altogether?

In The End of Money, journalist David Wolman sets out to discover what a cashless world might look like and…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop