WEF says COVID moved us toward a cashless economy - but do we have to go along with it? Part 1

Caryn Lipson

May 5, 2024

Have COVID measures created an inevitable path to a cashless world?

Should we believe those who tell us that the end of cash is inevitable? Do we accept their pronouncement, throw up our hands, and do our best to get used to it, whether we like it or not? Do we ignore the signs even if it means losing personal freedoms and rights? Or do we say “No, this isn't going to happen. We must fight this?”

A case in point is the attempt by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to create a cashless economy. This was the topic of the "Opening Plenary: A New Vision for Global Development" in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia during the WEF's two-day discussion, as reported by PJ Media. During the plenary session, COVID was declared an economic shock that necessitated going cashless as a safety measure.

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), highlighted the positive fundamentals for growth that the world has developed in recent years, showcasing resilience to economic shocks.

PJ Media asked “What “economic shocks” in “recent years” is the IMF mouthpiece referring to?” and answered the question by quoting Khalid Humaidan, Bahrain's chief central banker who spoke during the session, noting that people's acquiescence at the time showed trust:

I think the transition to fully digital is not going to be a stretch, people are used to it, people are engaged in it, and circumstances that help is adoption rates increased because of Covid.

This is where contactless [payment systems] started to become something of a necessity, something of a safety, something of a requirement, and because of that there is very little resistance, trust is already there ...

A tweet of Humaidan's talk in Riyadh was posted to further document the role that COVID played in people's acceptance of not using cash.

"There's less use of cash [...] The transition to fully digital is not going to be a stretch [...] People are used to it [...] Its adoption rates increased because of COVID [...] There is very little resistance": Central Bank of Bahrain Governor Khalid Humaidan to the WEF on CBDC

Another tweet of Humaidan included his expectation that, at some point, digital currency will just become a “digital form of cash;” actual cash will no longer used.

Digital currency is control, it's not cash

X user “Resist CBDC” expressed his objection to Humaidan's referring to digital currency as cash, calling it out as wordsmithing. Rather, he wrote, it is a form of “surveillance and control.”

Tells us that CBDC is going to be a digital form of cash.

#CBDC is not "cash" or money or tender or anything like it.

Do NOT fall for the word smithing. CBDC is surveillance and control.

Do we have a choice?

Are Humaidan's prognostications accurate? Are they inevitable? Perhaps not. While cash use fell during COVID, it has rebounded some, and there are many reasons why people prefer to and need to hold cash. This will be covered shortly in part 2.

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