China and Sweden are on a quest to become cashless societies, giving the world a glimpse into the advantages and disadvantages of the new payment model.
— By Karen White

Technology marches forward, and one of the routes taken involves digital payments. China and Sweden are pushing toward becoming cashless societies, driven by a strengthening and more widespread internet infrastructure, internet banking, sophisticated and secure debit and credit card payment systems, and mobility. Cash used to be king, as the saying goes, but it is being dethroned with technologies like China's WeChat Pay and Alipay.

Watching and learning from the countries pushing for eliminating cash, as much as possible, gives other countries the opportunity to assess the challenges, advantages, and disadvantages from a people and business perspective.

The Good and the Dangers of Exclusion
Cash is good and bad.

On the good side, cash is d...