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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

A CASHLESS
SOCIETY
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1 Warm-up

How do you normally pay for things? In cash or by credit/debit card?

2 Key words

Complete the definitions below:

anonymously capital flow cushion intercept

snoop traces vulnerable

1. If there is a between you and something else, you are protected from possible
problems.
2. If you are , you are easy to hurt or attack.
3. If you something, you stop it before it is able to reach its destination.
4. If you do something , you do it without giving your name.
5. is the movement of money for investment in and out of countries.
6. If you do something without leaving any , there is no physical proof that you did
it.
7. If you , you look around a place secretly in order to find out information about
someone.

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A CASHLESS SOCIETY

3 Find the information

You are going to read an article about a cashless society. Tick the five benefits and drawbacks of using
cash that you think will be mentioned. Read the text to check your answers.

Cash makes it easier to avoid paying taxes.

People who pay in cash are less vulnerable to

cyber theft and government snooping.
Cash creates opportunities for criminals.

Cash is more dangerous to carry.

You can make cash payments anonymously.

It’s harder for the government to control citizens

who use cash.
Cash is easier to lose.

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)
A CASHLESS SOCIETY
The death of cash could give governments more control,
experts fear
Countries like Korea and Sweden are looking at making the move towards a cashless society. But
money experts fear that the complete disappearance of hard cash would not benefit ordinary people.
1.
The move to a completely cashless society could
mean governments have ever more control over our
wallets.
2.
That’s the view of Megan McArdle, a columnist at
Bloomberg, who said that cash provides a cushion
between ordinary people and governments.
3.
"Unmonitored resources like cash
opportunities for criminals. But they also create
a sort of cushion between ordinary people and a
government with extraordinary powers. Removing
that cushion leaves people who aren’t criminals
vulnerable to intrusion into every remote corner of
their lives," she wrote on Bloomberg View.
4.
Countries like Korea and Sweden are looking at
making the move towards a cashless society. But
money experts fear that the complete disappearance
of hard cash would not benefit ordinary people.
5.
In a cashless society, the government might intercept
any transaction in which someone tried to lend
money to someone accused of a crime, Ms McArdle
said.
6.
"We probably won’t notice how much this power
grows every time we swipe a card instead of paying
cash. The danger is that by the time we do notice, it
will be too late," she said.
7.
"If hard cash were to disappear we would need to
think about limiting the ability of the government to
use the payments system as an instrument to control
the behaviour of its citizens," she added.
8.
A global economy running without physical cash
will make it much easier for governments to control
capital flow, according to a report by Startfor, a
private intelligence agency.
9.
Cash also allows payments to be made anonymously.
"You can spend your dollar bills without leaving any
traces behind. On the other hand, in a society
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where all financial transactions are recorded, all of
your payment and credit history becomes an easy
target for cyber-theft and improper snooping by
government agencies," said Dr Patrick Carvalho, a
researcher in the Economics Program at the Centre
for Independent Studies, Australia.
create
10.
But getting rid of banknotes also has its advantages.
Peter Sands, a former chief executive of Standard
Chartered, said that getting rid of ◆500, $100,
SFr1,000 and £50 notes would make it harder for tax
dodgers to pay people in cash, last month.
11.
His statement came after Mario Draghi, the president
of the European Central Bank, said last week that
◆500 notes were under review because of similar
concerns that they are used by criminals.
12.
While the Bank of Korea is planning for a cashless
society by 2020 and Sweden is also making the shift,
British citizens are still attached to hard cash.
13.
Cash withdrawals amounted to a record £128 billion
- made during over two billion visits according to
recent figures by UK’s Link network of 70,000 ATMs
in 2015.
14.
The total number of cash withdrawals only grew
slightly in 2015 but the value of those withdrawals
increased by 2 per cent.
15.
"These figures show that cash remains a very
important part of our lives here in the UK and
is still the most attractive payment option in lots
of situations. With the amount of money being
withdrawn continuing to increase, it is clear that cash
has an important place in our wallets and purses
for the foreseeable future," John Howells, Link CEO,
said.
The Independent, Thursday 17 March 2016, by Zlata
Rodionova
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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

A CASHLESS SOCIETY

4 Checking understanding

Answer the questions below.

1. Why would a cashless society not benefit ordinary people?

2. What would need to happen if hard cash disappeared?
3. Why do some people want to get rid of large banknotes?
4. Why is the UK not planning to move to a cashless society?

5 Find the words

Find a word or phrase in the article which means...

1. involvement in a situation which people want to keep private (noun, P3) :

2. inappropriate (adj., P9) :
3. people who avoid doing what they should do (plural noun, P10) :
4. change (noun, P12) :
5. as far in the future as you can imagine (phrase, P15) :

Give your own examples of these words/phrases.

6 Prepositions

Complete the phrases below from the text with suitable prepositions.

1. have control something

2. be vulnerable something
3. be accused a crime
4. get rid something
5. be review

Give your own example sentences with these phrases.

7 Talking point

Would you like to live in a cashless society? Why/why not?

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TEACHER MATERIALS · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

A CASHLESS SOCIETY

Key

1. Warm-up

Encourage a short discussion.

2. Key words

Give examples where appropriate.

1. cushion 2. vulnerable 3. intercept 4. anonymously

5. capital flow 6. traces 7. snoop

3. Find the information

Students can work individually and check in pairs. Go through the answers with the class.

✓ Cash makes it easier to avoid paying taxes.

✓ People who pay in cash are less vulnerable to cyber theft and government snooping.
✓ Cash creates opportunities for criminals.
✓ You can make cash payments anonymously.
✓ It’s harder for the government to control citizens who use cash.

4. Checking understanding

Students can work individually and check in pairs. Go through the answers with the class.

1. It leaves people vulnerable to government intrusion.

2. There would needs to be limits on how the government can use payment systems to control citizens.
3. Large banknotes are used by criminals.
4. Cash is still very popular in the UK.

5. Find the words

Students can work individually and check in pairs. Go through the answers with the class.

1. intrusion 2. improper 3. dodgers

4. shift 5. for the foreseeable future

6. Prepositions

Students can work individually and check in pairs. Go through the answers with the class.

1. over 2. to 3. of 4. of 5. under

7. Talking point

Encourage a discussion.

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