What’s Dave Ramsey’s Take on Cashless Society?

Is radio host and financial adviser Dave Ramsey scared about a cashless society? In 2020, an article warned about the dangers of a cashless society. The article was attributed to Ramsey and went viral on the Internet. 

When Ramsey speaks, millions of Americans listen. Ramsey’s radio program The Dave Ramsey Show airs on more than 600 stations and reaches about 13 million listeners every week. He has written many books and has a massive following on social media.

As a result, the message about the dangers of a cashless society circulated widely. Many people see Ramsey as living proof that anyone can improve their financial situation. People take his financial advice seriously. Although Ramsey was bankrupt earlier in his life, now he has a net worth of about $55 million. What’s Ramsey’s take on a cashless society?

In a cashless society, physical money like banknotes, coins, and checks don’t exist for the purposes of facilitating financial transactions. Instead, people and businesses transact with electronic representations of money that are transferred digitally. 

Many people are terrified about living in a cashless society. Some people think that every transaction you make will be traceable in a cashless society. Other people are concerned that some jobs may disappear in a cashless society. Companies like Square and PayPal view cash as their greatest competition. As a result, a cashless society would work in their favor.

While Ramsey has shared his thoughts about transactions going cashless, the radio host denied writing the viral social media post warning about a cashless society. He linked the article to conspiracy theories.

The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed the debate about a cashless society. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, many people and businesses didn’t want to touch cash. Since cash passes through many hands, people thought that it could transmit the coronavirus. Some businesses put up signs on their windows that they don’t accept cash in a bid to protect their staff and customers from the coronavirus.

Amid lockdowns to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, many people shopped online, which reduced cash use and seemed to accelerate the shift to cashless payments. While cash use may be shrinking, Ramsey thinks that the U.S. is a long way from going cashless. 

Many businesses are going cashless to solve the problem of change, attract young shoppers, and make tracking payments easy. People tend to spend more when they pay with virtual money instead of hard cash, which works in favor of businesses. 

In some cities, authorities have problems with businesses operating exclusively cashless. 

Ramsey calls himself a cash guy. The radio host thinks that cashless only businesses may be shooting themselves in the foot. He says that there are still many people who want to pay with cash. Therefore, cashless businesses could be missing out on some sales. Ramsey says that there are situations where he would walk away from a business that doesn't accept cash.