Band 9 model answer

It is increasingly predicted that physical money will vanish altogether within the space of a single generation. In my view, although the disappearance of cash carries genuine hazards, the transition towards a cashless society is, on balance, a welcome development.

The advantages of dispensing with notes and coins are considerable. Digital payments are faster, more convenient and far easier to track, allowing individuals to monitor their spending at a glance and sparing businesses the cost and danger of handling cash. More significantly, a cashless economy strikes at the very heart of the shadow economy: when every transaction leaves an indelible digital trail, tax evasion, bribery and money laundering become enormously harder to conceal, which ultimately benefits honest taxpayers and the public purse alike.

These gains, however, come with a darker side that cannot be dismissed. The most pressing concern is exclusion. The elderly, the very poor and those in remote regions frequently lack the bank accounts or digital literacy that a cashless system presupposes, and they risk being quietly shut out of everyday economic life. A society wholly dependent on electronic infrastructure is also alarmingly fragile, since a single outage or cyber-attack could paralyse commerce overnight, and every purchase becomes a permanent record that some authority or corporation can scrutinise.

On reflection, these dangers seem to me serious but manageable rather than decisive. Governments can guarantee basic banking access, shield the vulnerable throughout the transition, and enact robust security and privacy laws to curb the twin threats of fraud and surveillance.

In conclusion, while the retreat from cash threatens to marginalise some citizens and raises real questions of security and privacy, its efficiency and its power to shrink the shadow economy make it, with the proper safeguards in place, a change well worth embracing.