In a world where digital payments and mobile wallets are becoming the norm, cash may seem outdated. But in an age of increasing financial surveillance and corporate dominance, it is more important than ever. Holding onto cash means resisting systems that profit off our every move and reclaiming some autonomy under late-stage capitalism.
From aiding those in need to pushing back against corporate control, here are five reasons why carrying cash is far more than just a practicality.
1. To Give Directly to People in Need
Carrying cash enables you to help meet people’s needs in the moment. When you have a few dollars or some spare change, you can help someone without worrying about whether they can accept digital payments or have a bank account.
Many people experiencing homelessness or financial hardship may not have access to digital banking, making cash one of the most accessible and effective ways to offer immediate support.
2. To Protect Your Privacy
We live in an era of surveillance capitalism*, where every digital transaction becomes data to be mined, monetized, and weaponized.
When you use a credit card or mobile wallet, you’re contributing to a digital footprint that companies and governments can track to analyze your behavior. This data fuels targeted ads, consumer profiling, and even financial discrimination.
Cash, on the other hand, offers more privacy. When you pay in cash, there’s no transaction history, no data trail, and no opportunity for your spending habits to be exploited. This can be especially critical if you are using cash to support subversive or revolutionary actions, as history shows how government agencies like the FBI have tracked monetary payments to surveil and suppress leftist movements.
3. To Take Power Away From Big Banks
Big banks are some of the most profitable entities in the world, and their wealth comes from us, and often at our expense.
At a base level, banks profit off of us by using our deposits to fund loans and investments, collecting interest and fees along the way, while giving us only a fraction of those earnings in return. From exorbitant overdraft fees to hidden charges on credit card transactions, they squeeze profits out of every layer of our financial system.
Sellers also pay the price, losing a percentage of every sale to processing fees when customers use digital payment methods (though, of course, many businesses pass this cost on to customers through higher prices).
By using cash, you cut out the middleman, bypassing these fees and keeping more money in your pocket and out of corporate hands. Cash payments empower you to make purchases on your terms, directly with local businesses, and without lining the pockets of banks or financial intermediaries.
4. To Be Prepared for Emergencies
Cash can be a literal lifesaver in emergencies when power outages, internet disruptions, or system failures prevent access to digital payments.
These events risk becoming more common as climate disasters increase in frequency and severity. Hurricanes, wildfires, and floods—fueled by global warming—often knock out the infrastructure needed for digital payments.
And it’s not just natural disasters. Our global system—marked by geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and dangerous financial speculation—has vulnerabilities. The rise in authoritarianism worldwide has been accompanied by a sharp increase in censorship and internet shutdowns; in 2024, governments and other actors disrupted the internet 296 times in 54 countries, up from 201 just 2 years prior.
The cracks in the system are becoming harder to ignore, and we’ve seen time and again that when disasters strike or systems fail, it’s neighbors helping neighbors—not governments or institutions—that make the difference. Carrying cash is a simple way to ensure you and your communities are not completely dependent on a system that’s proving increasingly untenable.
5. To Resist the Transition to a Cashless Economy
The shift toward a cashless society is being aggressively pushed by corporations, governments, and financial institutions—and we should absolutely question why.
While the rhetoric around this transition highlights convenience, the reality may be more insidious. As journalist and financial hacker Brett Scott argues in "Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto, and the War for Our Wallets," this shift represents an “enclosure of money."
By turning money into a purely digital asset, corporations gain unprecedented control over how, when, and where we can spend. A cashless economy would consolidate power in the hands of private companies and financial institutions, disenfranchising those who lack access to digital payment systems while eliminating alternatives for dissenters.
Carrying cash is a small but significant act of resistance against this corporate takeover. It keeps money accessible to all, free from the monopolies of digital payment platforms. More importantly, it preserves our ability to transact outside of centralized control, keeping the power of money in our hands rather than in the hands of those who seek to dominate it.
In an age where convenience often masks control, carrying cash is a radical choice. It allows you to help others directly, protect your privacy, reject financial profiteering, prepare for emergencies, and resist creeping corporate power. So, next time you head out, consider slipping a little cash in your wallet as a conscious choice to retain control over your financial freedom. It’s not just practical; it’s a quiet act of defiance in a world that increasingly demands submission.
*Surveillance capitalism is a political economy concept that describes the widespread collection and commodification of personal data by corporations. For more, check out The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff.
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