Will money become digital-only one day?

[Mellusia]

A roll of pennies fell on the floor and I had to bend down and pick all 50 cents. How a handful of coins with a decent heft to them be worthy only 50 cents and a single coin (over here in Canada anyways) is worth 2.00 boggles my mind sometimes. Anyways, in midst pick-up, I thought "Gee, now I know why people only carry debit or credit cards-how come we still use cash?"

Seriously, why are coins and bills still in circulation around the world? Why haven't we adopted a a universal credit system or something or the sort?

Or is that really such a good thing? Can we wholly trust in having our funds in some network without fear of tampering.

To me the pros and cons actually seem pretty even for keeping and getting rid of tangible cash, but what do you guys think?

[Rivey]

Both money and cards have their ups and downs, IMO.
Credit/debit cards are convenient and easy to carry around, but their convenience possibly makes it harder to limit your spending. And when there are system crashes with card machines, people can't pay with their cards.
This is where cash comes in. You're able to pay normally, but you're limited to what you have on hand, which may or may not be a good thing. Good if you're trying to limit yourself, bad if you don't have enough for what you want. Carrying heaps of cash around isn't exactly smart, but I dunno.
Cards have a little more security like pin numbers and the need to be ID carded, as opposed to anyone being able to use money.

Both are convenient in their own way. I just don't like coins.
Cash should probably be kept around.

As a person without a card, I'm forced to carry cash. Personally, I'd prefer to have a card (as I've been dumb enough to lose money at times), but I haven't gotten around to it yet. :/

[Contra Fates]

Chances are, currency will become an entirely digital format. Where I work now, 90% of transactions are done with credit / debit cards. It's always much simpler, quicker, and everything about carrying a credit card is more convenient.

The only downside to plastic, is on the business end. Every credit card company charges a premium to the businesses who are accepting their cards, which is why certain places only accept certain cards, and why some places, like gas stations, will offer a discount for cash. I believe American Express charges 3.5% of their transactions, and the other companies can vary by a percentage, to a set dollar amount, which is why you'll see certain fast food places not accept cards unless the total is over a certain amount, because your $3 transaction could end up costing them $2.

I still think a digital medium is where things are headed, regardless.