The Forceful Reevaluation of Cash-Based Transactions by COVID-19 and Its Opportunities to Transition to Cashless Systems in Digital Urban Networks

Cash-based transactions have been losing in popularity due to the high cost associated to maintaining the cash system and due to its numerous risks. Through the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, it was believed that a rapid transition to a more flexible, secure, and open cashless system would be accelerated. However, numerous hurdles in regard to legislation, protocols, and resistance to change were noted, rendering a slow adoption rate. However, the advent of COVID-19 pandemic and the noted potential contamination of bank notes and coinage revealed a steep support toward cashless payments and supported an immediate need to amend legislations and protocols to maintain the efficiency and stability of banking systems while catering for the shift in user demand. This chapter surveys the shift created by the COVID-19 pandemic from cash-based to cashless systems in cities and unveils how payment giants and information and communication technology corporations have been active in providing the underlaying foundation that would be critical in supporting the transition.