In a world that strives to make life more comfortable for humans, it comes as no surprise to see people carrying less cash or notes. Cards, be it debit or credit, are things of today. Banknotes have become old school. Modern, sleek and stylish plastic cards that can be custom made according to the user’s likes have replaced them. prepaid visa card is the best in showcasing how sexy your card can look. Now the big question arises: Which one is better?
It depends on which part of the world you are living in. Some countries are so far ahead in terms of technology that digital currency is being used there. In other less developed parts of the world, coins and banknotes are fairly common. Both have their advantages and drawbacks so let us discuss them.
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Advantages of Banknotes
No Danger of Overspending: The main advantage that banknotes give you that cards do not is that you do not overspend. You spend the cash that you have with you and buy the necessary items which are needed and go home. With the plastic money, people tend to go beyond their budget and spend much more so as a result which gets credited to them, and they end up paying it in installments for God knows how many months and with interest.
Privacy: Our credit card has all our information and which can easily be hacked. The more your card is used, the more the chances are that your information will be stolen. 14.1 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2018, according to Javelin Strategy and Research, and more than $1.7 billion were stolen. With so many hackers on the loose, cash is your best bet if you want to protect your privacy and money.
No interest: If you save up enough cash, you can buy the things that you desire without paying interest. Your credit card offers you to spend more money than you actually have in your account and when you spend that money you have to pay interest on it if you do not return it in a fixed amount of time. So essentially you are overpaying for the item you bought.
Emotional attachment: According to a study, people paying cash felt more emotionally attached to the product and the shop they bought it from than people who use cards. This study mentions also mentions that paying cash is a more painful form of payment.
This article mentions that if you buy a gift from a shop and choose to pay cash, you may have developed a deeper connection with the item and also developed a sense of pride with it. It also says that your connection with the store will be deepened and you might go back.
This could help in developing a conscience about how much you are spending, what are you spending it on and where is it you are buying from.
Advantages of Plastic Money
Theft: The best thing when it comes to plastic money is that you do not have to worry about your cash being stolen. Cash is stolen from our wallets when we are robbed or if it is dropped and we can not do anything about it, but with cards, all you have to do is to contact your bank, and you can tell them to freeze and stop any further usage of it. The areas where theft is common can take a good advantage by the use of theft. In case your card gets stolen, you can always give a quick call back to the card provider so that it can be blocked upon confirmation of the security key. Once it is blocked the thief cannot try to consume the money to buy anything. If found purchasing the person can be easily traced. The updated technology enables you to only carry your mobile phone with the credentials of the card to charge your card.
Rewards: Credit card providers offers discounts, rewards and points, which can later be used to purchase an item, to its customers on purchases. They offer travelling discounts on tickets and make them so cheap that you cannot resist catching a flight to Dubai. They offer discounts on restaurants which can have a significant impact on your bill. You can even use your points at your favorite clothing brand and buy anything you want once you have gained enough points. You can avail of these discounts to provide a family feast to your loved ones. The discounts provided are mostly by restaurants and hotels so that you can give a treat to your family and friends.
Online purchasing: Online shopping is made easy with plastic money. You like something online, put your credit card information, and it will arrive in a day or two. With cash, you will have to use a method so that you can convert it into an electronic form. Not only online shopping, but some other businesses also require a credit card or debit card. If you want to purchase a ticket, book a room in a hotel, paying your Television subscription fee or renting a car, all of these are paid through a credit or debit card.
Easy life: Plastic Money has made our life a lot easier than in the past. It is quick and efficient. At the cash register, you have to count the amount that your spending and then you have to wait till the cashier gives you the change. With credit or debit cards, it just one swipe and you are on your way.
It has also made our lives easier in the sense that we do not have to move to pay our bills. Remember the time when we used to go to the bank to pay our bills. Now we can just do it online by using our cards.
Conclusion
Banknotes and plastic money, in the end, depends on your own preference. Some feel comfortable having cash around while others have cards in their pockets. We have moved into an age of modernization so one can do more with cards than with banknotes. Plastic money has made life easy for so many people and also you do not need to cut trees for banknotes. Although some countries are making plastic banknotes. The plastic money is much safer as when we have dropped our card or have it stolen we can stop it from working with just a phone call.
Credit cards offer so much more in terms of options that they are hard to resist. Nowadays you cannot avoid not using a debit or credit card because everything is online now and without it, you cannot travel, shop and most important of all you cannot Netflix.
