3 High-rated Ways to Make Money as the World Goes Cashless

Tony Sagami

I recently returned from Norway and Sweden. No, not to see the Northern Lights or eat lutefisk. Rather, to learn more about the EXPLOSION in Norway's adoption of electric cars and Sweden's swift transformation into a near-cashless society.

In fact, Sweden has been called the most cashless society on the planet, and I was eager to test that claim. So, in an unusual step for me, I didn't exchange any dollars for Swedish krona when I was preparing for my trip. Nor did I make any ATM cash withdrawals.

With nothing but my debit card and credit card, I wanted to see if I could go for four days without any physical currency.

You know what? It was a piece of cake!

In fact, I saw dozens of "no cash accepted" signs. The locals say that those are becoming an increasingly common sight in stores, museums and restaurants.

Even more amazing is that most of the banks in Sweden refused to accept cash. Think about that — the banks won't take your cash. THE BANKS!

Sweden has become one of the most cashless countries in the world. A survey from Insight Intelligence reported that only 25% of Swedes reported using cash in the last month, down from 63% four years ago. Get this: A whopping 36% of Swedes say they use cash just once or twice a year!

As a result, the amount of cash in circulation in Sweden has dropped like a rock. Today, cash in circulation has 40% below its 2007 peak.

The most disturbing trend — at least to me — is that more than 4,000 Swedes have volunteered to be implanted with microchips that contain information about their identity.

"Taking the chip," as the Swedes call it, sounds like one of the most intrusive invasions into personal privacy that I can think of.

Forget about the biblical warnings about mark of the beast. I just don't want any institution or government knowing where I go or what I spend my money on. That's the main appeal of cash in the first place!

The big-picture issue of Sweden's move to a cashless society is that the world, including us in the U.S., are destined to move away from cash and toward electronic payments.

That is fantastic news for companies like Visa (V, Rated "A-"), Mastercard (MA, Rated "B") and PayPal (PYPL, Rated "B"), but also very positive for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Going cashless is coming. And the right investment in the electronic payment gravy train will generate huge profits.

Best wishes,
Tony

About the Technology Analyst

Even in the worst years for stocks, Tony was twice named “Portfolio Manager of the Year” by Thomson Financial. He was one of the first to introduce computer software for trading stocks. And in the early 2000s, he wrote “The Supernet,” providing a vision of the future internet that was far ahead of its time.

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