Why Bitcoins and Apple Pay Can Not Kill Off Cash

Why Bitcoins and Apple Pay Can't Kill Off Cash - Bloomberg: "... cash is still used more often than either option [credit cards and debit cards]. It’s most often used for transactions under $25, even by those who claim to prefer credit or debit cards overall. And 40 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds say cash is their preferred form of payment. Some $1.2 trillion in cash circulates outside of banks -- 15,000 tons worth. That’s up 20 percent since 2011, and is the equivalent of $3,836 squeezed under the mattresses of every U.S. man, woman and child. The location of all these "Benjamins" -- it's mostly in $100 bills -- is a puzzle to economists and currency experts. When asked how much money they kept in their wallet or house, the average U.S. respondent said a little more than $40 in the wallet and $100 in the house, according to a 2013 Tufts University study. Some of the money may be overseas. Less than a quarter of U.S. currency resides abroad, estimates University of Wisconsin economist Edgar Feige. Where’s the rest? Legitimate business owners and those without bank accounts rely heavily on cash...."


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