Money in a whole new avatar

Money has inspired many songs and innumerable statements. “Money makes the world go round.” “Money talks.” “It’s all about the money.” Money does play a very integral role in our day-to-day lives. Think about our three basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter, and you know that there is a fourth basic necessity which precedes these three. And that, my friend, is money. We may abuse it. We may associate it with criminal activities. We may call it the curse of modern life. But, whatever we may say, the fact remains that we cannot live without money.

Money has undergone many changes. It displaced the barter system in the ancient times. Then currency took over to provide for the many transactions that had to take place. We have changed a great deal from the days of metal currency in gold, silver, bronze, and copper. The coins of today are not pure metal; they are made of cheap alloys. The currency these days consists of paper that costs a lot less than its face value. Slowly, this paper currency is being subordinated to the power of plastic. Credit cards have staked their hold on the world economy. They are rapidly gaining in popularity and are quickly becoming the new face of money.

The days of worrying about carrying large stashes of cash in flimsy briefcases are gone. With the virtual world taking over our twenty-first century reality, even money is becoming a virtual entity. People today, no longer feel the compulsion to have tangible forms of money. Just the knowledge that that rectangular piece of plastic is comfortably seated in our wallets is assurance enough. Earlier on, people were hesitant to avail of credit cards because of the feeling of being indebted. However, these days, with the rise of things like cash back credit cards and 0% balance transfers, people have gained a new perspective on credit cards.

It is no wonder that credit cards are slowly taking over from the paper currency that had been the standard till very recently. With living standards rising globally, and with the rising demand for instant gratification, people have begun to flock to credit card companies. It is rapidly becoming the rule to roam around with multiple credit cards while most of our cash remains in the banks.

Is paper currency becoming obsolete? Perhaps. After all, online transactions are much in vogue today. And it is not yet possible to pay for these transactions by using paper money. Credit cards have become the need of the day.