In a Cashless World, You'd Better Pray the Power Never Goes Out (mises.org)

schwit1 quotes the Mises Institue: When Hurricane Maria knocked out power in Puerto Rico, residents there realized they were going to need physical cash — and a lot of it. Bloomberg reported that the Fed was forced to fly a planeload of cash to the Island to help avert disaster. "William Dudley, the New York Fed president, put the word out within minutes, and ultimately a jet loaded with an undisclosed amount of cash landed on the stricken island. [Business executives in Puerto Rico] described corporate clients' urgent requests for hundreds of thousands in cash to meet payrolls, and the challenge of finding enough armored cars to satisfy endless demand at ATMs... As early as the day after the storm, the Fed began working to get money onto the island."

For a time, unless one had a hoard of cash stored up in ones home, it was impossible to get cash at all. 85 percent of Puerto Rico is still without power... Bloomberg continues: "When some generator-powered ATMs finally opened, lines stretched hours long, with people camping out in beach chairs and holding umbrellas against the sun." In an earlier article from September 25, Bloomberg noted how, without cash, necessities were simply unavailable:

"Cash only," said Abraham Lebron, the store manager standing guard at Supermax, a supermarket in San Juan's Plaza de las Armas. He was in a well-policed area, but admitted feeling like a sitting duck with so many bills on hand. "The system is down, so we can't process the cards. It's tough, but one finds a way to make it work."

Comments

Or fiber lines

[Jarik C-Bol]

Same situation applies to internet connectivity. I live in a smallish (6000) town, and about once a year, some knucklehead will dig without calling and cut the main fiber line, knocking at least half the county offline. At which point, all businesses become cash only, resulting in an embarrassing number of angry people blaming retailers for 'not having a backup' (to a main trunk line?). Hilariously, a few atm's in town won't even work in this situation, because the apparently phone home to confirm transactions. About a business day later, its fixed, but it sure is an uncomfortable reminder how dependent we've become on electronic money.

Credit Cards Existed Long Before CC Terminals

[wisnoskij]

Has nobody seen Home Alone 2? Using electricity to process a CC purchase is relatively new. This is a solved problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
The problem is not with credit cards, but incompetent cashiers and owners who cannot handle changing situations.

Re: Another reason why cash is garbage

[Attila Dimedici]

You are clearly unaware of the fact that gun violence has been on a steady decline in the U.S. while the number of guns in private hands has been on the increase. So your idea that gun ownership has damaged public safety is not supported by the evidence.