Whilst at the Cheltenham Literature Festival this week I was queuing at the pop-up Waterstones in the town hall to buy two books that the authors had just dedicated to me.
The tills were on the blink and transactions were taking a long time to process so the manager walked down the line apologising to each customer having to wait for a minute or two. As he got to the lady behind me she said to him that the card machine wouldn't be a problem for her as she only had cash, when the manager replied saying that the town hall was a cashless venue the elderly woman became what can only be described as apoplectic.
Launching into a tirade that I can only imagine had been well rehearsed, she starting complaining about 'the millions' that had been spent on designing banknotes on the elevation of King Charles, something that clearly wasn't worth it as 'we're not going to get many years out of them before we have to change them again'.
I must confess that I found the lady's routine extremely funny for both persistence and timing, something that didn't go down well with her, and I hope that we are using the new notes for many years to come.
I have no doubt that the woman's outburst was performative, how else did she get tickets for the festival or food or drink without a card, but there is a serious point.
There is a very small proportion of our population who simply cannot manage digital transactions (I doubt that she was one of them) and if a cashless society becomes a reality then we effectively isolate that minority in the their homes. Surely we need to think about how we address that point?
There will come a time in the not too distant future when we don't need cash. But that time isn't quite here yet.