We wish to thank Shawn Kruger, senior vice president, product and strategy at Avivatech, for the following perspective on the staying power of cash:
"While it's true that our society is moving toward a cashless, contactless environment, I would beg to differ on the notion that cash is dead or that it is dying. In fact, we can point to recent examples such as Miami-Dade’s push to ban cashless businesses (https://bit.ly/3wQmLMq) as an example as to why we will not see a cashless society anytime soon.
"According to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s 2021 report, Diary of Consumer Payment Choice, American consumers used cash for 26 percent of all payments, and used it for nearly 47 percent of payments under $10. Furthermore, the report noted, 'A majority of consumers continued to increase the amount of cash they are carrying and/or storing, while nearly 80% of respondents who made in-person purchases did not indicate that they were avoiding or averse to using cash during the COVID-19 pandemic.' For enterprises looking to be exclusively cashless, it is vital to acknowledge there is a risk of severely limiting the ability to provide a positive customer experience that is payment agnostic. Especially among operators with primarily small-dollar transactions such as coffee shops and convenience stores.
"The good news is that the technology exists to not only enable better cash management in retail environments, but also deliver better customer and employee experiences. Used properly, cash management technology can provide seamless experiences just as popular card and contactless channels being adopted. Likewise, cash-heavy industries such as cannabis are better able to store cash securely, reducing the risk of theft and improving accuracy and efficiency in counting and back-office management.
"It's vital to understand that, while technology is wonderful, cash is an integral part of the overall payments ecosystem and as we review our payment strategy approaches, we must build proper cash management strategies into operational practices."
How have your merchants' cash management needs evolved? Are they seeking new solutions? We'll welcome your thoughts on this and other payments developments at greensheet@greensheet.com. 
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