Going cashless

The high crime rate in Karachi and many other parts of the country makes me wonder why people are forced to carry so much cash, even when they know that they can be robbed any minute. It is time for the government to make some rules that help turn the country into a cashless society. One way to do it is to ban the use of cash to make purchases over a certain amount (say Rs5000). Another would be to reward those who pay their bills via cheques or online payments. Unfortunately, some banks charge a fee from those who make online payments. I recently started paying my credit card bill online via my bank account (in a separate bank from the one that issued me the credit card) and I was shocked to find that the receiving bank charges a rupee for every thousand rupees if the payment is made electronically. Needless to say, this encourages one to make payments by cash, and indirectly increases the incidence of street crimes while also helping facilitate white collar crimes such as tax evasion, embezzlement, bribery, and smuggling.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi