A cashless future? Sounds like a dream but don’t be fooled | Gaby Hinsliff

The head of Apple, Tim Cook, says all payments could soon be via smartphone apps. But there's a sinister side to this vision, that would lead to us losing our freedom

The tooth fairy is dying. Soon, there will be no more scrabbling under pillows in the middle of the night; no more wondering what to do with a tiny molar, swapped for the traditional pound. (Chucking it in the bin seems heartless, keeping it faintly grisly.) But although my nine-year-old is reaching the limits of belief in fairies, it's not just the magic that's fading. It's the habit of carrying cash.

By 2025, three quarters of payments in Britain are expected to be made without notes or coins. We're not quite Sweden - where even street beggars are starting to take plastic, via card-readers handed out by charities - but we're moving in the same direction, towards a world of tapping contactless card to reader and paying by app, and who knows what else besides.

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