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Blake, Wm. America a Prophecy, object 1. 1793.

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Businesses across the U.S. are increasingly refusing to take cash, posing a problem for the six million Americans who don’t have a bank account. Globally, the group includes over a billion people.

A survey conducted by the FDIC found that the primary reason for not having a bank account is the inability to meet minimum balance requirements, identified by 40% of the “unbanked” respondents. Skepticism and distrust toward banks also contribute to people avoiding bank accounts. About one-third of survey respondents preferred avoiding banks for more privacy, while a similar proportion expressed a lack of trust in these institutions.

Even among the “banked,” there are concerns about banks exercising even more control over lives. Cash provides one of the few refuges from technology and is physical, letting people feel like they own something. With it increasingly being phased out, some activists warn that ownership over finances will feel out of our hands more than ever.