CashMoney in physical form such as banknotes and coins. More usage is falling around the world, especially among the young. Paper currencyThis is often used as a generic expression to refer to banknotes, versus the “metal currency” expression, which refers to coins. More has many benefits, as shown in my new book “The Power of Cash: Why Using Paper Money is Good for You and Society.” These benefits range from protecting an individual’s privacy to ensuring national security.
Many young people, however, have little or no experience with paperSee Banknote paper. More moneyFrom the Latin word moneta, nickname that was given by Romans to the goddess Juno because there was a minting workshop next to her temple. Money is any item that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular region, country or socio-economic context. Its onset dates back to the origins of humanity and its physical representation has taken on very varied forms until the appearance of metal coins. The banknote, a typical representati... More. This makes it difficult for them to understand the benefits. Decades ago, children would carry milk or lunch money to school. Today, these early experiences with paper money are replaced with Venmo, PayPal or other electronic paymentA transfer of funds which discharges an obligation on the part of a payer vis-à-vis a payee. More requests to their parents. Decades ago, children would often stop in small local shops to buy candy after school. Today, many small shops have closed, driven out of business by giant low-cost big box stores.
Exposing children to paper money early in their lives and ensuring they feel comfortable using it is important because they are the future users of cash. If today’s youth abandon cash, there will be no demand later. As a parent and an advocate for cash, I see children do not need much encouragement to play with paper money and coins. Instead, all they need is exposure.
Cash advocacy groups, like CashEssentials, are spread across the globe. These groups primarily work on laws and advocacy. While convincing politicians to protect cash and adults to continue using it is admirable, I believe cash advocacy groups should shift some resources towards educating and developing materials for schoolchildren.
Convincing teachers to integrate paper money into the classroom is not hard. Coins and bills are a simple way of teaching math. Using these items provides a clear hands-on experience for learning addition, subtraction and fractional arithmetic. The cost to implement this experiential learning is not high. Fake paper money and coins are cheap and available in a wide range of currencies. Lesson plans can be freely distributed on the internet. Movies, showcasing the best ideas, can be watched on social media.
Students in the earliest grades, like kindergarten and first grade, should get toys encouraging active learning. Give these classrooms indestructible cash registers loaded with pretend paper money and coins. Provide teachers with simple lesson plans that explain how playing with cash is fun, develops skills at recognizing numbers, and helps students recognize numbers have different magnitudes, such as $10 bills are more valuable than $1 bills.
Giving lesson plans and pretend paper money to teachers in grades two to four will assist educators in teaching arithmetic. Nothing helps sharpen subtraction skills more than having to make changeThis is the action by which certain banknotes and/or coins are exchanged for the same amount in banknotes/coins of a different face value, or unit value. See Exchange. More. Learning fractions is simplified when students understand that quarters are a quarter of a dollarMonetary unit of the United States of America, and a number of other countries e.g. Australia, Canada and New Zealand. More so 25 is a quarter of 100 cents.
For older students who have mastered basic arithmetic, paper money is useful for developing mental speed and dexterity. Years ago, my grandfather and I spent time at the racetrack. He would look at monitors showing the amount bet on each horse and calculate in his head the expected payout. Few people today can-do mental arithmetic like my grandfather. Providing lessons and races to see who performs mental arithmetic and handles paper money the fastest gets students who have mastered the basics interested in cash.
Creating lesson plans, distributing these plans, and providing fake cash costs money. Leaders of cash advocacy groups will wonder where to find the budget for educating youths. I suggest creating a series of contests similar to spelling bees, except using cash. Spelling bees, where people line up and spell words, attract widespread attention even though autocorrect is available on everyone’s phone and Artificial Intelligence can fix spelling and grammar.
Spelling bees happen first at the school level. Winners go on to regional competitions. Regional winners compete in national championships. The whole system is paid for by sponsors who reap publicity in exchangeThe Eurosystem comprises the European Central Bank and the national central banks of those countries that have adopted the euro. More for funding the enterprise.
A tiered system of contests can be created focusing on cash and mental arithmetic. Prior to computers, the best cashiers looked at groups of items, mentally computed the total and accurately made change. Contests where people are handed a variety of priced items and then given money ensure people learn mental arithmetic and become familiar with handling cash.
For those interested in making the contests more interesting on social media there are a variety of twists. One is to remove items in the middle of the contest, introducing mental subtraction. Another twist is to deal with a common complaint about cash—bills and change take up too much space. Scores can be calculated on speed, accuracy and making change using the lowest total number of bills and coins.
In closing, it is hard to convince someone of the benefits of cash when they haven’t touched real or fake representations. Giving children and young people confidence in how to use cash and make change will boost early usage. A person’s early habits and experiences set the tone for the rest of their lives. Providing the young with positive experiences with paper money while in school is a key method for ensuring the benefits and usage of cash continue in society.
The issue of ‘Cash and Gen Z’ will be a central topic of the Future of Cash Conference in Warsaw, from 3-5 November.