Opinion: Cash means freedom

The German government’s plan to limit cash payments to a maximum of 5,000 euros has triggered a heated debate about the pros and cons of cash. DW’s Zhang Danhong is not convinced by arguments against paper money.

Cash facilitates crime, preaches Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff, so cash should be killed. The German Finance Ministry picked up on the idea and is now mulling a ceiling of 5,000 euros for cash payments. That would help fight money laundering and tax evasion, it assumes. Besides, cash plays an important part in financing terrorism.

But who is so naive as to think a cash limit would actually prompt terrorists to give up their business and lead decent lives? Criminals would just switch to other forms of payment. Money laundering with the help of Bitcoin, a cyber-currency, is already on the rise. Read More…