When Money Stops Making Sense: The Digital Shift That’s Changing Us All

Dr Noour Ali Zehgeer

There was a time when money was something you could feel—a crisp note tucked in your wallet, a coin resting in your palm, the clinking sound in donation boxes or piggy banks. It was physical, emotional, and personal. It had weight. Now, that weight is gone.
In today’s rapidly evolving world, money has turned into something strange and invisible. We no longer pass it from hand to hand; instead, we send it through taps, swipes, and QR codes. It flows not through wallets, but through servers and signals. We live in an age where we don’t hold our earnings—we watch numbers rise and fall on a screen.
This digital shift, though convenient, has far-reaching consequences—some exciting, others unsettling. It’s not just about technology. It’s about trust, privacy, control, and what it means to live in a world where the soul of money is vanishing.

A Quiet Goodbye to Cash

In many parts of the world, cash is already becoming a relic. Sweden barely uses it. Countries like India have rapidly adopted digital payments through UPI and mobile wallets. Even rural communities are adjusting to cashless transactions. Shops that once demanded exact change now flash QR codes, while banknotes gather dust. Governments and banks favour this transformation. Digital money reduces crime, simplifies taxation, and cuts the cost of printing and transporting cash. But for individuals—especially the poor, the elderly, and those without access to digital tools—it’s not so simple.

Cash is anonymous. It doesn’t track you. It doesn’t report to a bank or leave a digital trail. You can give it freely, accept it without conditions, and store it without being monitored. When cash disappears, so does that freedom.

Programmable Money: Freedom or Control?

A new kind of digital currency is emerging—one that doesn’t just exist in a virtual wallet, but that can be programmed. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are being tested in various countries, including India, the US, and China. These currencies can be coded to behave in specific ways.
Imagine this: You receive a government relief payment, but the money can only be used to buy food, not alcohol. Or your travel voucher expires after one week. Or your loan is automatically deducted each time your salary is credited.
Efficient? Yes. Secure? Maybe. But such systems also open the door to complete financial control.

What if the money you earn can be paused, tracked, or limited based on your behaviour? What if your financial access is influenced by your social score, political views, or online activity? The tools designed to streamline welfare could one day be used to silence dissent or reward obedience. In such a world, money is no longer yours. It belongs to the system that gives you permission to use it.

The Crypto Rebellion

In stark contrast to this state-controlled future stands the decentralized world of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and thousands of other tokens represent a rebellion—a belief that money should be free from governments, banks, and borders.

For many in unstable economies, crypto is a lifeline. In places like Venezuela, Lebanon, and Nigeria, where national currencies have collapsed, people turn to crypto to protect their earnings. It’s risky, yes—but sometimes, it’s the only option left.

Yet governments remain skeptical. Crypto challenges their monopoly over money. And so, they seek to regulate, restrict, or replace it. The battle isn’t just financial—it’s philosophical. It asks: Who should control your money—you or the state?

The Digital Divide

As digital finance surges forward, one painful truth becomes clear: not everyone is invited to this new world. Millions still lack smartphones, internet access, or basic digital literacy. For them, digital banking feels like an alien language. Farmers in rural India, street vendors in Africa, and elderly citizens everywhere struggle to keep up with a system that’s racing ahead without them.

This isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a threat. If cash disappears and digital systems don’t include everyone, entire populations could be locked out of economic life. Financial exclusion could deepen inequality and trap the most vulnerable in cycles of poverty and dependence.

The Soul of Spending

What we lose in this transition is not just paper—it’s poetry.
A cash note carried more than value. It held memory, scent, and emotion. A first salary in hand, a grandmother’s gift during Eid, or a note tucked under a child’s pillow—these were not just transactions. They were moments. Now, as we tap to pay and receive money in silent notifications, those moments vanish. Money is faster, but colder. It’s efficient, but empty.

The heart of money is trust. And trust, once broken or controlled by machines, is hard to rebuild.

A Choice Before Us

This isn’t a call to reject technology. Digital money has made life easier in countless ways. It has connected people, reduced corruption, and opened up access to services. But the direction we’re heading in demands reflection.

Are we designing systems that empower people—or systems that monitor them? Are we creating access—or division? Is our money still ours—or just a digital leash? The future of money is not just about currency. It’s about choice. We must ensure that in our pursuit of progress, we don’t lose the humanity behind the numbers.
Because in the end, money is not just how we live. It’s how we love, give, share, survive—and remember.