6BEO - The end of cash

• Engels
• Secundair onderwijs

6BEO - The end of cash

Watch the following clips and answer the questions

• What do these ads promote?

• How do they do that?

• What do you think of these ads? Explain your answer.

• Which one do you prefer? Why?

Read the article p.41

Why the clock is ticking to a cashless UK

a brim: een rand 

hessian: jute 

the lodgements: het deponeren 

zealous: fanatiek 

a chancellor: een minister van financiën 

a civil servant: een ambtenaar 

a counter service: een loketdienst 

to abate: afnemen

resilient: robuust 

to proliferate: zich verspreiden 

a ledger: een grootboek, kasboek 

  on the fringes: in de marge 

legal tender: een wettig betaalmiddel

to alienate: uitsluiten 

to shun: afwijzen 

a threshold: een drempelwaarde, grens

In your own words, briefly describe how the banks’ attitude towards cash has changed between 2016 and now.

• In 2016 the banks didn’t mind people bringing in bags full of cash. They didn’t do much to prevent money laundering. These days, banks are overly zealous against cash. They impose limits on cash deposits and withdrawals, and they are forcing customers towards a “cashless society”.
  

b What does the word ‘lender’ mean in this article?

• It is a synonym for ‘bank’.
  

c What are ‘shared banking hubs’?

• They are mega-branches that are shared among several high street banks, with a counter service run by the Post Office.
  

d Name the main advantage of using cash, compared to paying cashless.

• People have far more control and privacy when using cash compared with digital transactions, which leave a traceable footprint.
  

e Groups like Cash Matters mention some more advantages of using cash. Which ones?

• Cash is the most secure payment method, is resilient in times of crisis and offers privacy when fraud and personal data collection is proliferating. On top of that, banknotes and coins reflect a nation’s identity and its magic moments, presenting its most significant people, landmarks and values to the world.
  

f Summarise what conspiracy theorists claim about going cashless.

• They claim digital currencies are being used to control populations and that people who are determined “less desirable” will be locked out.
  

g Are these conspiracy theorists right?

• No. They twisted the words of Eswar Prasad, an economics professor from Cornell University, who spoke about both the benefits and the dangers of CBDCs.
  

h Which trend is on the rise on the British high street at the moment? Also explain why.

• There is an increasing number of shops and restaurants refusing to accept cash, including Prezzo, Itsu, Côte Brasserie, many branches of Starbucks and Burger King. Other chains continue to take cash but say they ‘encourage’ card payments. They say it is easier, quicker and safer, both for the staff and the customers.
  

i What does the British Government do about this?

• It has no plans to force shops to accept notes and coins. Businesses have to be able to choose the forms of payment they accept, although its proposals for legislation support cash acceptance.
  

j How many people in Britain would be in serious trouble if society went cashless? Why?

• More than a million adults in the UK do not have a bank account and rely solely on cash.
  

 

Match words and definitions

1. F
2. D
3. G
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. H
8. E 

Read the text and complete the gaps with words from the previous exercise.

1. withdrawal
   
2. ATM
   
3. bank branch
   
4. deposit
   
5. legal tender
   
6. turnover
   
7. cryptocurrency
   
8. money laundering
   

Put the sentences in the correct order

Check your work

Watch the video on money laundering and check your answers in the exercise on p.49

Put the sentences in the correct order

5

9

2

7

4

10

1

8

6

3

Impressing your economics teacher 

1. Work in pairs. 
2. Student A will research how Bitcoin works, student B will research how electronic
   payment systems like PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay work. 
3. Follow the instructions. 

• Go online and find articles or videos (in English!) that explain your topic. 
• Take notes in the form of keywords. 
• With the help of the keywords, write eight to ten sentences that clearly
  explain the matter. 
• Add linking words and conjunctions for a logically structured text. 
• Add a minimum of eight new words and their translations to the personal
  vocabulary list on the last page. 
• Put the sentences in a grid in scrambled order and do the exercise yourself.
  Can you put the sentences in the correct order without too much effort? 
• Swap your grids and try to put your partner’s sentences in the correct order. 
• Finally, in your own words, explain how your partner’s topic works.