In Sweden, merchants can refuse to accept cash if they want to. As seen here Sweden is predicting the future of society as cashless. So, it’s a worldwide trend, and there are countries with policies in place already that are encouraging a move from cash to all digital money, such as Sweden. Where I live, my bank has refused to handle cash transactions at most branches for years now. If you want to make a cash deposit, you have to use the ATM. I think where I live it’s not really possible for merchants to refuse cash because they get charged fees for accepting credit cards. They don’t want you to scan your card for a purchase below 5 or sometimes 7 bucks. But, restricting cash circulation is a way to control tax fraud, so I’m sure a lot of governments will be looking for ways to make policies that discourage the use of cash. I think the major problem is going to be for the small mom and pop stores and businesses. To accept cards they have to pay fees that are still too expensive. It’s not fair to them if the banks aren’t going to find a way to lower fees for Visa, MC, etc.