"Cash in the Digital Age": Javier Vergara, Co-founder at FinKratt

For centuries, cash has been the king of payments. It’s simple, widely accepted, and easy to use. Plus, every coin or bill is the same—it’s completely interchangeable. But let’s be honest, cash has its fair share of problems:

● Hard to Track: Nobody’s writing down every little thing they buy with cash. Even if you try, it’s a manual job and full of mistakes.

● Annoying to Handle: Seriously, who likes carrying coins? Especially those tiny ones that always seem to vanish.

● Not Safe for Big Transactions: Losing a few coins is annoying, but losing a wad of cash? That’s a nightmare.

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● Not Always Accepted: More and more businesses—especially online ones—don’t take cash anymore. Governments aren’t helping either, with rules making it harder to use.

But here’s the thing: even with all these issues, cash has one massive advantage that cards and digital payments don’t—privacy. When you use cash, there’s no digital trail. Nobody’s tracking your spending, selling your data, or using it to market things to you.

With digital payments, the risks are real:

● Tracking and Profiling: There’s a crazy story about a teenage girl who got pregnancy ads because of her shopping habits before her family even knew she was pregnant.

● Data Breaches: Hackers are always targeting banks and payment companies, and personal data gets leaked all the time.

● Account Freezing: Banks and even governments can block your account whenever they feel like it. Just ask the Canadian truckers from 2022 whose accounts were frozen during protests.

And let’s not forget how easy it is to overspend with cards. Studies show that people are more careful with cash because physically handing over money feels more real. I’ve tried it, and it’s true—I save more when I stick to cash.

That said, using cash isn’t perfect. It can be a pain to manage, and I haven’t found any apps that make it easier. This feels like a huge opportunity for someone to create tools to help people handle cash better.

So entrepreneurs, take note. Especially in regions like Latin America, where cash is still the main way people pay, there’s a massive chance to innovate. Imagine a tool that makes tracking and managing cash effortless—giving people the best of both worlds: cash’s privacy with the convenience of digital tools. It’s a problem waiting for a solution, and the market is ripe for it.