This isn’t actually new. Here in Canada, for at least a few years – predating COVID, the big four banks have been routinely asking you why you are taking cash out whenever you withdraw anything over a couple thousand dollars. However, you can tell them pretty well anything (“because I want it”, “none of your business” or even “to blow it all on booze and hookers”, will all work). I haven’t heard of a case where a withdrawal has been denied based on the reason supplied, yet.

But now that we’re starting to see it formalized in policy language of banks, we can all see where this is going.

The war on cash has been in full swing for a long time, India banned large denominations bills in 2016 and will now start eliminating them from the monetary base. France has been signalling a prohibition on cash payments over 1,000 francs since 2013 and finally, quietly, it seems, made it part of the framework this year.