"Can they do that?"

「他們可以這樣做嗎？」

After all, it says right on the dollar bill: "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private."

畢竟，一元美金上寫得很清楚：「此紙幣是法定貨幣，可兌換償還所有包括私人或公共債務。」

How can a business turn away someone who's carrying the same currency our country has used for hundreds of years?

商家怎麼能夠拒收我們國家已經用了好幾百年的貨幣？

Are we becoming a cashless society?

我們要邁向無現金社會了嗎？

In an earlier episode, we talked about how money is a global game of trust.

在之前的節目，我們聊過金錢就是一場全球性的信任遊戲。

The only reason a dollar bill has value is because everyone has agreed to pretend that it does.

一元紙鈔有價值的唯一原因就是，所有人都同意要假裝它有價值。

And in the last half-century, this game of make-believe has evolved to a mind-bogglingly abstract level.

而在過去的半個世紀裡，這個「假裝遊戲」已進化成令人無法置信的虛擬層面。

Now, instead of hoarding paper slips and hunks of metal as if they're of any use whatsoever, we walk up to a computer screen, tell it who we are, it flashes some symbols at us, and we walk away.

現在，我們不再把紙堆和大塊的金屬當作有用的東西囤積起來，我們會走到電腦螢幕前，告訴它我們是誰，然後它顯示一些符號，我們就離開了。

Totally confident that we'll be able to exchange that digital information for goods and services.

還毫不懷疑自己可以拿這些數位資訊來交換物品或服務。

Pretty weird when you think about it.

仔細想想這還蠻怪的。

Today it's estimated that less than 10% of the money in the world is cash, worth roughly 5 trillion in US dollars.

現在，據估計全世界只有不到 10% 的錢為現金，價值約為 5 兆美金。

That includes all the stacks in all the bank vaults, all the bills in your wallet, all the coins in all the couches in the world.

這包含了在銀行金庫裡所有現金、你皮夾裡的鈔票，與全世界所有掉在沙發裡的硬幣。

The other 55 trillion or so exists only in the minds of computers.

剩餘大約 55 兆美金只存在電腦的腦中。

The transition isn't actually that surprising.

這樣的轉變其實不令人意外。

After all, we moved from gold to paper because paper is lighter and easier to carry.

畢竟，我們從金條轉成紙幣，因為紙比較輕便易攜。

Ones and zeroes are even lighter than paper and can travel at the speed of light.

而數位世界又比紙更輕，且可以用光速傳輸。

So if the object is to make currency as easy to move around as possible, going digital is just the logical next step in the evolution of money.

因此，如果目標是讓貨幣更好攜帶，那金錢演化走向數位化就很合理。

Which brings us back to the cashless store.

這就讓我們回到先前提及不收現金的商店。

Operators of these establishments claim that eliminating cash boosts productivity and efficiency.

這些商店的經營者宣稱淘汰現金可以促進生產力與效率。

Employees no longer have to make change, count bills or roll quarters.

員工不再需要換零錢、點鈔或疊硬幣。

Food handlers don't have to touch money teeming with bacteria and viruses.

食品處理人員不用再去碰那些充滿細菌和病毒的錢。

And cashless registers present no incentive for theft or robbery.

無現金的櫃檯，也不會有偷竊或搶劫。

So if going digital only makes stores faster, cleaner and safer, why are an increasing number of cities and states banning the practice?

如果數位化能讓店家服務更快速、更乾淨、更安全，為什麼越來越多城市與州要禁止這個作法呢？

Many people believe that, as well-intentioned as they may be, cashless stores amount to a form of discrimination.

許多人相信，儘管不收現金這個做法的本意是好的，無現金商家卻形成一種歧視。

According to the FDIC, as of 2017, 6.5% of Americans are "unbanked", meaning they have no checking or savings account, and no credit cards.

根據美國聯邦存款保險公司，截至 2017 年，有 6.5% 的美國人「未開戶」，這表示他們沒有銀行帳戶也沒有信用卡。

That's 8.4 million households.

這相當於 840 萬戶家庭。

And another 24 million are "underbanked", which means that though they may have an account, they still rely on cash or money orders for virtually all transactions.

另外有 2400 萬人為「缺乏銀行服務者」，意思是雖然他們有帳戶，但大部分的交易仍仰賴現金。

These people are disproportionately likely to be poor, minorities, immigrants, or the elderly.

這些人很可能是窮人、弱勢族群、移民或老人。

Opponents of cashless stores claim that for those in these groups, this sign may as well say, "You're not welcome here."

反對無現金商家的人指出，對於這些族群而言，這標語就好像在對他們說：「你們在這裡不受歡迎。」

But how can they do it, anyway?

但究竟他們為什麼可以這麼做？

If you want to run a business, don't you have to accept "legal tender"?

如果你要經營生意，不是一定要接受「法定貨幣」嗎？

According to the Federal Reserve, no.

根據美國聯邦儲備委員會，還真的不用。

Section 31 states that "United States coins and currency... are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

第三十一條表示「美國硬幣與貨幣……是所有債務、公費、稅金與欠款的法定貨幣。」

This has been interpreted to mean that creditors must accept cash for any debts owed to them, but a business owner cannot be forced to accept cash in exchange for goods and services.

這被解讀為債權人必須接受他人以現金償還債務，而商家則不用被強迫接受人們用現金換取貨物與服務。

At least, not by the federal government.

至少聯邦政府不會強迫他們。

Cities and states are free to make their own regulations, and that's exactly what they've been doing.

城市與州能自由制定自己的規矩，而它們確實也這麼做了。

Philadelphia, San Francisco and New Jersey have all banned cashless stores on the basis that it is discriminatory, and New York and Rhode Island are currently considering similar legislation.

費城、舊金山與新澤西都以歧視為由，禁止無現金商店，紐約與羅蘭島也正考慮制定同樣的法規。

Some owners are calling these regulations "burdensome", which is an odd way to describe receiving money from customers.

某些店家指稱這些規矩很「麻煩」, 也就是從客人那邊收錢很麻煩，店家會這麼說也很奇怪。

And they propose that instead of forcing businesses to retain outdated practices, cities and states should focus on making electronic transactions more attainable for underprivileged groups.

他們提議，與其逼迫商家維持舊習，不如讓政府專注於如何讓那些社會地位較底層的人，更容易使用電子交易的服務。

Meanwhile, some businesses are already working on innovations to satisfy everyone.

同時，某些企業已著手創新研發以滿足所有人。

Amazon Go, for instance, has retrofitted its automated checkout machines to accept cash.

例如 Amazon Go 已經翻新了自動結帳設備，使其可以接受付現。

And the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta has kiosks where you can exchange cash for a kind of debit card you can then use to buy your hot dogs and beer.

位於亞特蘭大的賓士體育場設有自助服務機，可以讓你將現金換成類似金融卡的東西，再用它來買熱狗與啤酒。

The fact is, people still value cash for a variety of reasons.

事實上，人們因許多理由離不開現金。

For one thing, it's anonymous.

其一，現金是匿名的。

You don't have to be a drug dealer or gunrunner to be uncomfortable with the idea of corporations and governments keeping track of every dime you spend.

你就算不是毒販或軍火走私份子，也可能對企業與政府追蹤你的每一筆消費感到不舒服。

And computers aren't 100% reliable.

而且電腦也不一定百分之百可靠。

In 2018, a hardware failure at Visa prevented millions of cardholders across Europe from making transactions for hours.

2018 年，Visa 的硬體當機導致歐洲數百萬位卡片持有者數小時都無法交易。

And in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, cash was the only means of payment available.

颶風瑪利亞襲擊波多黎各後，有好長一段時間波多黎各都只能使用現金交易。

Cash is also used by many people as a budgeting tool.

現金也是許多人用來控制預算的工具。

When Julia and I go grocery shopping, we leave our credit cards at home and bring only as much cash as we've budgeted, so we know we won't overspend.

當我和 Julia 去採買生活用品時，我們會把信用卡留在家，只帶預算內的現金出門，這樣就不會多花錢。

Studies have also shown that spending physical currency activates the pain centers in the brain in a way that using plastic doesn't.

研究也指出，花現金會觸發大腦的痛覺中心，而刷卡並不會。

This means that the more regularly you use cash, the more frugal you're likely to become.

這表示，你越常使用現金，就會變得越節省。

Credit card companies seem to be aware of this fact, as they've been major proponents of the cashless movement, with Visa even offering prizes of $10,000 to small businesses that pledge to stop accepting cash as a form of payment.

信用卡公司似乎也明白這個道理，所以他們總是無現金行動的擁護者，Visa 甚至提供 10,000 美金（約 30 萬台幣）給承諾停止收取現金的小型企業。

Though this issue has gotten a lot of public attention, the number of cashless stores in the country is still very tiny.

儘管這個議題已經吸引廣大的注意，國內無現金商家的數量仍非常稀少。

Far more are cash only.

更多的是只收現金的商家。

30% of all American transactions are in cash, including the majority of those under $10.

全美 30% 的交易是以現金進行的，其中包含大多數 10 美元以下的交易。

There are almost 70 billion individual pieces of physical U.S. currency in circulation, and that number is going up, not down.

市面上有 700 億美元（約 2.1 兆台幣）的美元在流通，且數字仍在往上，而非向下。

Though many experts think a cashless society is inevitable, it still seems to be a long way off.

雖然許多專家認為邁向無現金社會是不可避免的，但感覺還有很長一段路。

Until then, we'll keep bringing it to the grocery store to shop for food.

在那之前，我們會繼續帶現金去超市買食物。

Just remember to wash your hands before you make dinner.

做晚餐前記得洗手就好。

And that's our two cents!

而那就是我們的淺見！

Thanks to our patrons for keeping Two Cents financially healthy.

感謝贊助者讓 Two Cents 資金茁壯。

Click the link in the description if you'd like to support us on Patreon.

若想支持我們可以點擊敘述欄的連結來小額捐款。