Cash refers to physical currency in the form of banknotes and coins that are used as a medium of exchange for goods and services. It is a tangible representation of money and is widely accepted for transactions.

Gold and silver coins were historically the primary means of payment due to their scarcity and uniformity, facilitating simple accounting.

The emergence of paper money led to the detachment of cash’s value from the material it’s made of, ultimately resulting in fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar and euro, which have no intrinsic value.

Since the 1980s, societies have increasingly shifted away from cash, favoring alternatives like debit and credit cards and mobile payments.

As of November 2020, the global volume of cash amounted to approximately $6.6 trillion, a small fraction of the total volume of all forms of money, estimated at $630 trillion to $1.2 quadrillion.