Several papers presented at the meeting questioned this vision, for different reasons. First, Mr Goodhart argued, e-money is unlikely to retire ordinary currency in the foreseeable future. The great advantages of currency are simplicity and anonymity. Even if the first is eroded by technology, the second will remain. Anonymity in transactions is something that buyers and sellers often want-and not always so that they can break the law.
Cash leaves no tracks, and makes no demands on anybody else's integrity.
Mr Goodhart argues that banks are no more likely to disappear than currency. Specialised financial intermediaries will always be needed to help people and firms choose their asset portfolios and to distinguish between good and bad credit risks. In other words, the obvious answer is banks. If people still want currency, and still want banks, there will be a monetary base and central banks will stay in business. But Mr Goodhart concludes by asking what happens if, despite all of the above, currency and banks alike do in fact disappear.