Why do you guys still use paper money?

36 comments

1. It’s not literal paper…

2. I like it?

3. Synthetic bills get torn and damaged just as well. I have a half torn 200 mxn peso note in my wallet that proves such. They also are harder to unwrinkle to successfully feed into bill acceptors and readers.

   Besides tradition, the reason is because the linen, not paper, bills sufficiently survive long enough for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s requirements for longitivity in circulation. It’s neither necessary nor expected that a bill should last 10 years. Thus there’s no reason for them to invest many millions in new note making equipment.

   As an aside, cotton-linen notes are more environmentally friendly than plastic.

4. Our bills that are made out of linen and cotton? Why do you guys use forever plastics to make something that cycles through the economy making for easy replacement?

5. It’s not made of paper

6. Taxes….

   Omg never mind, you think we use literal paper. Why don’t you go touch some grass.

7. Well, I do make monetary policy for the whole country.

   Let me make some calls, and I’ll fix that right up for you.

8. I don’t for the most part

9. I’ve never had any damage to a bill that wasn’t deliberate.

   It’s just not an issue.

10. Google is your friend. Or maybe enemy in this case because you want to be oblivious

11. Not everyone has access to digital currency. Not everyone trusts having their money only be digital. Not all places accept digital currency.

12. They last long enough.

13. 1.) It’s not paper
    2.) The design of the bills are a staple of American culture
    3.) The bills (some) countries use are torn just as easily
    4.) In what situation are you tearing money?

14. Our money is made out of cotton and linen. So they are more like your T-shirt than paper.

15. Why not? You haven’t really expressed a reason other than “the bills can get damaged”, which hardly seems like a good reason to change it. 

16. buddy if only I was in charge of the money factory

17. I don’t

18. Brave of you to assume I have any money..

19. Dang we just cannot win. We get bashed for using plastic bottled water and here we’re getting bashed for not having plastic currency.

20. I haven’t used cash regularly for 25 years

21. I don’t know, but it has never mattered to me.

22. Bro, I use my credit card. 

23. Because we want less microplastics in our semen. You on the other hand…

24. A dollar bill is worth so much that the US can afford to replace it every few years without losing money in the process.

25. Non Americans constantly saying we’re stupid for not knowing niche parts of their country but to this day in 2024, they still can’t understand that our money is more cotton than paper. I will take cotton over freaking plastic money

26. OP thinks it’s literal paper…

27. https://www.bep.gov/currency/how-money-is-made#:~:text=U.S.%20currency%20paper%20is%20composed,to%20make%20imitation%20more%20difficult.

28. I almost never do. I just keep a little bit of cash on hand for those few small businesses that don’t have credit card readers.

29. Sounds like a solution in search of a problem

30. US banknotes are printed on fancy 75% cotton/25% linen paper which is quite durable and hard to replicate due to its unique feel. They even hold up to being left in the wash, unlike polymer notes that shrink when they get hot.

31. according to what chatgpt just told me, dollar bills have never had any traditional paper in them. It’s almost always been made from a blend of cotton and linen.

    So, my question to you is why did “most countries” use paper currency that they needed to move on from?

32. The political will to change it doesn’t exist.

33. I laminate all my bills so this isn’t a problem/s

34. We don’t use paper money as other have already told you. However, as to why we haven’t moved to polymer notes, I think that at this point it would be a waste of time and money. We are not that far off from being a practically fully digital economy. Literally the only reason I ever have actual cash on me is some emergency 20’s in my wallet that are good to have in situations like after a hurricane when payment systems may be down and the only way to pay would be with cash. I actually can’t remember the last time I used cash to pay for something.

35. We still use physical money? Huh?

36. > Most countries have moved to a synthetic material

    Except they haven’t? Not sure where your information is from but…

    Just looking at it from the perspective of population. Between the US, EU, India, and China alone, all using cotton/paper banknotes, you’re nearing half the world’s population still using paper between those 4 alone.

    China (and a lot of others) from what I can tell gets erroneously mentioned in lists of countries using polymer banknotes because they have (once or twice?) issued commemorative polymer banknotes of one denomination for a limited run, while their standard banknotes are still paper.

    The majority of the world still use cotton/paper banknotes, the list of countries that have completely switched to polymer is relatively short iirc.