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How the Future Shaped the Past: The Case of the Cashless Society

Author

Listed:
  • Bátiz-Lazo, Bernardo
  • Haigh, Thomas
  • Stearns, David L.

Abstract

The future matters to business history, because the adoption of new technology and new organizational forms has often been driven by acceptance of a collective sense of what the future will be. Investments are made and strategies set on an industry-wide basis, influenced by the predictions of business consultants, industry groups, and futurists. To explore the part played by the future in shaping the past, we focus on the establishment and early acceptance of the idea of a rapid and inevitable transition to a “cashless society” in the US retail financial services industry during the 1960s and 1970s. Our aim is thus to advance a methodological point rather than to arrive at a definitive conclusion about the future of money.

Suggested Citation

  • Bátiz-Lazo, Bernardo & Haigh, Thomas & Stearns, David L., 2014. "How the Future Shaped the Past: The Case of the Cashless Society," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 103-131, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:entsoc:v:15:y:2014:i:01:p:103-131_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Suder, Marcin & Gurgul, Henryk & Barbosa, Belem & Machno, Artur & Lach, Łukasz, 2024. "Effectiveness of ATM withdrawal forecasting methods under different market conditions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    2. Roy Suddaby & Diego Coraiola & Charles Harvey & William Foster, 2020. "History and the micro‐foundations of dynamic capabilities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3), pages 530-556, March.
    3. Batiz-Lazo, Bernardo & Maixe-Altes, J Carles & Peon, David, 2023. "Behavioral drivers of cashless payments in Africa," MPRA Paper 117984, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Oluwafemi Akanfe & Paras Bhatt & Diane A. Lawong, 2025. "Technology Advancements Shaping the Financial Inclusion Landscape: Present Interventions, Emergence of Artificial Intelligence and Future Directions," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 27(5), pages 2189-2212, October.
    5. Batiz-Lazo, Bernardo & Buckley, Tom, 2021. "Early “Frictions” in the Transition towards Cashless Payments," MPRA Paper 108834, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Bruna Bruno & Marisa Faggini, 2022. "The cashless man: do preferences matter?," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(5), pages 1525-1544, November.
    7. Bernardo Batiz-Lazo & Gustavo A. Del Angel, 2016. "The Dawn of the Plastic Jungle: The Introduction of the Credit Card in Europe and North America, 1950-1975," Economics Working Papers 16107, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
    8. Mrinalini Tankha, 2021. "Detained settlements: The infrastructures and temporalities of digital financial transactions between the United States and Cuba," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(1), pages 133-147, January.
    9. Anh Nguyen-Thi-Phuong & Anh Dao-Viet & Duy Vu & Thanh Ngo & Nguyen To-The, 2026. "Is adopting cashless transactions a rational or irrational decision? Evidence from informal sectors," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(1), pages 1-18, March.
    10. Konstantinos Nikolopoulos & Konstantia Litsiou, 2019. "Consumer payment choice during the crisis in Europe: a heterogeneous behaviour?," Working Papers 19007, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    11. Juan Felipe Espinosa-Cristia & José Ignacio Alarcón & Bernardo Batiz-Lazo, 2022. "Local Adaptation of Work Practices: The Case of BancoEstado’s “CajaVecina†Correspondent Banking System," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.
    12. Seda Yılmaz, 2025. "Factors affecting card payment levels in Germany: Longitudinal research," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 15(5), pages 1-2.
    13. Batiz-lazo, Bernardo & del Angel, Gustavo, 2016. "El nacimiento de la tarjeta de credito bancaria an Mexico y Espana, 1966-1975 [The emergence of the bank credit card in Mexico and Spain, 1966-1975]," MPRA Paper 78004, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Aug 2016.
    14. Gustavo A. Del Angel, 2016. "Cashless Payments and the Persistence of Cash: Open Questions About Mexico," Economics Working Papers 16108, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
    15. Dilek Önkal & Shari De Baets, 2020. "Past‐future synergies: Commentary on Schoemaker 2020," Futures & Foresight Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(3-4), September.
    16. Batiz-Lazo, Bernardo & Bautista-González, Manuel A & González-Correa, Ignacio, 2021. "La transformación en el uso de efectivo y pagos digitales durante la pandemia de Covid-19 [Thye transformation in the use of cash and digital payments during the Covid-19 pandemioc]," MPRA Paper 109943, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Zsófia Pintér & Mónika Zita Nagy & Katalin Tóth & József Varga, 2022. "The Struggle between Cash and Electronic Payments," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-15, November.
    18. Bernardo Batiz-Lazo & Alarcon-Molina, Jose & Espinosa-Cristia, Juan Felipe, 2019. "Trust and Agency Redistribution in CajaVecina's Payment Ecosystem," Working Papers 19015, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    19. Pantano, Eleonora & Dennis, Charles, 2017. "Exploring the origin of retail stores in Europe: Evidence from Southern Italy from the 6th century BCE to the 3rd century BCE," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 243-249.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N82 - Economic History - - Micro-Business History - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Systems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • N22 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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