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Flat White

Cash beats electronic money

The Optus crash in Australia showed the value of cash

10 November 2023

1:31 AM

10 November 2023

1:31 AM

Today’s world is awash with electronic money.

But a few days ago, much of Australia’s electronic money disappeared for up to 14 hours with the crash of the Optus phone network. Or at least, customer access disappeared. The disruption to business and the community was ‘immediate and profound’.

Rail networks, hospital services, retailers, and banking were affected.

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