During the month of March all employees in the Latin America and the Caribbean region were challenged to live a month without cash, which I personally took to heart. I used my credit and debit cards, as well as my meal vouchers, in every possible daily transaction. Every day after each transaction, I would input it in the No Cash website that was made available to track our activity. As a result, I ended up registering over 70 transactions, the most number of cashless transactions in the region, and won the cashless challenge!
Throughout the month there were only two situations where I was unable to go cashless. One was during a taxi ride. Although some taxis in Brazil already accept electronic payments, this particular cab only took cash. The other situation was to pay for my daughter’s nanny, which I think is a great opportunity to explore for the prepaid market.
I really enjoyed this experience. I’d like to thank MasterCard for this great opportunity, and I truly believe that our society can go cashless in the near future.
I am Roberta Viñas from MasterCard’s São Paulo, Brazil office.