Australia Accelerates Cashless Society...What should I do with the isolated elderly?

[Anchor]
Australia, where digital orders and payments have become a routine, is set to make a full-scale transition to a "cashless society" in 2030.

With the disappearance of cash options, concerns are becoming a reality that older people who are unfamiliar with digital technology will go beyond inconvenience to become socially marginalized.

Reporter Yoon Young-chul reports on Australian society going through a transition period for an inclusive society.

[Reporter]
People who order food by accessing the QR code provided instead of the menu are familiar with paying for food using credit cards as well as mobile phones.

Cash payment is also available, but it is hard to see the situation where bills and coins come and go.It is a common landscape in Australia, approaching

'Cashless Society'.

[Spo-Shat Dotdis Phone / Australian Melbourne Citizen: I prefer digital payments. (Cash payments) Because it's inconvenient to carry change.]

The share of cash transactions in Australia has been noticeably decreasing.

The cash transaction ratio, which reached 70% in 2007, has shrunk to 13% for the first time in 16 years.

Experts predict that it will be a cashless society by 2030.

The problem is that not everyone can adapt to the rapidly changing environment.

In particular, the discomfort felt by the elderly who are not familiar with digital technology is leading to a sense of alienation in daily life.

[Lee Soon-yong / Senior computer class student of the Korean Association of Victoria, Australia] These days, everyone orders with a QR code. Most of them were hard and difficult, so I was very embarrassed, sweating, and uncomfortable. I managed to order it because I asked young people to teach me how to order it....]

To solve this problem, a Korean group has launched digital education for elderly Koreans.

However, there are voices calling for policy consideration to fundamentally solve the digital underprivileged.

[Ted Kim / Senior Computer Class Instructor of the Korean Society of Victoria, Australia] The cashless society has already become a huge trend of the times. It is correct that the elderly should also adapt to it. However, my personal wish is that there will be policy consideration for the information technology weak, including the elderly.]

There is a need for an inclusive approach that can encompass all generations before a cashless society becomes a society for everyone.

I'm YTN World Yoon Young Chul in Melbourne, Australia.