Often people are surprised: “Pascal, you explore AI, the future and you research cash?”
Yeah, it’s a head-scratcher for those who think the future is all about sleek, cashless dystopias, with everyone glued to their screens, trading crypto and streaming the latest metaverse promo. But here’s the twist—there’s a whole world out there where cash isn’t some relic of the past but a lifeline that keeps communities alive and thriving. While Westerners imagine progress as swiping cards and waving phones, they overlook how millions of people actually live. They think cash is outdated, inconvenient—a stubborn holdout against the digital wave.
But in reality, cash is simple, reliable and tangible—it’s what lets a fruit vendor buy dinner for their family after selling mangoes all day or allows neighbors to pool funds for a funeral without dealing with bank fees or endless paperwork. In so-called “underdeveloped” economies, people have figured out something radical: economies aren’t just about moving money but about moving people, building networks, creating social glue. You call it “unbanked”; they call it a network of support.
Because they’ve got something else—deep social solidarity that spans three generations, where grandparents, parents and kids all chip in to keep the family afloat. It’s not just about scraping by; it’s about making sure the aunt can restock her roadside stall or that there’s money set aside for the grandson’s school fees. It’s a rhythm kept alive through countless small gestures—covering a cousin’s hospital bill, offering a hand during planting season, giving what you can today because you know the community’s got your back tomorrow.
And while you’re busy feeding the algorithm—and paying fees for every little tap—they’re using cash to prop up entire communities, one handshake, one favor, one family bond at a time, without a percentage skimmed off the top.
Digital might be slick, but it’s also cold.
Cash might be messy, but it keeps you human.
And while you’re dreaming of a frictionless future, remember that sometimes a little friction is what holds things together.
So yeah, I research cash.
My focus as a designer? The multilayered complex reality of meaningful institutions that people trust, resilient infrastructures and reliable public services. Because if you want to understand the world beyond your echo chamber, you’ve got to look where the algorithms aren’t—where progress isn’t always what Silicon Valley says it is and where survival is built on trust, tangibility and generational bonds that ensure nobody gets left behind.
Post initially published on LinkedIn