OPINION (PNW) – In a sign of the times, Hasbro has released a new cashless version of its classic board game Monopoly, designed for the digital age. In Hasbro’s latest edition of Monopoly, gone are the paper money and Community Chest cards. Instead, the board game now comes with a voice-controlled, artificial intelligence device shaped like a top hat to help control the digital transactions. Countries from around the world have been eager to implement a cashless society but none have moved as fast as Sweden.
Notes and coins now make up less than 1 percent of Sweden’s economy which is ironic considering it was the first European country to issue modern banknotes, in 1661. “No cash accepted” signs are now the norm in shops across Sweden as payments go digital and mobile but many Swedes want to take it to the next level as they blend tech with the human body.