The dwindling relevance of physical cash It was in 2020 when I first heard about “Anthropophobia” – you know, the fear of being around other people. And honestly, with Covid then lurking around every corner, who could blame us for wanting to avoid human contact? Those were also the times when we abhorred the sight of physical cash and craved the novelty in contactless payments. In India, the irony could not have been starker. Just a few years back, India had had endured demonetization when everyone and their uncle were scrambling to get their hands on cash. Who knew that we would be running away from it just a few short years later?