26/09/2025
Eesti Pank, Finantsinspektsioon and the debating society Eesti Väitlusselts organised a debating event on 25 September in the Eesti Pank Museum for young people to debate how certain the future of cash is and whether it should be made harder to use financial services in order to tackle financial fraud.
Eesti Pank economist Peeter Luikmel commented as an expert in the debate on the future of cash and said that the young participants expressed their arguments about virtual payments and cash very clearly. “The arguments of the debaters discussed how the nature of card payments and other digital payments means there can be both good and bad aspects to how they are checked and monitored”, he said. “It was a little surprising though that the question of the environmental footprint of cash did not come up at all in the debate”.
The young debaters confirmed that the future of cash is uncertain by noting that card payments and online payments are now convenient and secure and comparing the use of cash today to writing a letter on paper in an age of emails and messaging apps. They observed that the trail left by virtual payments can help identify financial fraud and that a card can be closed if it is stolen, while there is no way of recovering stolen cash. The main counter argument was that cash can be used in a crisis, because it is a reliable means of payment if a storm causes a power cut or if a cyber attack interrupts online and digital payments across the whole country. The speakers further noted that the tangible nature of cash as a means of payment discourages the habit of easy debt and a culture of consumption.
Head of the Financial Sector Information Technology Supervision Department at Finantsinspektsioon Kalle Klooster commented as an expert on reducing financial fraud, commending the young students for how well they knew financial terminology and how well aware they were of the types of scams that can affect various financial services. “Developments in artificial intelligence are also starting to make a mark in financial services. Unfortunately the tricks and traps of financial scammers are also developing within financial services at the same time”, he said.
The participants in the debate on financial fraud proposed that making financial services more complex and requiring two-factor authentication could reduce financial fraud as it would then be harder for people to access their money too quickly and make rash decisions. Speakers opposing the idea of making financial services harder to use said that complexity in itself is not an effective aim because the decisions are still made by the person using the services, who may be under psychological pressure and attack from the scammer.
The aim of the debate was to increase the knowledge of students about economic issues and improve their financial literacy and debating skills, and to give them the chance to enrich their lessons through the recordings of the event. Videos and worksheets in Estonian on the topics of the debate can be found on the Finantsinspektsioon YouTube channel in two sections:
• The future of cash is uncertain
• Financial services should be made harder to use to reduce financial scams
Participants in debate came from the Tartu Miina Härma Gümnaasium, Pärnu Sütevaka Humanitaargümnaasium, Tallinna Reaalkool, Tallinna Gustav Adolfi Gümnaasium, Pärnu Vabakool and Rae Gümnaasium. The event was moderated by Maarja Tambet of the Eesti Väitlusselts debating society. The audience at the debate on 25 September were the winners of the creative competition for financial literacy run by Finantsinspektsioon and Eesti Pank, who were students from the 6th and 7th year at Lähte Ühisgümnaasium, Pärnu Rääma Põhikool, Vändra Gümnaasium and Tootsi Lasteaed-Põhikool. The debate launched the new season of cooperation between Eesti Pank and Finantsinspektsioon and their partners at the Eesti Väitlusselts debating society.