Opportunities and Prospects for Russia’s Transition to a Cashless Society

New digital technologies now allow contactless payments to be made both at retail outlets and at a great distance from them. Until recently, such features were only a new tool to provide convenience to customers. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, cashless payments have become a necessity all over the world. At the same time, there are objective obstacles to a complete transition to cashless payments. The article analyzes the barriers to the transition to a cashless society exemplified by the EU countries, and assesses the development of cashless payments in Russia. The main obstacles are security in making payments and the isolation of certain population groups from the economic and social life of society. Security issues concern not only the prevention of money theft, but also the prevention of failures in electronic payment systems. People who do not have bank accounts or do not know how to use electronic payment instruments may find themselves in economic and social isolation. This could clearly be seen during the pandemic, when the elderly needed the help of volunteers to purchase goods because they could not use the services of online stores. The article identifies trends in the development of non-cash payments in the EU and Russia, including the circumstances associated with COVID-19. The development of cashless payments depends on economic stability, and one can expect a decrease in consumer activity in the sphere of using non-cash banking services in Russia and other countries due to the world economic crisis in 2020.