The Indonesian government has passed a decree by which all credit card providers have to send the details of all transactions to the tax authorities. The result has been a spike in cash transactions.

The highest-denomination note in Indonesia is the 100,000 rupiah note (US$7.35), so dealers in high-value goods are being inundated with large quantities of paper. Even though credit card transactions have been mounting steadily over the years, the trend has gone into reverse: April's total was 4% lower than that of April the previous year. Bank Central Asia's credit card transactions dipped by 15% in April alone.

Even though there are nearly 17 million credit cards in Indonesia, only 15% of transactions there are not done in cash.

In the West, however, the governmental 'war on cash' is hotting up. Last year France prohibited its residents from making payments of more than €1,000 - down from the previous ceiling of €3,000. As the economy is in crisis, this has been waived for foreign tourists, whose ceiling remains enormously higher at €10,000 (still down from €15,000). In 2012 the Italian Council of Ministers voted to ban cash transactions over €50. Louisiana has banned cash transactions for second-hand merchandise. In 2012 the Spanish government announced out of the blue that it was banning cash transactions of more than €2,500. The ultimate goal seems to be surveillance and the elimination of the private tools of commerce. The US Department of Justice has been encouraging banks to call the police whenever they detect anyone withdrawing $5,000 at a time, even though this is perfectly legal.

Banks have been getting in on the act as well. Last year JPMoragnChase told its customers that it was going to prohibit cash from being stored in its safety deposit boxes. About the same time, Citigroup's top economist, Willem Buiter, wrote a report that called for the outright abolition of cash.

The Federal Reserve has been refusing to print money in larger bills for some time. The largest note it prints at the moment is $100, although it did print $500, $1,000 and $5,000 notes before the Second World War. Its policy of inflation since its creation by the Federal Reserve Act 1913 has depreciated the dollar's value 23.27 times. The European Central Bank, however, has long authorised the printing of €500 notes.