Tagging bank notes

There is an interesting FoI response up on WhatDoTheyKnow? The request was to see what documents there were relating to plans to put RFID tags in bank notes. The response is that there is too much to give within the prescribed cost limits for a request, from which we can presumably conclude that plans are at a relatively advanced stage.

The civil liberties implications of this will very much depend on the range of the particular tags used. Could we have government detector vans driving round the streets looking for stashes of cash? Will the police know how much cash I have in my pocket?

We need to know.

Comments

[James Barlow]

Notwithstanding that I think RFID tagging bank notes is a dreadful idea, it would be interesting to find out what would happen to black markets - such as drugs and street prostitutution - in the event that money was tagged; possibly a second non-tagged foreign currency would start circulating (US dollars perhaps) for those wishing to remain untracked.

Well done on the AGW stats article, by the way.