Cash is unlikely to go away soon. Coins and paper currency remain the most popular ways to pay for things in most countries. But longer term, cash appears to be in a losing battle with electronic payment methods.

Share of adults who made or received any noncash payment Data not available 0 40 65 90 95 100% Data not available 0 40 65 90 95 100% 97% Canada 99% Sweden 72% Mongolia 58% Russia 97% Britain 89% Japan 49% China 92% United States 88% South Korea 22% India 35% Mexico 87% Iran 69% Kenya 59% Brazil 97% Australia 66% South Africa 0 40 65 90 95 100% Data not available 97% Canada 99% Sweden 72% Mongolia 58% Russia 97% Britain 89% Japan 49% China 92% United States 88% South Korea 22% India 35% Mexico 87% Iran 69% Kenya 59% Brazil 97% Australia 66% South Africa 55% Chile 0 40 65 90 95 100% Data not available The New York Times | Sources: The World Bank Global Findex ; McKinsey & Co. Data is latest available, from 2014.

There are few corners of the world where electronic transactions are not growing faster than cash. The consulting firm Capgemini recently estimated that electronic payments will grow about 10.9 percent a year between 2015 and 2020.

But the movement away from cash is happening in very different ways and at varying paces around the world.

Scandinavian countries are already well along the road toward cashless societies. Many banks in Sweden no longer have cash on hand, and consumers can make instant transfers directly from their bank accounts.

In Kenya, the local mobile phone company Safaricom, not the banks or the government, has pushed the envelope. Safaricom created a system, known as M-Pesa, that allows customers to make payments directly from their phones.

China is the most talked-about location in the battle between cash and electronic payments. PayPal-like wallets created by Chinese online giants Alibaba and Tencent have become the most popular ways to pay for things online.

Debit card payments Norway 96% Netherlands 94 Sweden 93 New Zealand 92 Britain 92 Credit card payments Israel 75% Canada 73 Luxembourg 63 Hong Kong 59 New Zealand 58 Mobile phone payments Kenya 55% Uganda 35 Sweden 34 Australia 33 South Korea 33

The benefits of moving away from cash have been trumpeted by economists like Kenneth Rogoff, who wrote “The Curse of Cash,” about how paper money enables crime and tax evasion.

But the critics of cash have been met by their own critics, who argue that electronic payments can disenfranchise poor people who lack easy access to bank accounts and the internet and can make it much easier for governments and corporations to monitor a person’s every step.

In the end, though, the future of money is less likely to be determined by these arguments than to be shaped by the success of technologists making it easier for you to pay for your lunch or morning coffee without pulling out your wallet.