It's a fair observation MA, but cash has a handling cost in that processing (and banking) the receipt via bank charges and admin is more expensive than handling a digital transaction. If it was simply a banknote circulating cash in hand to cash in hand and hidden under mattresses the I'd agree. But the clearing banks have always had their cut, it's just a different knife.

I don't think the bank owns the cash Ramshank, although perhaps the bank of England has a legal ownership of the piece of paper as it is the guarantor of the circulatory promissory note it represents. I've often wondered if I could head to Threadneedle Street and claim my gold equivalent but I suspect that possibility has long gone