In the headlong rush to completely digital and mobile banking, are additional risks to civil liberties being created?

Scott Shay, the chairman of Signature Bank, answers that questions with a firm “yes.” Shay argues that, especially since civil forfeiture remains on the books (here‘s a great article on its abuses), digital banking offers greater potential to abuse by government than a cash-based society.

Shay certainly has a point. However, the advancement of digital banking also makes transferring assets globally as easy as “click of a mouse,” as exemplified by yesterday’s article on the Cook Islands tax haven in The New York Times.

Judge for yourself: