EMP threats and what happens when the power grid and electronic money disappear

I was recently in London, and had a long 14 hour return flight back home. The nice check in attendant for the airline offered me a deal I could not refuse, an upgrade to business class for less than 200 Pounds. As I stood there considering, my back aching from days of meetings, this offer sounded incredibly attractive.

"Ok, I'll take it", I gleefully expressed my excitement over a full 180 degree seat I could actually sleep on during the flight. Then, when I started counting the cash the check in attendant said, "Heathrow does not accept cash for tickets anymore, you must use a credit card". I really wanted to just use the cash, because I was about to exchange it to USD anyway. The attendant went on to explain I could go to a money exchange in the airport, and use my cash to purchase a pre-pay credit card then return with that to purchase the upgrade. I did that, and it took about 40 minutes in total by the time I filled in forms, they copied my ID, etc., in their thorough Know Your Customer and Anti Money Laundering standard operating procedures.

The entire process made me think about how chaos will ensue when the grid goes out in our electronic world. Soon cash will be abolished, I give it a maximum of 15 years and there won't be any more cash in 90% of the urbanized world. Instead everyone will be counting on their smart phones, smart wallets, credit and debit cards, chip implants (you get the drift). On the day of the next Carrington Event , EMP attack by North Korea or other rogue nation, coordinated terrorist (or false flag) attack targeting substations or explosive nuclear accident, there will be chaos and a total and complete breakdown of society.

I imagine thinking about these types of scenarios is what drives a person to become a "prepper". Is it any wonder that the prepper business has been booming for decades now! Fact is, when that grid goes down, all hell is breaking loose. Let's think about a quick timeline.

days : hours : minutes
00:00:00 EMP or whatever cause hits.

00:00:00 power grid, internet, payment systems, landline phones, mobile phones, electric vehicles, and any petrol vehicle with an ECU is dead.

00:01:00 Looting of stores of all kind is well underway.

01:00:00 Looting of all easily accessible stores with food is complete.

02:00:00 Majority of refrigerated and frozen goods are spoiling.

03:00:00 People not prepared begin to run out of food.

04:00:00 A post apocalypse society is officially kicked off, and the fight for life extends to every corner of civilization under the failed power grid.

In just a few days welcome to hell! The cities would be tepid disgusting stench pits. Ammunition, food, tobacco, booze, drugs will become the new currency.

Does this make me want to become a prepper? No, I live in Asia and if hits in any of the cities I normally troll it just won't be pretty!