cash wears out easily, it can be hard to have exact change.

I agree with the psychological effect of spending cash compared to a card (digits don't mean as much as handing over a bunch of paper), but things like IC cards are great for people who hate fidgeting with change (this is especially bad in places like Europe/Japan where a handful of change can end up being over $20).

And it's not like cash has disappeared. This is one more option.