When tycoons and world leaders meet – as they will at a conference today on inclusive capitalism in London, featuring the Prince of Wales, Bill Clinton and Christine Lagarde – you never see them exchange cards. If they do, I doubt they hang on to them. At the end of an international gathering a couple of years ago, someone went to check a billionaire speaker’s room in case he had left anything behind. The guest had tidied it himself – bed made, furniture neatly arranged. The only evidence of his stay was in the bin: business cards from dozens of hopeful high-level networkers.

For all I know, this man had busily transcribed his new contacts’ details. But if he had simply ditched the cards, it would make sense. If you are one of the best-known businessmen on the planet the chances are that any switchboard in the world will put you through. You do not need a small piece of 2-by-3.5-inch card to remind you of your contact’s direct dial. The odd thing is: nobody else needs it, either.

People have been predicting the death of the business card virtually since digital communication began. Yet analogue cards still dominate in a world where it has long been easier to beam, email or synchronise contacts electronically. Cardworks, part of Tandy Ltd, the friendly printer that churns out cards for me and my FT colleagues, says that, if anything, demand is increasing. “For a lot of companies, this business card is their shop window,” says Denise Sikora, company manager.