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"Every transaction is recorded and itemised for you. Maybe this applies to some people, but personally I feel the opposite is true."
Some people is most people I'm afraid. Huge swathes of the population struggle with numbers, organisation of finances, budgeting, understanding interest rates and simply switch off when confronted with lists of transactions. There are also many people who if given the chance will spend more than they earn without a plan to repay it. Cash makes keeping track very easy and spending more than you have very difficult. This is before we even get on to those who are elderly and unable to transition to new technology, those who have severe dyslexia etc
As I said for some people (i.e you and to be honest me) electronic money is super easy - I basically just carry a phone around with me most of the time but to take cash out of the mix would be a bad idea.
It is a conspiracy simply because whoever invents the most popular system makes lots of money from transactions. This is why it's an area open to constant change and cashless innovation and isn't about you at all. They'd rather you didn't use cash 🙂
One of this very parish is a full on cashless society conspiracy loon… can’t wait to see how this goes down.
chair/brew/biscuits on standby.
I’ve been carrying the same £5 note around in the back of my phone since Covid. I got excited the other day when a sign at the surgery said their card reader was broken and I thought I was going to be able to get rid of it and the large collection of shrapnel in my glove box. Turned out they fixed it, bah!
I distinctly remember being in Korea a couple of years before Covid and watching their cashless society in operation and thinking, that’ll never catch on in the UK. Turns out a pandemic makes that and video calls perfectly normal.
I’ve got no time for shops that I can’t use my iPhone in now, no matter how small.
Tradesman here, when you invariably get asked the ‘how much for cash’ question people are usually shocked when you say 50 quid more as I’ve got to waste my time trying to find a bank to pay it in. I hate being paid in cash
I haven't really used cash for a decade. Probably more than that. Sweden has pivoted to being almost 100% cash free. Only cash I see is when the alcoholic over the road pays me for the sewage services, even so, she paid by cash transfer (swish) this year.
The cash only tills at the large supermarkets nearest to me are only open on Wednesday (pensioners discount day). The little local corner shop only takes about £80-100 a day in cash. They are trying to get customers on to weekly/monthly accounts.
Fraud is down, because we actually have (mostly) decent personal banking regulations. Tax evasion is down. Virtually no one gets paid cash anymore.
There was close to a riot a couple of years ago at the local farmers market when the organisers WiFi went down and the 100+ traders all had to try and get their mobile hot spots working, basically 4 massive barns full of stalls 15 km from anywhere. No mobile signal worth speaking of!
Don't miss it at all. Even when all the banks went down 3(?) years ago. I could still do my shopping, there was just a transaction limit. I was shopping for 5 at the time and it didn't impact me so no idea what the limit was.
One of this very parish is a full on cashless society conspiracy loon
If that's me, then I'm guilty 🙂
It's been shown that the rise in cashless transactions leads to increased impulse buys (who hasn't got a shed full of online impulse bike bits) and an increase in fast junk food consumption.
Cashless transactions also cause problems for the vulnerable in society who might not have the necessary card, app, memory for a PIN number, etc. I've lost count of the times that my mum has had her card cancelled/PIN renewed
Some people is most people I’m afraid.
Show your working?
"Some people" is some people. There will always be people like my elderly neighbour who when quoted for a replacement guttering in metres replied "I don't know what that is," but at this juncture it's increasingly becoming wilful belligerence.
Our grandchildren's kids are going to regard moving bits of paper about to pay for things like today's Gen-Z look at us when we tell them there were only three TV channels and we had to rush home to catch our favourite shows or we'd miss them until they were rerun a couple of years later.
Tradesman here, when you invariably get asked the ‘how much for cash’ question people are usually shocked when you say 50 quid more as I’ve got to waste my time trying to find a bank to pay it in. I hate being paid in cash
Not a tradesman but when selling something and folk ask for a discount for buying in cash they don’t like it when I quote a slightly higher price.
It’s been shown that the rise in cashless transactions leads to increased impulse buys (who hasn’t got a shed full of online impulse bike bits) and an increase in fast junk food consumption.
Source with verified data or I’m calling bollocks on that one. I’d wager impulse buying increased due to the internet and fast deliveries. Same for junk food consumption with Deliveroo and Just Eat. Easier to pay without cash for that. In fact impossible for the former. So I’d imagine cashless isn’t the reason for either, convenience is.
It’s been shown that the rise in cashless transactions leads to increased impulse buys (who hasn’t got a shed full of online impulse bike bits) and an increase in fast junk food consumption.
Shown where?
Cashless transactions also cause problems for the vulnerable in society who might not have the necessary card, app, memory for a PIN number, etc. I’ve lost count of the times that my mum has had her card cancelled/PIN renewed
Cashless transactions causes problems for those to whom it is new. The kids growing up with this system today, it's always been this way.
How do you get cash in the first place without the necessary card? A cash machine requiring a necessary card is 1960s technology. If you can't remember four digits, you probably shouldn't be out shopping unaccompanied.
I’ve seen a local scrupulous looking/sounding (not going into that….) builder type person come into a local post office, give a wad of cash to them and asked for it to be put on one of those one for all cards (very casually too as if he does it regularly).
As a self employed person doing everything by the book and being utterly ripped for tax, I’d like to see that firmly stamped out. Clever loophole I’d never have thought of, for sure…
If that’s me, then I’m guilty 🙂
iIt wasn’t you, and tbh, your objections are pretty logical and within the realms of normal concerns, not lunatic at all. (I’m 100% behind cashless BTW, cash is a total PITA for me and my family).
The person I was referring to was more ‘liizard-overlords controlling our minds’ grade conspiracy…
I have friends who are quite into conspiracy theories which drives me mad. However, I totally accept that there are pros and cons for both cash and cashless. What I dislike is people who under-play the obvious costs of using cash - businesses needing tills, business owners needing to spend time going to the bank to lodge money, etc. For example, running a cash till on an easyJet flight would be a huge hassle. On the other hand again, some small businesses pay a lot annually for card systems.
One point I’d like to make is that I’ve spent much of my life travelling around the developing world, appointing distributors for industrial equipment manufacturers. When assessing a new territory, one of the very simple measures of how developed an economy is, is the amount of cash transactions. And it’s very, very clear; I’d even say undeniable - an economy with large amounts of cash means large amounts of tax fraud. I find that the conspiracy theorists seem to dramatically under play the fax fraud angle to using cash. And yet, I suspect that tax evasion is the main reason behind 90+% of the occasions I’ve ever been asked to pay for something in cash.
anyway, that’s just my 2 pennies worth,
for it to be put on one of those one for all cards
Why wouldn't he just spend the cash?
You don't even need to remember a pin these days, contactless up to 100 unless it's a phone, then it's limitless I think or at least so high I've never hit it.
I actually went back to cash 2 weeks ago whilst in Crete for some reason (nearly everywhere took cards but some times they pulled a face if you used one, think that's more to do with tax avoidance in Greece though, any one remember Grexit). It was a pain and didnt help me budget, handful of notes felt like loads until it wasn't. For the very small number who really rely on cash to budget a basic debit card works well, just need some form of constantly displaying the account balance. For those who can't manage contactless should they really be allowed out on their own, once you've been shown once or twice there's no mystery.
Of the 85% of transactions on our payment points, 70% are contactless, 15% phone and a dwindling 15% chip and pin.
I look forward to the day dodgy takeaways and sole traders are effectively forced to declare all their earnings.
While we are at it. Identikit Turkish barbers. Cash only,
there are three in my fairly small rural market town. Has to be money laundering right?
We used cash in Crete as well a few weeks ago. In restaurants you'd normally get a free drink or dessert if paying cash which you wouldn't get if paying by card and shops would knock 5-10 euros off if paying cash. I suspect this is due to tax avoidance as there is a huge Greek government push to electronic transactions and all small businesses must use the same government mandated EPOS system.
asked for it to be put on one of those one for all cards
What's a "one for all card"?
Noticing this gaining traction in that it isn’t just random posts on Facebook groups anymore but actually people I know.
I mentioned this last week after the big system outage - a load if folk started gloating how it undermined "the plot" to get rid of cash.
Sweden does not really use cash. Bank/card payments are the most usual thing for normal purchases and peer to peer cashless with Swish is really popular. There is just about no need to use cash and a lot of people don't take it (especially since you can send 'cash' directly to a person or a small business with Swish).
I use my local bank when I need to physically sign something (e-signature here is also a thing, even for big things) or when they invite me to a social thing to try and get me to invest more.
shops would knock 5-10 euros off if paying cash
Which I think is illegal under EU law, we got charged 3% when paying for car hire by card rather than cash, probably a tenner but again I think against the rules.
The two main reasons for using cash is criminal activity and sheer stubborness.
What I dislike is people who under-play the obvious costs of using cash – businesses needing tills, business owners needing to spend time going to the bank to lodge money, etc.
The other big cost that gets ignored is the nation needing to print/mint and manage physical cash. Even if you don't use cash, You're still paying for that via general taxation you know. Fundamentally the low level tax Dodgers are being funded in their endeavours by the rest of us mugs.
Proper, big league tax dodgers do it electronically now anyway, unless you actually believe people are still flying to the camels with suitcases full of cash...
Had to break out my emergency £20 stuffed in the back of my phone case today. Ran out of water on a ride so stopped at a village post office, who apparentlty couldn't take cards....
Normally have to use it once or twice a year, mainly when the local Pret's card readers are on the blink...
I generally avoid anywhere cash only as I assume they're just dodging tax.
unless you actually believe people are still flying to the camels with suitcases full of cash…
though the fingerprint to enable Google Pay can be a pain in the arse at times.
I didn't realise they took biometrics that seriously.
Cashless transactions also cause problems for the vulnerable in society who might not have the necessary card, app, memory for a PIN number, etc. I’ve lost count of the times that my mum has had her card cancelled/PIN renewed
Must be a nightmare when get to the cash point and can’t recall their PIN.
I didn’t realise they took biometrics that seriously.
Brings a whole new level to accidentally video calling someone.
I use my local bank when I need to physically sign something (e-signature here is also a thing, even for big things) or when they invite me to a social thing to try and get me to invest more.
Have re mortgaged using bank ID on my phone. Also bought a car a few years ago. (And more than one bike!)
we don’t pay to deposit cash.
Maybe not, but as pointed out that still costs time to count and take to the bank, you're still paying for it one way or another.
While we are at it. Identikit Turkish barbers. Cash only,
there are three in my fairly small rural market town. Has to be money laundering right?
Oh hell yes, see also vape shops and shops seemingly selling random unconnected nonsense.
I've just remembered that when we had to start keeping an eye on my MIL it was much better to give her a small amount of cash as she kept losing her bank card. She insisted on being able to go to the local Co-op and it was one of her few joys in life so it wouldn't have worked if we'd done all her shopping for her.
I'm a gardener and when I started, a lot of my income was in cash but as the banks have closed branches and COVID stopping people going out very few pay me in cash now.
This thread has reminded me that I need to go to the cashpoint on my way out later 🙂
I agree in some respects with the conspiracies. I object to anyone knowing how I spend my money. S*d off. A card tells someone where I am. Mind your own....
I'll take it to a greater scale . Big brother is........
Cash is easy to watch. When you have bought your two pints that tenner is mostly gone and you don't spend more. A card means three!
Cards make credit easier. The last thing we should want surely?
Was on holiday in Washington (USA, not Tyne and Wear...) and used some campsites which were cash only for self-registration.
Had to drive about 60km round trip to find a cash machine. Not impressed!
So, lesson learnt - take some cash (in various denominations) when camping in US back-country...and I guess that applies anyway "back-country" without the connectivity us city dwellers take for granted...
I'm happy not to carry cash around with me, when I did it wasn't massive amounts either - £20 at the most. I found if I had cash with me then I was very easy for me to spend it. Although contactless is brilliant, I don't seem to have the same spending urges (although I still spend far too much on rubbish!).
A local Chinese is cash-only, not long after lockdown lifted they accepted cards, lasted 3 months and went back to cash. Staff said the owners weren't happy at paying for transactions as it meant less to gamble with at the casino!
Afraid, I'm well into the belief that cash-only is some sort of tax dodge and shouldn't be encouraged - no real evidence of it though.
Was on holiday in Washington (USA
The US is a generation behind when it comes to payment cards. Even in cities there are plenty of places which take credit cards but not debit cards (or vice versa) and you've to swipe the card and then sign for it.
I've grown up using primarily cash and will continue to do so 🙂 Personally find it easier to budget the old fashioned way. However cashless is easier at busy bars/gigs ect.
There are a number of places round here that are cash only. They don’t get my business.
There are four local places that are cash only, who I’m perfectly happy to deal with. One is the kebab place at the entrance to the business estate at the junction of the A350/A420, ‘cos they’re the only place open late at night, The Chinese chippy along the road, the little shop in town who do clothing repairs and adjustments, and my tattooist. They get my money because they provide a service that’s convenient and friendly, and I’ve often got some cash available, if not, there are these things called ATM’s that take a bank card.
Any loose change I happen to aquire goes into a chewing gum pot in my car ready for an after-pub kebab.
Oh, and the bloke who clears out my gutters takes cash, he’s cheap, local, and he’s prepared to go up a ladder, which I won’t - he’s also going to put up some Swift boxes for me, and some sparrow nest boxes as well.
… Personally I don’t take a wallet with me most of the time – only take a wallet/cards when it would be a massive ball ache if phone payment wouldn’t work – on a big night out etc. I just use my phone.
Filling up my car using my phone is possible, the pumps only take a card - I could go to the counter and pay using my phone, but why, when I’ve always got my wallet which has my driver’s license, Nectar card, bank card, bus pass, and my RSPB and National Trust membership cards in. I wouldn’t dream of going out without my wallet, while I mostly use my phone, I was in Wales at the beginning of the week, and I had zero phone reception.
You don’t need phone signal to pay by phone. I reckon I take my wallet out once a month at most now. Just no need.
I do still take my wallet out but its been downsized, holds 5 cards and a tenner, rarely off ever get it out. Think I'll transfer the tenner to inside my phone case.
Finding a working ATM can be an issue these days, the number in my local town has dropped by half, some charge and last time I needed cash the 2 closest to the Chinese were out of cash! Ended up doing cashback in Morrison's. So no cash isn't very convenient.
I agree in some respects with the conspiracies. I object to anyone knowing how I spend my money. S*d off. A card tells someone where I am. Mind your own….
I’ll take it to a greater scale . Big brother is……
So you presumably don't own a mobile phone then.
Or a PC, smart TV, connected car, smart speaker or anything else with access to the web.
Or walk down your average street full of ring doorbells. Or visit a town centre with CCTV. What exactly do you think people are going to do with your spending information. Ooh Derek shops at the local kebab shop and goes Tesco. Occasionally buys bike bits from xx. There’s no conspiracy, just paranoia. Other than marketing firms nobody cares.
I reckon I've got several £20 notes lurking in various jacket pockets, top tube bag, rucksacks etc. from trips when I've thought a bit of cash might be wise but never used it. When I come across one I usually just give it to MrsSalmon because I don't want the change from spending them and I can't be bothered to take them to the bank.