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physical cards will disappear eventually
I hope they don't
Choice is the answer, not getting rid of cash altogether
Well there is a significant cost associated with making and handling all that cash, so to get a benefit you'd have to remove cash altogether but this is not likely to be possible as above.
My concern would be if cash was removed the service providers would increase the costs for handling the card/electronic transactions. I don't think there has been any reduction in transaction charges, even though there must now be a huge per transaction reduction with technology. It seems to be a bit of a unofficial cartel without any real competition between providers, cash is currently the competition that prevents the charges from increasing.
I barely use cash, I keep a small amount in my wallet just in case, but if the annual card charges and transaction charges started to increase, I would prefer the option to use cash instead.
I barely use cash, I keep a small amount in my wallet just in case, but if the annual card charges and transaction charges started to increase, I would prefer the option to use cash instead.
Good point - cash goes and enshitification will soon come knocking.
As pointed out before cash won't officially disappear but in any real sense it will if retailers and service providers stop accepting it. There are a very small percentage of people who rely on it, they are not significant enough for most retailers to keep cash going in the long run. The fewer people use cash the more expensive it becomes per transaction it is to handle, it's not just the cost of the cash handling either, it's also the infrastructure around it. A self service (or manned) till that handles cash is significantly more complex and expensive to buy and maintain (lots of moving parts, especially in self service) versus a card only till. As it becomes more difficult to use cash (have to queue to use the manned till for example) more of the cashless deniers will move over leaving an ever dwindling core of people who are totally reliant on cash.
I would say Covid tipped us over into the inevitable slide into real world cashless, with only 15% of transactions being cash, its on it's way out. There might be a slight pause due to the cost of living but that's all it is, a temporary slow down.
Cashless won't be forced on people directly by the people on here who are happy to go completely cashless but the trend is there. Using cash is going to become increasingly more difficult and expensive for the user anyway, free cash points and bank branches are disappearing fast, maybe small retailers like some on here will continue to actively take cash but then the consumer pays the corner shop tax.
I don’t remember the last time I saw a cheque in the wild at all, let alone an incidence
They are still out there, I’ve had about a dozen since I bought a launderette. Mostly old folks but a local care home still pays by cheque and sends everything by post.
Cash to me is a pain to handle because my machines take coins and they are hassle to bag plus banks want to charge me to deposit them. I installed a contactless payment system and that has made my life much easier. I think the 3% transaction fees plus £12pm per terminal (that I had to purchase) is higher than necessary but worth paying for the reduced hassle. Take away cash and I fear the fees would increase.
Also, there are all sorts of people out there who struggle with any type of technology and certainly aren’t going to be juggling multiple bank accounts to control their finances. Stepping out of an office and dealing with the public in general has been something of an eye opener for me.
There are some economically active people who operate on a cash only basis, don't use banks or have cards; no records, no traceability, no/limited tax payments.
It would certainly stuff their operating model - and I would be very much in favour of that outcome.
I'm sure that payment networks are highly secure but an economy which was hugely reliant on such networks/systems would likely be seen as a real target for large scale and focussed cyber attacks by hostile states.
That's undoubtedly been happening to an extent but...
Won't somebody think of the children?
Big drop in child surgery for objects swallowed or stuck up nose - BBC News
I wonder how it would affect the supply and distribution of Illegal Drug ? Seems to me that all transactions are cash, take that away and how else would they fund / pay for it ?
In gibsons neuromancer trilogy there are old banknotes going round and round the black market.
I suspect also that going cashless would not be too tricky in the black market
The fewer people use cash the more expensive it becomes per transaction it is to handle
Big problem in Australia at the moment - the govt just had to shepherd through a kind of bailout for the last serious cash in transit company there.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-24/banks-offer-lifeline-to-cash-transporter-armaguard/104014250
What would the 'turkish' barbers do?
4 in my High Street.
Never seen any punters in them.
HMRC. Listening?
Drug supply has moved on from cash.
the only people i know who want cash to remain are tradesmen or tradies
There's another important sector of the economy that insists on cash. Or so I've heard.
What would the 'turkish' barbers do?
4 in my High Street.
Never seen any punters in them.
HMRC. Listening?
I can neither confirm nor deny.
Though my English barber is also cash only. And was very busy this afternoon.
I thought you meant Chinese takeaways....
Meanwhile in my sector cash use has dropped further in the last 12 months from 13% to 10%, really doesn't justify the costs of cash for us.
As the current older generation die off fewer people will use the stuff and I bet the main users of cheques are older. And they are pretty important. How does mine or my wife's mum pay either of us for the shopping we get? Mine can go to the PO and get cash, hers can't. Online isn't an option, neither of them can use a computer so we would have to have access to their account and that's all to much for them. Wouldn't work for me as I don't do online banking. Don't need it, I get a nice paper statement monthly. I see online stuff much like many other modern ideas. It works, it works well for some people but it isn't actually any better. So many people moan about targeted adverts based on web use. Well that will also come along for all cashless transactions and do you really want the government knowing where you spend your wages? I don't and that's my main objection to loosing cash.
I genuinely cannot remember the last time I used cash.
Cash is as one of the few reasons stopping the clowns at the Bank of England imposing negative interest rates during the last financial crisis in an attempt to get you to spend. Just think about that.
We’re all being mugged off by the powers that be. Just look at the USD-GBP chart since the seventies to see how poor we’ve become by selling each other over inflated houses and the like.
The current government seem to be carrying on the incompetence with bond yields in excess of the levels that were deemed to be ruinous under Truss and the poor now paying the price. Muppets the lot of them. Off to put my tinfoil hat on while I can still afford it
I don't use cash all that often.
I'm trying to help my 6 year old with his maths and I'm using ..... Cash.
I like the design that goes into cash.
I genuinely cannot remember the last time I used cash.
I used a fiver in a shit pub in Tamworth a couple of weeks ago, because it was in my wallet. Must have been there months, I can't remember the reason I'd have collected it. There's also 2 five Euro notes but TBF, I've less opportunity to cash those in.
Even the little bag of change I keep in the van for parking is rarely troubled these days.
Nope. There are various foreseeable scenarios where cash would be highly useful as a backup. Suppose the internet, electricity grid or banking system failed for any extended length of time.
I literally can't remember the last time I used cash. Probably euros on holiday. Otherwise never carry cash.
I very rarely use cash on the high street now. The vast majority of transactions in the UK are easier via electronic transfer of one form or another. I'm accepting of this but I do wonder how we'd get on if the systems that facilitate this stopped working. Ie cyber attack on banking infrastructure making security compromised or inoperative. If you couldn't pay for your groceries or fuel via card for a short but indeterminate period what would happen? Losing the option to fall back on cash is another loss of our independence i feel.
I realise that the vast majority of us are already completely dependent on the powers that be for most of our essential services like food supply, water, electric, health care etc so maybe it's a moot point. And I suppose unless you hold a reserve of readies at home as a matter of course, it wouldn't make much difference.
It would be lovely for VISA and MasterCard, I am sure they would be delighted.
So no.
I have finally got a Sum Up for my barber shop due to the growing demand from some customers. I'm in week 4 now and although it is early days the amount of customers choosing that option is much lower than I expected. I suspect this will slowly change in favour of card/phone over time.
We are all creatures of habit and there is a cash machine very nearby. From a personal point of view, I'm 54 and have had a wage in actual money since my paper round and still like it.
I was also getting a bit embarrassed about the 'cash only' thing. Yes, the younger me was happy to pocket some but the older me now knows that if I had put it all through and into my pension, I would be retiring at 55 (next year) not 60. The older me is also more aware of the world and the importance of paying my share.
On that subject, I also don't know many people that want 'cash' from that point of view. Most tradesmen I know prefer it paid via bank transfer, there are plenty of ways to offset tax legally and with the size of bills these days you need your money in the bank. Its no good under your mattress going down in value.
I watch a couple on Youtube called earlyretirementwanderlust and they make the point, that for them, budgeting makes more sense with cash. They are trying to live week to week on an amount and find it easier to say no to things if they look in the wallet and its nearly bare.
If I take payment with a stolen credit card , the victim is refunded by me. So I’ve lost stock and money.
Interesting, I thought the CC provider refunded it directly; didn't realise the retailer got stung. Appreciate its probably too much work for a small amount but presumably you could find out which transaction was fraudulent, check the time, check the cameras and work out who it was?
Have you (or any other of the small business owners on the thread) ever taken fake notes to the bank and had them rejected?
He’s not correct. In store the Retailer will be refunded as its a card present transaction. For card not present aka internet paying cash is somewhat challenging.
This forum is frequented by old people
I very much doubt young people would ever want to use cash
The exception being drug dealers and trades people trying to avoid paying their share of tax
Nah, ^^ this forum is generally middle aged wealthy people that don't care much for those at the fringes of society (all vocal lefties of course)
I think businesses should have to accept cash with maybe a few small exceptions. At least until poverty has been massively reduced.
All the trades I've used recently - probably years - have wanted to be paid by bank transfer, never even mentioned cash.
Personally - I rarely even carry a wallet let alone cash - just use my phone to pay for everything.
You’d be surprised on the drug dealers as a lot of operations prefer electronic as they can sit it behind a legitimate looking business (second hand cars is popular) and wash it through.
This forum is frequented by old people
I very much doubt young people would ever want to use cash
The exception being drug dealers and trades people trying to avoid paying their share of tax
Imagine if you found £5m in cash, it would be very difficult to spend it at scale without arousing suspicion.
I watch a couple on Youtube called earlyretirementwanderlust and they make the point, that for them, budgeting makes more sense with cash. They are trying to live week to week on an amount and find it easier to say no to things if they look in the wallet and its nearly bare.
A legitimate concern, probably undermined by their income coming from on-line content generation. Anyone smart enough to make money from YouTube and keep on top of that is equally capable of managing cash in an app - if you want to segregate this weeks spending money that is possible to do with some banking solutions.
my parents are not cash only - but they 100% refuse to use online banking as they don’t trust themselves not to get scammed (ironically they’ve only been scammed once in life - by a roofer paid in cash!). They do still use cards, and even contactless now.
How much of a transaction fee would you be willing to accept once cash is gone?
We already see "convenience fees" popping up when using cards to park.
I wonder if back in olden days there was a similar discussion. "Cash? I want to pay for my purchase with a goat and three chickens, not these silly bits of worthless papyrus. What will old people do?"
From a personal point of view, I'm 54 and have had a wage in actual money since my paper round and still like it.
I'm of a similar vintage and I don't think I've ever been paid in cash. It would be unthinkable, walking out of work with a couple of grand in my back pocket, I'd be shitting myself. Then what, leave it all in the house or fanny attempting to pay it into a bank which is only open three hours a week on alternate Thursdays? How am I supposed to pay bills?
I remember before I had Direct Debits set up, having to trail into town to pull out cash then to go the council offices or the post office to pay a bill. It was a right ballache. Half the time I'd forget, and Hyndburn BC had a "three strikes and we'll see you in court" policy.
I'm of a similar vintage and I don't think I've ever been paid in cash. It would be unthinkable, walking out of work with a couple of grand in my back pocket, I'd be shitting myself. Then what, leave it all in the house or fanny attempting to pay it into a bank which is only open three hours a week on alternate Thursdays? How am I supposed to pay bills?
I remember before I had Direct Debits set up, having to trail into town to pull out cash then to go the council offices or the post office to pay a bill. It was a right ballache. Half the time I'd forget, and Hyndburn BC had a "three strikes and we'll see you in court" policy.
I’m of a much younger age and don’t think I’ve ever paid a bill in a non electronic manner. Glad I don’t need to have to dedicate my time, fuel, parking fees to performing such a task that I can do in a few minutes without even leaving my bed, let alone my house.
If you're moneyed, then cashless is not a problem (for the purposes of this post this applies to those with an income that is not from a state payment) and exceeds minumum wage. Once you're into the working poor part of society (in work benefits or unwaged) the banking system is not your friend. Any transgressions of their (the bank) rules will have a detrimental effect on your ability to feed the dependents in the household.
Managing a bank account on top of running around after two/three jobs is not going to be top of those peoples' priorities and they will not have the bandwidth to cope.
Cash is better for putting in an envelope for a present than a voucher that ties that person to one shop - those vouchers sometimes have an expiry also which is a ripoff. if the voucher value cant' be spent exactly the voucher recipient misses out on their balance, or overspends which is wasteful
I came across this and found it interesting
(News clip from France24)
One of the consequences of being cashless is just just who we are beholden to and their whims and motives
Well, that didn't work
Here's the story https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/26/israel-international-law-donald-trump-us-sanction-judge
Basically the link above which has vanished was an interview with him. Having bee almost completely shut out of the banking system due to the sanctions from Visa and MasterCard he is unable to do a lot of things. He was bemoaning the lack of places which now take cash, which is what he has to use most of the time. It just highlights how easy it is for those who the power to use cashless systems for their own ends. They have power over us.
I live in NL, people give me funny looks when I try and pay by cash. Many places will not accept it.
Just over the border in Germany, people give me funny looks when I try and pay by card. Many places will not accept it.
Cashless will further disadvantage the already disadvataged and has huge issues in power cuts, and if there is internet issues. Also not everywhere has internet available.
Surely you are old enough TJ to remember the original Visa machines with the carbon paper and the slidey roller thing that ran over the top 🙂
Surely you are old enough TJ to remember the original Visa machines with the carbon paper and the slidey roller thing that ran over the top 🙂
I am 40 and old enough to remember them.
Cashless will further disadvantage the already disadvataged and has huge issues in power cuts, and if there is internet issues. Also not everywhere has internet available.
In power cuts all the tills go down. There's no way anything bigger than an independent mini-mart would be able to sell anything.
Within 10 years we will all be back to cash only. The banks will be spending so much money trying to stop AI based attacks that all their profits will be gone and it won't be sustainable to keep going with digital banking. Even right now they are all shitting themselves about the announcement from Anthropic and the need for Project Glasswing.
Save that cash and get it under your mattress now...