Cashless Society

[Ensay]

I don't think cash is going anywhere. We've been able to pay by card for decades, yet cash hasn't vanished. More people pay by card/phone as it's more convenient (especially with contactless), but there's still a demand for even cheques.

Whenever I go to a local town that has a daily market, I noticed pretty much everyone pays by cash. There are always queues at the cash machines!

I rarely pay by cash, but I always have some in my wallet just in case. I don't miss faffing around with (and being weighed down by) coins to be honest.

 

[emm]

This is a bit off topic but Boots seem determined to push self service and there are only ever 2 or 3 that take cash. It's kind of infuriating especially as most coupons can't be used on self service. In most stores the staff are incredibly rude if you point out you need to use a manned till. I only shop there because of the advantage points now.

And the tills are so glitchy! I have never been there and not had to get an assistant for help

 

[Sniffing Eggs]

The nearest petrol station to me, is an M&S

Countless times that their card machines have gone down, with queues of people wanting to pay for their fuel, but unable to.
And this is a small South West town.

I also refuse to use any business that insists that I pay by card.
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This is a bit off topic but Boots seem determined to push self service and there are only ever 2 or 3 that take cash. It's kind of infuriating especially as most coupons can't be used on self service. In most stores the staff are incredibly rude if you point out you need to use a manned till. I only shop there because of the advantage points now.

Boots are going the way of Woolworths imho

 

[emmer_moans]

Went to London yesterday to do a few touristy things and NO ONE wants your cash! Seriously, when you ask if somewhere takes cash they look at you with actual disgust! Some reluctantly do, but others flat out refuse.
The way cash has been phased out these last few years is bloody scary. Once it's gone there's no going back

I wonder if it’s because they can’t be bothered cashing up and going to the bank to deposit the coins I think all businesses should accept both methods of payments. Not everyone likes to use cards.
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I remember once at a petrol station I filled my car on a Sunday with petrol but Barclays systems had just gone down so my debit and credit card would not work nor could I use the cashpoint, I had to call my mum to drive to the petrol station with cash, as once you've put petrol in your car you can't take it out again it's not like leaving your shopping at the checkout. On the Monday I took £200 out of my current account and put it in my building society account that I could have used the card in the cash machine if there had been enough money in the account. This was about 15 years ago.

On holiday in Cornwall, about 10 years ago, several of the major banks had a problem with their systems and no card payments or cash withdrawals could me made for about 4 days, luckily we weren't affected, but people were packing up and leaving half way through holidays they had paid for as they had run out of cash and couldn't use their cards to purchase food or get cash out to purchase food so were returning home as they had food in their cupboards and freezers!

More recently we went back to the same site (as we do every year) it was 2021, the shop was taking both cash and card payments but the onsite food and bar were not, generally not a problem, but their card machine was down, the car was packed, we were there with my Dad on father's Day so we booked for a Sunday lunch before leaving. We go to pay and they are like can you come back and pay tomorrow as the card machine is down and we are not taking cash at the card machine will not be replaced untill tomorrow come back and pay tomorrow, it took,a long conversation to get them to understand we would be 190 miles away and back at work tomorrow so could not be back, begrudgingly they eventually took cash.

2022 we were at the same site and had a problem with the car, as we are in the shadow of a hill, mobile and internet is patchy, you can usually get mobile reception on the beach at low tide, but we needed the rac and it was high tide. Reception let us use one of their land lines to call but we needed to pay for new spark plugs and had to pay cash as the rac man did not have any reception for card payments. I always take £200 in cash plus £20 in parking change on holiday just in case. Many do not -we are often 15 miles plus to the nearest cash point!

One of the branches I cover occasionally is covered by a parking app or coin payments but I get no internet reception so have to pay cash, I won't pay in advance as the carpark,is cheap and popular if I get stuck in traffic and am late I won't get a space and will pay twice as much in the multistorey just as far away in the other direction.

I don't usually use cash but always carry it just in case .. If we ever go completely cashless we need to vastly improve the infrastructure to make it work and reliable.

Several times in the last month i have gone to pay by card on shops’ new fangled EPOS systems that are essentially SumUp machines connected to ipads. Fine when they work, however several times i’ve had to wait for their machines to reconnect to the store wifi, standing there while they turn it on and off again. I don’t mind using card (but cash should always be accepted), but if you are going to have card machines they should be those proper ones plugged into the ethernet and dialled up properly. Those new SumUp machines seem to lose connection far too much.

I’ll be making a point of using more cash in future.

 

[Piff paff puff]

I wonder if it’s because they can’t be bothered cashing up and going to the bank to deposit the coins I think all businesses should accept both methods of payments. Not everyone likes to use cards.

Yes. Less work for them, less time consumed, so that makes sense.
I was happy to hear that a local event taking place has informed people it will be cash only used for purchases and there will be an ATM available there. Most likely slow WiFi as it's rural.

 

[emmer_moans]

Our local Wagamamas decided it wasn't taking cash anymore last year (not sure if this was a chain wide decision or not).

Their wifi went down so they couldn't take card and asked us to pay using the QR code on their menu. I had no signal to use the QR code and asked to pay in cash. They repeatedly asked me to join the free WiFi for the shopping centre and then use the QR code. This is a WiFi that tells you when you join it's not secure. We had a bit of a Mexican stand off and eventually they took cash. It's so stupid for a restaurant not to.

I find cash stuffing really good for reining in my spending so I do use a good amount of cash. I try to use cash my default and only use card if its not taken.

We absolutely are sleep walking into a cashless society which they will plough on with despite not having the infrastructure for it.

This is what annoys me, when they only accept one form of payment - when wifi goes down, but they don’t accept cash, do they WANT our money/custom or not?! I bet most shops/restaurants don’t have the cash drawers/infrastructure to hold cash now. I’ve seen many tills replaced with ipads on a stand and a wireless SumUp machine.
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Where I live at the moment all the shops ( there aren't many to be fair) have joined together and put notices in the window that while they happily accept all forms of payment they would prefer and be grateful if people paid in cash. They all have the petition to sign on their counter.
I was in a big city Premier inn restaurant for breakfast last week and the woman was stood at the door turning everyone away as their machines were down and they couldn't take payments. It was 9.99 each so my husband gave her a £20 note and said keep the change. She was utterly flustered and nearly turned us away but the manager came and said " great, welcome,enjoy".
Wtf is wrong with people sleepwalking into cashless. Having lived in an area with regular power cuts I can tell you cash is king. Businesses and customers are fooked without power. I recently was at a garage where the shop was full of customers unable to pay for their fuel as the card payment machine wasn't working. They couldn't leave, it looked very inconvenient for everyone involved.

Very good point, cashlessness relies on power which we should never assume will always work.

 

[NowIsGood]

I wonder if it’s because they can’t be bothered cashing up and going to the bank to deposit the coins I think all businesses should accept both methods of payments. Not everyone likes to use cards.
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I’ll be making a point of using more cash in future.

Oh for sure. When I worked in retail there would be cashing up forms, plastic wallets and once a week the G4S man would come to collect it all. Huge saving for companies not having to pay for all that.

 

[losingmymindagain]

I think another big reason so many places are going completely cashless is because of the bank fees for paying in cash.
We all know why the government would love a cashless society - ultimate control. And they’d just love to do away with people’s ability to earn a little cash in hand, whether that’s £20 or £200. I can also imagine further down the line they’ll make everyone pay tax on anything they privately sell, like things on eBay, Vinted, Facebook marketplace etc

 

[Polythene Pam]

This is what annoys me, when they only accept one form of payment - when wifi goes down, but they don’t accept cash, do they WANT our money/custom or not?! I bet most shops/restaurants don’t have the cash drawers/infrastructure to hold cash now. I’ve seen many tills replaced with ipads on a stand and a wireless SumUp machine.
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Very good point, cashlessness relies on power which we should never assume will always work.

Funnily enough Wagas now takes cash again

 

[Moanyoldwoman]

It actually scares me. I live in London and I regularly have to walk out of a shop who won’t accept cash. Bank branches have been closing down and I think they will get rid of cash. Maybe not coins but I reckon payments over say £10 will have to be made by card. Electric cars, payments made using electrics. What if there is a power cut? What if your battery dies on your phone? I can’t give my kid twenty quid to go out with? All good and well these Go Henry accounts but they have monthly charges - more money I have to pay out. It screams control to me. It bothered me that I couldn’t go into the bank my sister is with to put money in her account I had to go find my branch, input in my account and then transfer. The government want to see everything you are doing with your money and there’s no privacy at all. See what you spend your money on. I prefer cash. If I have a twenty quid I can budget better. so often I’ve gone out tapping here and there thinking I’ve spent £25 and I look on my statement and it’s £60 lol
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And don’t get me started on self service tills. Do I get a reduction on my shopping by doing the job of a (now unemployed) staff member for Tesco’s? I don’t work there so why must I pay through the nose for goods providing a profit, scan it myself and pay for a bag to carry it home in? Aaaaargh the top execs must be laughing at us!

 

[kev1974]

Piers Corbyn, bro of Jeremy, is on the case.

 

[Homebird44]

Piers Corbyn, bro of Jeremy, is on the case.

He's mental unwell.

 

[Poddular]

He's mental unwell.

Let's all laugh at others who care about the future.
Didn't think it was cool to mock " the mental unwell " in 2023.

 

[rainbowlemon]

The clip below seems relevant. At least Mr Corbyn is doing something.

"But you didn't do anything. Did you walk out. Did you write letters of complaint? Did you shop elsewhere? No you huffed and you puffed, but you put up with it. Now all those women are gone"

To those mocking and clearly blind to implications of having a cashless society, what exactly ARE you doing?


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I always have trouble with the Halifax banking app. It's always down because of "technical issues". It means I can't access my accounts, even when I need to pay someone.

What if it was a prolonged? How will YOU pay for food if the computer is down and says no?
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[Homebird44]

Let's all laugh at others who care about the future.
Didn't think it was cool to mock " the mental unwell " in 2023.

He doesn't care about anybody but himself, if there is a bandwagon he'll leap on it. The man is a moron. Cash won't be going anywhere, as a society we have found another way of paying and transferring money and it's easier. I don't remember this uproar when cheques weren't accepted anymore. I work long hours and if I can save a bit of time and not have to drive to a cash machine then I have no problem with that.

 

[Ensay]

I was at a cafe yesterday and they had a sign that said: "Cards accepted, but cash preferred". I had enough cash on me to pay, so that's what I used and I noticed plenty of others doing the same when they went up to pay.

I've also seen similar signs at lots of small businesses because they understandably want to avoid the card transaction fees. I honestly don't think cash is going anywhere. Yes, it's being used less, but there's still a big need for cash and it's still used widely. 'Card only' businesses are rare in my experience.

 

[Homebird44]

The clip below seems relevant. At least Mr Corbyn is doing something.

"But you didn't do anything. Did you walk out. Did you write letters of complaint? Did you shop elsewhere? No you huffed and you puffed, but you put up with it. Now all those women are gone"

To those mocking and clearly blind to implications of having a cashless society, what exactly ARE you doing?


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I always have trouble with the Halifax banking app. It's always down because of "technical issues". It means I can't access my accounts, even when I need to pay someone.

What if it was a prolonged? How will YOU pay for food if the computer is down and says no?
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I'd be changing my bank account. Why give them the custom? I'm with nationwide and I've never had an issue with the app.

 

[emm]

I'd be changing my bank account. Why give them the custom? I'm with nationwide and I've never had an issue with the app.

I agree. I live right near that supermarket and hVe never been despite the fact that it would be convenient. While I do use my card for a lot, any shop that only accepts cards and basically has no staff is awful. When it first open3d there was a technical fault and people ended up stuck inside because the doors wouldn't open

 

[Sniffing Eggs]

The clip below seems relevant. At least Mr Corbyn is doing something.

"But you didn't do anything. Did you walk out. Did you write letters of complaint? Did you shop elsewhere? No you huffed and you puffed, but you put up with it. Now all those women are gone"

To those mocking and clearly blind to implications of having a cashless society, what exactly ARE you doing?


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I always have trouble with the Halifax banking app. It's always down because of "technical issues". It means I can't access my accounts, even when I need to pay someone.

What if it was a prolonged? How will YOU pay for food if the computer is down and says no?
---
View attachment 2348388

I switched to Starling for this very reason

 

[Deeznutslol]

He doesn't care about anybody but himself, if there is a bandwagon he'll leap on it. The man is a moron. Cash won't be going anywhere, as a society we have found another way of paying and transferring money and it's easier. I don't remember this uproar when cheques weren't accepted anymore. I work long hours and if I can save a bit of time and not have to drive to a cash machine then I have no problem with that.

Absolutely! Regardless of your opinion on a cashless society, I think we can all agree that Corbyn is just a crafty old grifter! Surely everyone hasn’t forgotten those 2 YouTubers who pretended to be AstraZeneca employees offering him 10 grand to stop talking tit about vaccines and he was more than willing to accept the payment ? They totally exposed him for the grifter he is, all of his beliefs and morals went straight out of the window as soon as they mentioned the cash, so I doubt he really gives a tit about a cashless society anyway.