Cashless Society

[Polythene Pam]

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.

 

[emm]

I carry cash but that's because I like to nip into charity shops etc but I'm definitely using cards more then I used to .

Same and I really hate it, I was so much better at budgeting whne I used cash, I would take out money at the beginning of the week (for everything other than rent and bills) and when it was gone I wouldn't spend anymore, I really need to start that again tbh

 

[rainbowlemon]

Wouldn't try it with petrol but the other ideas are good:

 

[Poddular]

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.

 

[Welshgal]

From my experience (before covid, not sure about now obvi) there‘s more places in „west“ Germany where you can pay with card (small restaurants, kiosks, chippy etc.) then in „east“ Germany. But sadly that can be said for many more modern things ...

I rarely use cash but I also don‘t do stuff I want to hide from my bank/the government or care all that much. It‘s not like they are going to look at all my transfers and go „wow this fatty had McD for the 3rd time this week“

 

[StephenTJackson]

I'm sorry to read about your brother. Banks aren't charities though. They still have to pay business rates, rent, wages and utilities bills. The footfall in our town centre is non existent, more and more is being done online. I speak to a lot of retired people for my job role and they are better online than I am. Times change and we have to keep up. I'm sure you can pay money into bank accounts via a local postoffice, our village post office offers the service.

And how many places are losing their Post Offices as well. My town has lost its Post office. And there was always a queue for it when it was open.

Banks aren't charities, but they are regulated by govt we have a right to demand govt make sure cash doesn't go out of use.

 

[Yel]

I do think some people are a bit hyperbolic about the problems banks sometimes have. It's very rare and then you'd just need a credit card or 2nd free bank account.

Does anyone else remember just how many fake £1 there was before the new one? It was something like 1/30 iirc.

There's payment cards for children that lots get their pocket money added to, go Henry and all that.

 

[Notworthy]

Agree, I have left shops before that don’t accept cash

I expect shops to accept both. Shops that only take cash piss me off, they're either tax dodging (barbers) or a front for slave labour (nail bars) a legitimate business will take both, why would any business refuse a perfectly reasonable way of paying.

 

[tortfeasor]

Jesus, who uses cash these days? I can't remember the last time I saw a note and I'm an old fart. My kids laugh at me because I pay contactless, they use apple pay with their phones.

Me and I’m in my 30s - shock horror! I have to regularly to pay the takeaway I visit on a Saturday and my barber in cash and it’s not a big deal as I simply go to an Asda and get cash back when I pay for shopping every 4/5 weeks. I also prefer to take it on nights out if I’m drinking rather than my card.
Phones are all well and good but liable to battery running out especially with the drain that is WhatsApp, as I learned a few weeks back when my phone ran out of battery and I couldn’t use it to open the hotel room door.

 

[Ensay]

Can’t say I’ve noticed it being quicker when you are stuck behind someone who can’t get it to work

If hovering a phone or card over a contactless reader is too much for them, I question if they should be out unsupervised.

 

[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 shit 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 shit about a cashless society anyway.

 

[Swisspea]

The banks have been working to remove cheques and cash for some years - I used to run projects in the U.K. for one of the main clearing banks 20 years ago. Not just for nefarious reasons- for practical reasons like cash is hellish difficult to manage and control and cheques are notoriously open to cock up( or they were when the actual document was bundled up at the end of each day and sent to a massive pit of complexity in the centre of the county).
I have no problem using cards and cash and whatever suits the situation. I have grave reservations about the requirements and ability to be ( and remain) banked for everyone. In my opinion it should not mean that someone who has outspoken views can be forced out of society at the whim of whoever is shouting loudest. That is not the society that appeals to me

 

[Damita]

I avoid using cash when possible but I don't like the idea of a totally cashless society. I feel there should always be freedom of choice, not least for elderly and other people who may struggle with technology and have nobody to help them. These people are always totally disregarded every time there is some new initiative thought up by some bright spark wanting change only for the sake of change, and it deeply offends me.

As for Britcoin, well. What a Dystopian nightmare that sounds.

 

[AllSeeingEye123]

The worst is cashless parking. Especially when you have to stand by the ticket machine, register to a website, type in your card details and type in your registration plate in a short length of time before you get fined for not paying.

 

[Notworthy]

Still use cash although never see anyone else using it. Found a few of those special celebration coins after checking through it all
It's handy having cash when the internet crashes in shops. I'll never use card only until I'm forced.

I was using the self checkout in M&S (I usually use the actual checkouts but none were open) Only 2 were cash/card all the others were card only and literally everyone in the queue was using cash. The poor staff member didn't know what to do, she was asking everyone joining the queue if they were using card and it was nope, nope, nope, I told her so much for no one using cash!!! This was in South London, not the boonies

 

[NowIsGood]

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

 

[Poddular]

I think people are being naive if they don't see that in some places its becoming harder and harder to use cash. Yes many people are happy with the convenience of tapping cards/phones so don't see it as a problem but that's when it's all working perfectly .
I don't see how mocking the minds of public figures adds to the argument, but hey that is how some people roll.

Remember the truckers - why we need to fight to save our cash - The Conservative Woman

Remember the truckers - why we need to fight to save our cash

www.conservativewoman.co.uk

"According to Libertarian Party president Richard Koller, ‘getting rid of cash not only touches on issues of transparency, simplicity or security, but also carries a huge danger of totalitarian surveillance’. He believes Switzerland should be taking the lead within Europe, as securing agreement in the European Union would be almost impossible amongst all 27 member states."
"But while around 90 per cent of governments worldwide, including in the UK, are pressing ahead with plans for the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), not everyone is entirely clear about the implications, or has even heard of them."
"A CBDC is defined as a currency issued and backed by a country’s central bank, designed to function like traditional currencies but in digital form. Officially they are presented as a way to increase financial inclusion, reduce transaction costs and provide greater security and transparency in payments. But what about the potential risks, such as cyber insecurity, monetary policy implications, and the negative impact on the banking sector? The fact is that governments have far more to gain from introducing CBDCs than consumers have from using them. "
"To date, the anecdotal evidence has been alarming. The Nigerian government went ahead with roll-out, and riots broke out. This is unsurprising since an estimated 55 per cent of Nigerians rely on physical cash. Yet withdrawal limits and debit card restrictions were imposed, while capital controls made taking money out of the country almost impossible. The result was a violent scramble to exchange old notes before they were declared worthless."

"Any perceived benefits need to be weighed against the overwhelming risks:

Cyber security: hacking, fraud and other cyber crimes would necessitate much stronger security systems.
· Privacy: transaction data and personal information would be kept in centralised databases, leading to a conflict between user privacy and system integrity.

· Disintermediation: the ‘middleman’ ie commercial banks would be bypassed, leading to disruption of the traditional banking system and financial stability.

· Monetary policy: central banks would need to balance the impact of CBDCs on the money supply and interest rates.

· The technical challenge: the requirement for technical expertise, infrastructure and implementation presents huge practical challenges."

 

[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.

 

[gingerteacup]

Today I was on a bus, when suddenly the bus driver got shirty with a passenger that had just got on board. I couldn't quite make out what all the fuss was about, then I heard the driver insist that the passenger pay by card - he would not accept cash. He was really quite rude.
I turned to the other passengers on the bus, in disbelief, but they were oblivious to the issue. If I had the courage of my convictions, I should have spoken out against the attitude of the driver.

This is very normal in some areas, in London there’s a strict no cash ruling. It’s contactless or oyster only

 

[Rockin' Robin]

I've just had an argument with a bus driver, who insisted that I pay for my ticket using a card. He said he was from London, and eveyone there is paying by card. The argument lasted quite a few minutes, but as there was a customer behind me, I paid for my ticket and got on the bus.
Another passenger asked me what the fuss was about, I explained to her that I feel very strongly about us heading towards a cashless society. She said that is the way things are heading. I said that I may be a lone voice in this (because it feels this way), but I'm sticking to my guns. If no one is willing to stand up to what is happening, then we will be forced into a cashless society.
I ended up getting off the bus, and complaining to the bus company. Not one person backed me up on the bus.

Whilst I'm here, may I remind people to sign the petition I mentioned in my last post.