Abolition of cheques - Payments Council is a QUANGO

Fiddlestick

LongTermLurker wrote: »

If such people can't accept cheques, they'll just say "cash only" which means anyone having a B&B holiday, especially to remote rural areas without cash machines, will have to carry enough cash for maybe a couple of weeks' accomodation.

Those who only accept cash and refuse to adapt will go to the wall then.

I don't want to carry loads of cash around on holiday - I'd much rather book accommodation with one of their competitors who DO accept cards.

LongTermLurker

Fiddlestick wrote: »

Those who only accept cash and refuse to adapt will go to the wall then.

I don't want to carry loads of cash around on holiday - I'd much rather book accommodation with one of their competitors who DO accept cards.

You're missing the point of my post though; in rural areas - very rural areas - very few accomodation providers accept cards and those that do have maybe only 2 or 3 rooms, which doesn't give much competition. Anyone who wants services in that area will need to use cash.

I also tend not to use cash and only use cheques when forced to, but it's naiive to think everyone will take up new technology and those who don't will lose all their customers.

Katie-Kat-Kins

The problem with the alternatives is the cost, especially when they are used infrequently.

To make accepting card payments economical a business needs to have a fairly significant number of payments through them.

My husband runs a small business and accepts cheques regularly. They are a good alternative to cash, especially for things like deposits paid in advance by post. They don't involve a cost and don't rely upon technology. He often trades at country shows where card machines can't get reception and there is no way for people to withdraw cash, without cheques many traders at country shows and craft fairs would be in difficulty.

I think there are a number of types of businesses for whom cheques are very convenient and useful and for whom the only alternative will be to deal exclusively in cash which will be less convienient for them and their customers and will be a big security risk (not just theft but the risk of counterfeit notes).

Fiddlestick

LongTermLurker wrote: »

You're missing the point of my post though; in rural areas - very rural areas - very few accomodation providers accept cards and those that do have maybe only 2 or 3 rooms, which doesn't give much competition. Anyone who wants services in that area will need to use cash.

I'm not missing the point - if they don't accept cards then I simply won't stay there.

If that means traveling a bit further and finding accommodation that DOES take cards, then that's a loss for the whole region and not just the B&B.

Don't forget - if I don't stay in the local B&B then that's money that I'm not going to spend in the local pub that night or in the local shop in the morning before I leave and travel onwards.

I know there are regions where it's difficult to find somewhere that takes cards, but if I don't have cash then I don't have cash - wishing it weren't so won't change that.

Fiddlestick

Katie-Kat-Kins wrote: »

He often trades at country shows where card machines can't get reception and there is no way for people to withdraw cash, without cheques many traders at country shows and craft fairs would be in difficulty.

Are there no mobile signals *at all*?

LongTermLurker

Fiddlestick wrote: »

I'm not missing the point - if they don't accept cards then I simply won't stay there.

If that means traveling a bit further and finding accommodation that DOES take cards, then that's a loss for the whole region and not just the B&B.

Don't forget - if I don't stay in the local B&B then that's money that I'm not going to spend in the local pub that night or in the local shop in the morning before I leave and travel onwards.

I know there are regions where it's difficult to find somewhere that takes cards, but if I don't have cash then I don't have cash - wishing it weren't so won't change that.

But that's you. Maybe you don't want to stay in remote areas of the Highlands or Wales, but many do - Glasgow's a long way to commute to Ben Nevis!

In that case, if there was a specific area you wanted to go and you could only spend cash there, then going to an alternative area would be a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face - it might work for cities and built up areas, but there are areas in this country that don't and can't afford to take cards, but some people still treasure and appreciate those areas and cities aren't an alternative.

And yes, there are areas of this country with zero mobile coverage, no radio and no TV coverage - and they're very nice places for being like that.

Mark_In_Hampshire

BACS transfer as a faster payment is probably the closest alternative right now. It's usually cheaper for the payee to accept as well, if a business who pays transaction fees.

If you have a newish mobile then you can send those live using your web browser / internet banking and the other person can confirm receipt. immediately in the same way.

So in the case of B & Bs etc. you can send the money in advance before you leave.

As another poster said, by the time cheques vanish altogether there will be easy alternatives.

I run my own small business and stopped accepting cheques this year, they're just not worth the effort to deal with (having to go to the bank and pay them in) and I pay everyone and everything via BACS now anyway.

Fiddlestick

LongTermLurker wrote: »

But that's you. Maybe you don't want to stay in remote areas of the Highlands or Wales, but many do - Glasgow's a long way to commute to Ben Nevis!

Everywhere I visited around Glen Coe took cards.

[Deleted User]

I pay tradesmen by cheque still if they don't take cards.

Katie-Kat-Kins

Fiddlestick wrote: »

Are there no mobile signals *at all*?

Depends on the show. At Burghley (five mins from the centre of Stamford) this year many traders could not get signals for their card machines and had to rely upon cheques and cash and lost sales as a result.

The machines we had hired for the week was ok, but approximately 50% of traders couldn't get signals.

At more remote shows many mobile networks won't have coverage either.