Could you live without cash?

takman

martinthebandit wrote: »

......but not all.

Realistically how many workplaces will be big enough to have a bake sale or similar but not have any kind of internet connection.

onomatopoeia99

takman wrote: »

Well there is no reason why everyone couldn't have paid by card. A mobile card reader which also accepts contactless could have been used and they usually have a fixed fee of around 1.75% per transaction with no minimum payment (So only 1p per 50p spent).

We pay more than that for credit cards and we put a seven figure sum through each year.

And really, who wants to go through all the legal requirements of becoming an accepting merchant, PCI-DSS etc to sell a few cakes?

[Deleted User]

Car boot sales are the only time I really use cash - Most of these are just households getting rids of their crap - I cannot see them all taking card payments...Unless they did use paypal but then it would need to be instant before people gave their items away and what about all the dodgy items you bought when you had already sent your money.

takman

onomatopoeia99 wrote: »

We pay more than that for credit cards and we put a seven figure sum through each year.

And really, who wants to go through all the legal requirements of becoming an accepting merchant, PCI-DSS etc to sell a few cakes?

The iZettle mobile card reader takes a flat fee of 1.75% no matter what card is used (not sure if they accept Amex) and there is no fixed fees or minimum payment. It's also relatively simple to sign up and you just provide your details and bank account details.

So nowhere near as complicated as becoming a merchant with a "traditional" card reader.

There are many other payment methods available which are even easier to use. The only issue is the only standard payment method most people have are card payments. If cash was really being abolished then a suitable alternative would be easily developed.

onomatopoeia99

takman wrote: »

The iZettle mobile card reader takes a flat fee of 1.75% no matter what card is used (not sure if they accept Amex) and there is no fixed fees or minimum payment. It's also relatively simple to sign up and you just provide your details and bank account details.

So nowhere near as complicated as becoming a merchant with a "traditional" card reader.

Having studied it a bit it's not suitable for most businesses as it doesn't offer "customer not present" support at all, and I'd rather use cash than pay a 1.75% transaction fee.

Basic problem is that as soon as a "service" is introduced to replace cash, it adds another party to the transaction that wants a cut. That's good for the third party making their money, but when a perfectly good medium of exchange exists and has done for millenia, why force something new on people?

takman

onomatopoeia99 wrote: »

Having studied it a bit it's not suitable for most businesses as it doesn't offer "customer not present" support at all, and I'd rather use cash than pay a 1.75% transaction fee.

Basic problem is that as soon as a "service" is introduced to replace cash, it adds another party to the transaction that wants a cut. That's good for the third party making their money, but when a perfectly good medium of exchange exists and has done for millenia, why force something new on people?

I agree that the iZettle and similar is not suitable for alot of businesses but it is good for sole traders such as mobile beuticians and hairdressers who deal exclusively in cash and want to start take card payments. So that's why it would be the most suitable alternative to cash at a bake sale.

I can't see cash disappearing completely in a very long time especially considering there is still strong support for a system as obsolete as cheques. But just because it has existed for so long doesn't mean that it's the best way to pay for everything.
Paying for parking is a good example, I can either use cash and estimate how long I'm going to be staying before I buy a ticket. Or I can use an app like parkmobile where I simple press start when I park and press stop when I leave and pay for how long I stay (usually in 30 minute increments). This can easily and cheaply be implemented in most cost parks and to do this with cash would involve expensive barriers and ticket machines to be replaced/installed.

badmemory

When all the free methods of bartering (ie cash) have disappeared what % do you expect the transaction fee to go up to?

usefulmale

takman wrote: »

Just for your information If a credit card works on the internet it will work in card machines.

I thought the same as you but I took my credit card to the supermarket and it was declined. Back home an hour later, an Amazon purchase went through OK.

My credit card issuer confirmed that because I had not activated my card, it could only work in 'cardholder not present' situations, ie online. That suits me just fine.

takman wrote: »

But I think your post is quite interesting and it shows that people are happy to trade their "privacy" for convenience and rewards; even someone like you who appears to prefer to remain as anonymous as possible. You have still decided that the convenience of shopping online is worth giving your personal information to a credit card company and to a website to buy something online.

Its not a 'privacy' issue for me. I supply my name and address to the online supplier and a throwaway email address specific to that website. They don't need anything else to deliver my stuff and anything else they insist on having is made up by me.

It's more a 'control' issue. Introducing a third party (your bank / credit card issuer) to every transaction you do is a complete anathema for me. That third party is the arbiter in the transaction, not you. You only have the illusion of control.

Its not too hard to imagine, in a cashless society, that the third party can limit your purchases on the say-so of another authority.

Bottom line (for me) is, those crisp twenties in my pocket are mine, under my control, can be offered to purchase what I want, when I want, from who I want and it's just between me and the retailer.

Those twenties cannot be unilaterally cancelled by anyone (talking specifically about MY twenties in my pocket in isolation) and I have yet to find a retailer that will refuse them. They work without any technological input whatsoever, so they can't 'crash'.

I understand that there are downsides to cash but I can never knowingly support laying the foundation stone of authoritarianism that a cashless society would ultimately become.

Uxb

A cashless society is also a prerequisite for the government to enforce negative interest rates on bank deposits to "persuade" people to increase spending.

With cash available any such attempt to impose a negative interest rate regime on the masses would result in a mega bank run of gigantic proportions as everyone withdrew their funds into cash.

Frugalista

coffeehound wrote: »

A fairly superficial point but cash must be a major spreader of bacteria and whatnot. A lot (can't remember the %) of notes test positive for cocaine, meaning they've also been up someone's filthy hooter. Then there's the cashpoint keyboards. Using contactless cards/phone avoids a lot of that grime at a stroke.

This made me laugh! I work in a fuel station and cannot begin to tell you how many people stand there filling up with their cards in their mouth. They then come in and shove it in our card machine - saliva and all - and pick up all the residue from the previous card sucker. Makes me want to vomit :eek:.