Could you live without cash?

Former_MSE_Andrea

There's something about having the cash in your own hands. I think with contactless it's too easy to just pay and go and if you're not strongwilled you could end up spending more than you'd like.

pimento

I could live without cash but don't want to be tracked, thank you very much.

I always tip with cash.

NBLondon

Like many others have said - it does rely on the infrastructure being there and working. Phone to phone personal payments is the next step for small tradespeople, window cleaners etc. but still relies on you always having a phone with credit and power. My brother-in-law makes and sells stuff at craft fairs and has had to move from wads of notes to getting a card machine but still sometimes struggles to get a signal.


Some people will always want the untraceability of cash. I don't just mean drug dealers and bribe payers. What about those couples who put everything in one joint account? How do they (nice example) buy surprise presents for each other or (nasty example) fund a gambling/shoe-buying habit?


Personally - it was contactless (and TSB giving cashback on contactless) that moved me from cash to cards for small amounts and it seems to be so common as to be the norm in Central London.


I still use cash for tips in restaurants though - to ensure as best I can that it goes to the person I intended it for and not be skimmed by the employer.

hunters

globetraveller wrote: »

So what happens if power goes down?

I generally go to bed :j

pollyanna24

I think it's already been mentioned, but how would a car boot work if cash didn't exist?

Ganga

The Queen seems to manage ( never seen her put her hand in her purse )

[Deleted User]

pollyanna24 wrote: »

I think it's already been mentioned, but how would a car boot work if cash didn't exist?

I'm sure there will be future technological updates coming..

So we can all pay for stuff using NFC/contactless on our modern mobile phones. How long until we can accept payments on our phones too?

A car boot sale would work well if we could all pay individuals quickly using phones. Maybe it would be linked to a specific 'purse/wallet' that kept money separate from our bank accounts.

You could create a cashless society easily once person to person payments were seamless.

unholyangel

The chief economist of the bank of england wanted to make the UK cashless - because at present they can't have negative interest rates as people would just remove their money from the bank, but in a cashless society they wouldn't have that option - they'd be forced to either spend their money or pay a fee to save it.

Likewise, if they didn't want you spending money, they could have fees on transactions to discourage you from spending.

I think we'll move that way eventually, but hopefully not in my lifetime.

martinthebandit

ringo_24601 wrote: »

You could create a cashless society easily once person to person payments were seamless.

For most people, however there will always be a minority albeit small perhaps who for one reason or another, age, disability etc cannot use the wonderful new cashless technology, what happens to them?

[Deleted User]

pollyanna24 wrote: »

I think it's already been mentioned, but how would a car boot work if cash didn't exist?

I'm guessing a lot of amusement arcades would go out of business too.