A cashless society - peer to peer payments?

Type_45

Gadfium said:

Type_45 said:

Gadfium said:

Type_45 said:

AlanP_2 said:

Same way many of us do now - card / contactless and/or bank transfer and/or one of the phone pay systems

All of which carry fees (or can be made to) and are traceable.

If I give you £10 for washing my car it is between us and cannot be interfered with or monitored.

AKA, the "black economy" or tax evasion. Why should someone expect income to be untraceable?

Someone would probably expect it because it's been that way since the creation of money thousands of years ago.

If you wash my car and I give you £10 you will declare it to the tax man, will you? 

In other words, if you don't lock your front door then it's OK if I wander in and steal your stuff.

You're going to have to explain that statement if you want a response.

Apodemus

eskbanker said:

Use what you like!  I'd suggest that those who buy into the dystopian fantasy pay each other with Bacofoil....

..with a daily quoted Baco to Alcan exchange rate?

Eco_Miser

Pieces of precious metal, probably stamped into discs, or IOUs written on paper, probably pre-printed by a trusted dealer.

eskbanker

Or small cheap Italian hatchbacks perhaps?

barnstar2077

Eco_Miser said:

Pieces of precious metal, probably stamped into discs, or IOUs written on paper, probably pre-printed by a trusted dealer.

I don't think a drug dealer is necessarily going to be able to verify a precious metal down a dark alley at one in the morning.  It has to be something instantly recognisable, something that doesn't have to be prefabricated by criminals, readily available and usable by all.  Like carrots.  "How many carrots for a bag mate?"

Type_45

barnstar2077 said:

Eco_Miser said:

Pieces of precious metal, probably stamped into discs, or IOUs written on paper, probably pre-printed by a trusted dealer.

I don't think a drug dealer is necessarily going to be able to verify a precious metal down a dark alley at one in the morning.  It has to be something instantly recognisable, something that doesn't have to be prefabricated by criminals, readily available and usable by all.  Like carrots.  "How many carrots for a bag mate?"

Precious metals may well work.

Mobile phone minutes are also an option.

cricidmuslibale

Cash should always remain a viable option for those who need it most e.g. for some people it really does help them keep track of their day to day spending when they are handing money over in person rather than say simply swiping with a card. For me, e.g. £100 paid in cash seems a lot more money to be spending in one go than £100 paid via any other payment method and that is imo a good thing as it keeps me respecting the true value of money and never ever taking it for granted! If you are worried about coins not being clean in these very sad but abnormal COVID times then why not do as I do and wash them thoroughly with soap and water as soon as you get home after shopping. Obviously it is a good idea to give your hands a good soap and water wash immediately afterwards and then really there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

Type_45

cricidmuslibale said:

Cash should always remain a viable option for those who need it most e.g. for some people it really does help them keep track of their day to day spending when they are handing money over in person rather than say simply swiping with a card. For me, e.g. £100 paid in cash seems a lot more money to be spending in one go than £100 paid via any other payment method and that is imo a good thing as it keeps me respecting the true value of money and never ever taking it for granted! If you are worried about coins not being clean in these very sad but abnormal COVID times then why not do as I do and wash them thoroughly with soap and water as soon as you get home after shopping. Obviously it is a good idea to give your hands a good soap and water wash immediately afterwards and then really there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

I'm not necessarily suggesting that viruses/disease cannot be passed on by exchanging cash.

However:

Covid is simply being used a a weapon to turn people off using cash by those who will benefit from the abolishion of cash. PayPal, MasterCard, visa, BoE, the government, Amazon, eBay, Apple, Google etc etc. 

cricidmuslibale

If Covid really is being used as a weapon in that way then that is entirely wrong in what is supposed to be a free country (i.e. the UK)! One of the key principles of living in a western democracy is that, unlike in a totalitarian state like China, the citizens of that democratic country should be free to choose whenever this is at all practicable. Clearly using cash as opposed to other payment methods is an entirely feasible method of payment, especially when this pandemic has been brought under control, and as long as people clearly wish to use cash then it should be available for use by them!  Restricting or worse still abolishing the use of cash when it is quite clear that some people, particularly but not exclusively by any means the elderly, wish to use cash on a regular basis is quite simply entirely wrong and any properly democratic and accountable government surely would not allow this to happen!

P.S. If you want to really cheese off your most reliable voters (the elderly and those living in rural areas) then a Tory government abolishing or restricting the use of cash is a sure fire way of doing just that!

barnstar2077

cricidmuslibale said:

If Covid really is being used as a weapon in that way then that is entirely wrong in what is supposed to be a free country (i.e. the UK)! One of the key principles of living in a western democracy is that, unlike in a totalitarian state like China, the citizens of that democratic country should be free to choose whether this is at all practicable. Clearly using cash as opposed to other payment methods is an entirely feasible method of payment, especially when this pandemic has been brought under control, and as long as people clearly wish to use cash then it should be available for use by them!  Restricting or worse still abolishing the use of cash when it is quite clear that some people, particularly but not exclusively by any means the elderly, wish to use cash on a regular basis is quite simply entirely wrong and any properly democratic and accountable government surely would not allow this to happen!

P.S. If you want to really cheese off your most reliable voters (the elderly and those living in rural areas) then a Tory government abolishing or restricting the use of cash is a sure fire way of doing just that!

I don't think it could be abolished any time soon, but anyone who is under thirty now isn't going to care about it being done away with in the future.  I for one am glad that my local buses all take cards now, as do the vending machines at work.  Saves me a lot of bother.