MSE Poll: Are you part of the cashless society? How often do you use cash?

MSE_Chris_O

Poll started 21 September 2021

During the pandemic we saw a decline in the use of cash, with people favouring other methods of payment, such as contactless. With the government planning to increase the contactless limit again next month – up to £100 – we want to find out how cashless our society is now, and how many still prefer using it.

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Did you vote? Are you surprised at the results so far? Have your say below.
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jenniewb

Choice is out of my hands. Most if not all the shops I visit only have cashless facilities.

behelpful

I pay with cash, where possible, because

• it's my business what I do with my money
• it reduces the time spent checking my card bill (mistakes do happen)
• it's paid for when it's paid for
  

DCFC79

jenniewb said:

Choice is out of my hands. Most if not all the shops I visit only have cashless facilities.

Not sure where you are but I've not come across a purely cashless option to pay.

SUFTUM

I have always used mostly cash when buying things. I have a debit card but no idea what the pin is!! Just come back from Isle of Wight festival where they have gone card only - so frustrating, had to rely on friends to buy and give them cash in exchange. Should be illegal to refuse cash. It's a form of discrimination

JGB1955

I have just taken £10 out, in cash, from my local Post Office.  This is the first cash I've withdrawn since March 2020 and is only necessary because our local cinema only accepts cash.

I was on the Isles of Scilly earlier in the summer - even the honesty boxes on the fruit/veg/flower stalls are equipped with a PDQ machine, along with instructions on how to use it!

anotheruser

behelpful said:

I pay with cash, where possible, because

• it's my business what I do with my money
• it reduces the time spent checking my card bill (mistakes do happen)
• it's paid for when it's paid for
  

1) It is your business but if you don't keep up with society, should you have a voice when you're left behind?  Because I'm pretty certain there were people that didn't liked steam trains and didn't like diesel trains and look where are now.

2) What do you need to check for?  To make sure it hasn't gone through twice?  Ask someone who checks.  How many times has that happened in the last 5 years?

3) Use a debit card and it's paid for when it's paid for (very few transactions fail to show as pending or not taken immediately).


Ask retailers - paying with cash is the bane of their lives and while I fully appreciate some people are reliant on it, just because they're of an older generation who don't trust banks does not mean we should continue to hold on to cash just for them.  We'll drop it sooner or later and there is absolutely NOTHING anyone can do to stop it.

whydoineedone

We will always need cash - whip round at work for a birthday present? A banknote in a child’s Christmas card? A few coins to the homeless guy? The kitty in a game of Newmarket ? 

WayneMT

I work for a charity that helps and looks after adults with learning disabilities. We have for years taken them out at the weekend for them to have 'a life' and for respite reasons. We are facing discrimination at an alarming rate, because the people we care for, want to use cash. A lot of places, including well known places like Warner Brother Studio tour and Warwick Castle have stopped (or don't want you to use) cash as a means to pay for food or gift items. A person with Learning Disabilities will often not have the mental capacity to be able to use a debit/credit card, so will always use cash. Yet these so called 'inclusive' places are being rude and offensive towards us when we inform them that our 'guys' will need to use cash. Warner Brothers Studio Tour's staff are generally very well equipped and educated to deal with a person with autism, but some of the staff in the shop and café are disgustingly vile towards a disabled person, with a clear discriminatory attitude. 

Murphybear

jenniewb said:

Choice is out of my hands. Most if not all the shops I visit only have cashless facilities.

When the first lockdown was over and hairdressers opened up again I got my hair done and asked the hairdresser to put the tip onto the electronic payment.  He said they weren’t allowed to, all tips had to be paid in cash.  Fortunately I had a nice new £5 note in my purse.  

AlPal

I hardly use cash now. Perhaps I would drop some money into a collection bucket. The pandemic really launched me into cashless spending and I am now happy using contactless payment. However, I do like to keep the option of using cash.