Millions of people would struggle if the UK became completely cashless, report finds

Sensory

If a toilet attendant in a small independent UK nightclub can sell lollipops/gum and ask for tips using a contactless card reader, there is very little legitimate reason for any business to continue using cash.

Before the concept of money was conceived, we simply bartered directly with goods and services. The oldest coin is ~2600 years old, and paper currency is ~1300 years old. In comparison, it's only been 15 years since the advent of smartphones and contactless bank cards (like a newborn or rounding error in terms of centuries), and physical cash is already on its last legs for the vast majority of people.

[Deleted User]

All the entitled folk and boomers who use cash as a matter of principle have never worked in retail and had to deal with cash on a daily basis and the problems that this can entail also.

Since Covid it's even more easier to use your card anywhere. At the weekend I used mine to buy a coffee from a mobile food van, bought merch at a car show using contactless, and paid my tunnel toll charge online with my card. No need to find a cash machine or "make sure" I have coins. Beautiful.  

AstonSmith

Ergates said:

Regarding cost - it has cost you over the last 30+ years, you just haven't seen the costs because they're embedded, they're part of the cost of doing business and all consumers are paying for it whether they use cash or not. Exactly the same as with card transactions.

What stops card processors/merchant services from jacking up the processing fees dramatically when there's no alternative? Are the fees regulated by law?

Sensory

AstonSmith said:

Ergates said:

Regarding cost - it has cost you over the last 30+ years, you just haven't seen the costs because they're embedded, they're part of the cost of doing business and all consumers are paying for it whether they use cash or not. Exactly the same as with card transactions.

What stops card processors/merchant services from jacking up the processing fees dramatically when there's no alternative? Are the fees regulated by law?

In a word: yes.
Plus market competition.

Brexit necessitated changes when EU regulations no longer applied to the UK.

In the complete obsolescence of cash, new laws would undoubtedly be introduced and/or existing ones changed to adapt to any unforeseen consequences.

eskbanker

Sensory said:

AstonSmith said:

Ergates said:

Regarding cost - it has cost you over the last 30+ years, you just haven't seen the costs because they're embedded, they're part of the cost of doing business and all consumers are paying for it whether they use cash or not. Exactly the same as with card transactions.

What stops card processors/merchant services from jacking up the processing fees dramatically when there's no alternative? Are the fees regulated by law?

In a word: yes.
Plus market competition.

Brexit necessitated changes when EU regulations no longer applied to the UK.

In the complete obsolescence of cash, new laws would undoubtedly be introduced and/or existing ones changed to adapt to any unforeseen consequences.

But those regulatory interventions only cap interchange fees between issuing and acquiring banks, and don't impose any controls on the fees charged by acquirers to merchants, which will typically be more significant....

Sensory

eskbanker said:

Sensory said:

AstonSmith said:

Ergates said:

Regarding cost - it has cost you over the last 30+ years, you just haven't seen the costs because they're embedded, they're part of the cost of doing business and all consumers are paying for it whether they use cash or not. Exactly the same as with card transactions.

What stops card processors/merchant services from jacking up the processing fees dramatically when there's no alternative? Are the fees regulated by law?

In a word: yes.
Plus market competition.

Brexit necessitated changes when EU regulations no longer applied to the UK.

In the complete obsolescence of cash, new laws would undoubtedly be introduced and/or existing ones changed to adapt to any unforeseen consequences.

But those regulatory interventions only cap interchange fees between issuing and acquiring banks, and don't impose any controls on the fees charged by acquirers to merchants, which will typically be more significant....

Yes... hence the other parts of my post.

eskbanker

Sensory said:

eskbanker said:

Sensory said:

AstonSmith said:

Ergates said:

Regarding cost - it has cost you over the last 30+ years, you just haven't seen the costs because they're embedded, they're part of the cost of doing business and all consumers are paying for it whether they use cash or not. Exactly the same as with card transactions.

What stops card processors/merchant services from jacking up the processing fees dramatically when there's no alternative? Are the fees regulated by law?

In a word: yes.
Plus market competition.

Brexit necessitated changes when EU regulations no longer applied to the UK.

In the complete obsolescence of cash, new laws would undoubtedly be introduced and/or existing ones changed to adapt to any unforeseen consequences.

But those regulatory interventions only cap interchange fees between issuing and acquiring banks, and don't impose any controls on the fees charged by acquirers to merchants, which will typically be more significant....

Yes... hence the other parts of my post.

Yes, conscious that it's not really meaningful to try to condense a reasonably complex issue into a one-word answer, but if doing so then personally I'd say that 'no' would be a more accurate answer to "Are the fees regulated by law?" than 'yes', given the limited scope of legal control!

Sea_Shell

What about buskers or street artists etc, who rely on "money in the hat"?

GingerTim

Sea_Shell said:

What about buskers or street artists etc, who rely on "money in the hat"?

All the buskers I see at tube stations now also have a contactless 'tip jar' set up in addition to taking coins.

Sea_Shell

GingerTim said:

Sea_Shell said:

What about buskers or street artists etc, who rely on "money in the hat"?

All the buskers I see at tube stations now also have a contactless 'tip jar' set up in addition to taking coins.

How does that work?  Is it a set amount, say £1, or do you have to punch in the amount too?

Remind me not to pass too close to any buskers!! 😉