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

General_Grant

MrFrugalFever said:

Deleted_User said:

Yeah if you're going to tip then do it directly, adding it to the bill the staff aren't likely to get the benefit off it.

Or the restaurants could just pay their staff correctly. Tipping is a dirty American habit.

Didn't tipping come about way back with the "To Insure Promptness" points in London Coffee Houses?

Migster

General_Grant said:

Didn't tipping come about way back with the "To Insure Promptness" points in London Coffee Houses?

In a word...no.  

Rob5342

MrFrugalFever said:

Deleted_User said:

Yeah if you're going to tip then do it directly, adding it to the bill the staff aren't likely to get the benefit off it.

Or the restaurants could just pay their staff correctly. Tipping is a dirty American habit.

My thoughts exactly, the staff are doing the job they are paid to do, not giving up their time to help you. When you pay your council tax bill you don't add an extra £5 on to go towards the council's electricity bill, so why do people single out one of a restaurants many costs and give money for that only.

anotheruser

Angelica123 said:

I guess the problem is there is a proportion of the population who are unable to easily open accounts (such as refugees or those without fixed abodes). Until everyone can access a  card, we cannot go cashless.

We can...
It just means some people will miss out.

That happens everywhere in everything - not all bus stops have seats so people who can't stand cannot use the bus from that stop, for example.

We cannot accommodate everyone for every preference or circumstance.

It should be a question of how we get there rather than if.

anotheruser

Alex9384 said:

Ergates said:

Alex9384 said:

You don't have to use cash but simply having that option should never be taken away from us.

Having that option comes at a cost.   Are *you* willing to bear that cost if the majority of people don't want it?  Or do you expect other people to pay for your choices?

And if banks introduce negative interest rates, are you willing to pay for having your money just sitting in your account? Because you won't be able to withdraw it and put in under the mattress anymore.

Don't people really care about privacy? You really want to be tracked 24/7 just because "I have nothing to hide"? Do you know who will be in power in 20, 50, 100 years from now? What if you or your kids become "inconvenient" to someone? Just like Russia was cut from SWIFT payments, same thing can be done to an individual person. With no physical cash, you will be f**ked.

That's a whole load of "what-ifs" there.

What if the government control interest rates so they won't ever go negative, or if they do, people cannot be charged for having a basic bank account (remembering a lot of people already pay for bank accounts anyway).

Do you believe you are being tracked through your bank any more than your phone tracks where you go or these days, even your car will send data back to the manufacturer.

It's highly unlikely individuals will be wiped out of any sort of banking unless they've done something to break the terms of service.  Remember, you are one of millions - you're not an individual the bank really cares about, just a statistic.

Remember, the naysayers said this about contactless and how everyone will be losing their money through people tapping readers on their wallets.  How many has that happened to?  If it became major a problem, the news agencies would be all over it.  It isn't a problem, hence they aren't.

kaMelo

I'm someone who hardly ever uses cash and no I wouldn't struggle without it but, I would loath to see it phased out for the simple reason of choices. If I'm selling a car privately for example I want cash, there may well be other methods but none I'd be happy with. If businesses still want to take, prefer or only take cash payments then so be it, again it's about choices of both business and individuals.  I'm really surprised though to see a vocal minority actually wanting it to happen and quickly rather than just let it happen organically, or at all.

On a side note I've always kept a couple of thousand in cash at home and don't see that changing in the near future. It's my 'just in case' fund and no, I'm not a tin foil hat wearer but who really knows what may happen. In the event something does then I'm not penniless awaiting an electronic transaction.

QueenJess

The Bank of England have said they will make cash available for as long as there is demand for it. I don’t see a problem with having it there as complimentary to cashless payments. Cash is universally inclusive (which has pros and cons of course), but cashless currently isn’t as everyone doesn’t have a bank account etc. They may be a minority, but that would have to be resolved.

Without being conspiracy theory about it, I do feel weird about every single transaction I make being tracked and I can’t opt out of that system without cash there. It’s not like I have anything to hide, but I don’t like the lack of privacy this implies.

General_Grant

QueenJess said:

The Bank of England have said they will make cash avoidable for as long as there is demand for it. I don’t see a problem with having it there as complimentary to cashless payments. Cash is universally inclusive (which has pros and cons of course), but cashless currently isn’t as everyone doesn’t have a bank account etc. They may be a minority, but that would have to be resolved.

Without being conspiracy theory about it, I do feel weird about every single transaction I make being tracked and I can’t opt out of that system without cash there. It’s not like I have anything to hide, but I don’t like the lack of privacy this implies.

Freudian slip?

QueenJess

General_Grant said:

QueenJess said:

The Bank of England have said they will make cash avoidable for as long as there is demand for it. I don’t see a problem with having it there as complimentary to cashless payments. Cash is universally inclusive (which has pros and cons of course), but cashless currently isn’t as everyone doesn’t have a bank account etc. They may be a minority, but that would have to be resolved.

Without being conspiracy theory about it, I do feel weird about every single transaction I make being tracked and I can’t opt out of that system without cash there. It’s not like I have anything to hide, but I don’t like the lack of privacy this implies.

Freudian slip?

😂oops! I meant available! It appears that my phone software is plotting against me 🤣

Angelica123

anotheruser said:

Angelica123 said:

I guess the problem is there is a proportion of the population who are unable to easily open accounts (such as refugees or those without fixed abodes). Until everyone can access a  card, we cannot go cashless.

We can...
It just means some people will miss out.

That happens everywhere in everything - not all bus stops have seats so people who can't stand cannot use the bus from that stop, for example.

We cannot accommodate everyone for every preference or circumstance.

It should be a question of how we get there rather than if.

But the two analogies are hardly similar. With your bus stop analogy - people who can't stand could choose to use an alternative route that could cater to their needs (or an alternative method of assistance while waiting such as a wheelchair). 

I think there is a huge difference between catering to preferences and accommodating/considering the most vulnerable members of society. At the moment, we have a cash/card hybrid system which is at least generally inclusive - to move to a completely cashless system we would have to ensure it was at least if not more inclusive (which could be possible but would require reform of the current system).