Going Cash

simongregson

Both of my kids schools are cashless and in a deprived area. I'd rather that the schools concentrate on educating rather than paying people to count coins and take them to the bank, I'm sure the cost of them doing that in hourly pay is more than the cost of accepting electronic payments. I'm a teacher as well and in England we haven't been required to collect money from students for the best part of 20 years now. The only exception was mufti days, but now the school puts up just giving QR codes and that encourages the parents to gift aid the donation. In the canteen at the school I work at younger students pay using a topped up parent pay account that allows parents to control spending, and sixth formers either use this or pay by card. This is probably educating them pretty well in the world they are actually going to live in in that they have an account and need to keep an eye on it to monitor the balance and spending.

I believe that it is possible for parents to top up accounts using cash at a corner shop using paypoint or similar, but I doubt that very many do this - this keeps cash off the premises which would have to be banked or would be a security issue. 

kah22

I honestly don’t know the answer but cash is the legal currency of the country, cards are not. So what happens if a traders agrees to sell me an article for £X and I produce cash can he refuse to sell me that item if a card only sign is not displayed

joedenise

kah22 said:

I honestly don’t know the answer but cash is the legal currency of the country, cards are not. So what happens if a traders agrees to sell me an article for £X and I produce cash can he refuse to sell me that item if a card only sign is not displayed

Yes.  A price is only an offer to buy and can be paid by whatever means he wishes but personally I doubt anyone would refuse to accept cash.

kah22

joedenise said:

kah22 said:

I honestly don’t know the answer but cash is the legal currency of the country, cards are not. So what happens if a traders agrees to sell me an article for £X and I produce cash can he refuse to sell me that item if a card only sign is not displayed

Yes.  A price is only an offer to buy and can be paid by whatever means he wishes but personally I doubt anyone would refuse to accept cash.

Thought it might be something like that but was just wondering if the deal had been made could the trader then say ‘No Deal!’ But as you rightly said very few business will refuse. 💷💶💰 cash

weenancyinAmerica

It is discrimination against those who can't afford a phone or who don't have a credit or debit card. They are being left out of society completely. I even feel left out because I don't currently have a cell phone and can't afford it either. I stay home a lot instead.

mumf

Our youngest daughter has had bad dental pain. Yesterday,Sunday,she was able to see a private dentist. It looks like she will be sorted,and be ok. She was worried about the price,so I gave her £300 to help out. The dentist wasn’t happy with cash! My daughter told them it’s that or nothing. They took it! 

JIL

weenancyinAmerica said:

It is discrimination against those who can't afford a phone or who don't have a credit or debit card. They are being left out of society completely. I even feel left out because I don't currently have a cell phone and can't afford it either. I stay home a lot instead.

There are very few people who wont have a debit or credit card.
Gone are the days when benefits or wages are paid in cash. Majority are paid into bank accounts which provides a debit card. Basic bank accounts are available and they also have debit cards.

But I do agree there has to be provision provided for cash.

oldernonethewiser

weenancyinAmerica said:

It is discrimination against those who can't afford a phone or who don't have a credit or debit card. They are being left out of society completely. I even feel left out because I don't currently have a cell phone and can't afford it either. I stay home a lot instead.

There has been, for many years, a digital divide where those who can access newer technologies have benefited in some way more so than those who can't. 

What do you feel left out from by not having a mobile phone?

elsien

weenancyinAmerica said:

It is discrimination against those who can't afford a phone or who don't have a credit or debit card. They are being left out of society completely. I even feel left out because I don't currently have a cell phone and can't afford it either. I stay home a lot instead.

I can see in some circumstances not having a mobile might make things difficult -  I would find it very hard to be without mine now. But as I often leave mine behind when I go out for social activities, I'm also unsure why not having one means you need to stay at home.

MattMattMattUK

kah22 said:

I honestly don’t know the answer but cash is the legal currency of the country, cards are not. 

The legal currency of the country is Pounds Sterling, whether that is cash, card, electronic transfer etc. If you mean legal tender then that has already been posted on here, it has a very narrow application and it only applies to debts, not purchases in shops.

kah22 said:

So what happens if a traders agrees to sell me an article for £X and I produce cash can he refuse to sell me that item if a card only sign is not displayed

Yes, he can refuse to sell you the item for any reason as long as it is not legally discriminatory (race, sex, sexual orientation etc.).