Going Cash

pumpkin89

@PollyWollyDoodle I know several treasurers of various groups and most no longer bother with the faff of banking cash - they do a transfer from their personal bank account and spend the cash.

Rosa_Damascena

pumpkin89 said:

@PollyWollyDoodle I know several treasurers of various groups and most no longer bother with the faff of banking cash - they do a transfer from their personal bank account and spend the cash.

Whilst this is true, it leaves them liable to accusations of impropriety.

PollyWollyDoodle

Exactly that. 

IrishRose12

MattMattMattUK said:

IrishRose12 said:

weenancyinAmerica said:

I think a person's age has a lot to do with the answers we are getting. Young people seem to only want a card society. Older people are afraid of a card only society. I wonder if a study has been done on how this card society affects charity giving as some of the answers sound like they don't give anything away to others. I see a card only society becoming very self-centered and lacking in empathy and it worries me.

Nothing to do with age.  I'm in my late 30's and will always use cash.  

Most people where I live are also going back to using cash, both young and old. Another 2 shops this week have put signs up in our local area stating they are only accepting cash from now on in.  

That is the exact opposite of anywhere I go as well as the data and reports in the media. Many businesses already card only or moving to card only, hardly anyone of any age using cash anymore. I am a similar age to you, I have not used cash for four years now and in the two years before that I used less than £100 of cash. 

The data also shows that the vast majority of transactions both by volume and value are on card and that is still growing, although some people seem to have an aversion to card payments and are getting quite vocal about their demands to use cash or go elsewhere the businesses response is generally to let them go, cash is just not worth the cost or hassle. 

And that's your opinion.

Here where I live.... in what's classed as a "disadvantaged" area, there's very few card or phone payments used in shops, and mostly cash.

Since last year when going to the supermarkets, I watch more and more people use cash.   In tescos, the longest  queues are for the tills that accept cash.
Again, because if the costs of using card machines, WiFi etc our local shops are going back to cash only, 1. Because of the costs. And 2. Because most customers are now using cash again.

We also have a lot of elderly people,  a traditional population in our area and those residents don't use a lot of technology.  They don't have the Internet in their houses let alone know how to use it..... my own parent, elderly family members etc included.  

Our area have many community events throughout the year and it's all cash used.  For the children to pay for ice-cream,  to buying mix-ups at the sweet stall, to paying a pound to go on the bouncy castles etc.
We also gave various fundraising throughout the year for a big community event in August.  So it's cash for the carboot sales, bub sales, jumble sales etc.

I've seen a lot of people talk about donating to charities on here via direct debit.
I don't donate to charities who require bank details.  I'm very careful who has my personal details. 
I also don't line the pockets of people in suits who claim to do this and that forntheir charity when in reality, the charity gets very very little of my donation.
Again, my donations are cash donations only. .. and they go to the local food bank run by volunteers, myself being one of them. My cash donations are used to purchase gas and electric credits for people for example.  Most of my charity donations are actually physical items needed. Be it food, nappies, milk for babies, toys, period products, clothes for the homeless shelters etc.
And items I don't use at home anymore are donated to various charities and shelters.  
That way I am ensuring that my donations are actually going to the people who need them help, and not lining someone's pocket. 

Now I don't know what "data" you are relying on, but my data is seen with my own eyes and heard from the horses mouth, and what I have learnt myself from experience over the years.

leftatthetrafficlights

MattMattMattUK said:

leftatthetrafficlights said:

MattMattMattUK said:

IrishRose12 said:

weenancyinAmerica said:

I think a person's age has a lot to do with the answers we are getting. Young people seem to only want a card society. Older people are afraid of a card only society. I wonder if a study has been done on how this card society affects charity giving as some of the answers sound like they don't give anything away to others. I see a card only society becoming very self-centered and lacking in empathy and it worries me.

Nothing to do with age.  I'm in my late 30's and will always use cash.  

Most people where I live are also going back to using cash, both young and old. Another 2 shops this week have put signs up in our local area stating they are only accepting cash from now on in.  

That is the exact opposite of anywhere I go as well as the data and reports in the media. Many businesses already card only or moving to card only, hardly anyone of any age using cash anymore. I am a similar age to you, I have not used cash for four years now and in the two years before that I used less than £100 of cash. 

The data also shows that the vast majority of transactions both by volume and value are on card and that is still growing, although some people seem to have an aversion to card payments and are getting quite vocal about their demands to use cash or go elsewhere the businesses response is generally to let them go, cash is just not worth the cost or hassle. 

I've noticed many more people using cash than previously - our local tesco has a couple of cash only self-serve tills and there are regularly queues for those whereas I breeze through the card tills. My dd who is in her thirties has taken to using cash as opposed to card in the past six months or so as have the majority of her friends. Everyone will have different experiences and anecdotal evidence when it comes to this issue and are more than entitled to make a choice about their own methods of spending their money without being accused of irrationality! 

If people are saying that they want to be money saving, then excluding online shopping and any retail operations that do not accept cash then that is contradictory and irrational. Refusing to use digital payments for a bunch of reasons previously listed which do not make sense, such as "not being told what to do", is irrational. 

leftatthetrafficlights said:
I'm confused as to why you feel that accepting cash is more costly to the retailer - I used to own a retail business and having a card machine meant I paid the bank a monthly fee plus a percentage of each transaction; cash was bagged up and deposited for free....definitely preferable for me and my profit margin! 

Banks now charge cash handling fees, change fees, it costs employee time to cash up and visit bank branches, it increases losses (either accidental or through employee dishonesty), it increases insurance costs etc. Larger businesses will use the facilities of cash delivery and collection companies etc.

For card payments a small business will be looking at no monthly fee and around 1.2% transaction fee on a credit card, for debit cards it can be as low as 20p per transaction, large businesses will be paying less than one percent.

Many people find it easier to control their budgets using cash, it doesn't mean that they are not trying to be money saving, it just means that they have set parameters that work for them on their journey. Just because you disagree with their reasoning or principles doesn't make their choices irrational nor does it invalidate them. I buy predominantly ethically produced products that cost considerably more than the standard off the shelf equivalents cost and boycott certain producers - that doesn't mean that I'm not money saving or irrational, it just means that I am making financial choices that suit my journey. 

From having a quick mooch on the internet, the average bank cash handling charge is around 50p per £100 deposited - so while I acknowledge that things have changed since I owned my business, I would disagree that it's more expensive for a small business to accept cash - depending on the types of goods sold, 20p per transaction would certainly have a negative impact on profits.

hugheskevi

weenancyinAmerica said:

Here stores have to pay the credit card company 3% of the price to cover costs. So many places will give the discount if you use cash. The company that takes care of my swimming pool accepts Zelle payments, debit card payments, or checks. If you want to use a credit card, they tack on the extra 3% to the cost. 

The American experience is my main concern about a cashless society.

We already have a lot of regulation in the UK around payments, requiring the cost of purchases with credit cards to be no more than other payment mechanisms and also capping Visa and MasterCard charges.

The US shows that this regulation is necessary, given the much higher fees in the US that credit cards levy. The recent experience with Visa and MasterCard fees for business between UK and EU also shows a problem, with fees increasing by a factor of 5 since Brexit removed the intercharge cap. 

I think this all shows a cashless society would need extensive regulation due to the duopoly of Visa and MasterCard. Perhaps other providers would compete to keep charges down, but there is little evidence of that happening on any scale to date. I am very nervous about any private market that requires extensive regulation and govt intervention to stop consumers and businesses being fleeced. Even if cash is little used, it nonetheless helps to provide an alternative to potentially anti competitive practices.

DullGreyGuy

mumf said:

When my wife took me to hospital for my regular MRI scan,we parked on the car park that takes only cash payments. No problem to us,as we keep plenty in the motor. One chap though couldn’t pay,as he uses only his phone! My wife ,being the kind person she is,paid his parking. 

It goes both ways, went to a market a while back which had a £5 entry, the old boy in front handed a note over but was told it was card only. He complained saying there was no signs and he'd wasted his time queuing as he didn't have any cards with him which the ticket person apologised for but reconfirmed it was cash only. 

We paid for an extra ticket on a card and he gave the Mrs the £5 

Certainly in London, other than the old "3 lighters for £1" type street markets, you are much more likely to find places that don't take cash than don't take cards. 

DullGreyGuy

Madbat60 said:

I will walk out of premises that say card only.  I refuse to be dictated to by companies.  

Perfectly entitled to vote with your wallet, depending on what you're into though you are certainly still being dictated to by companies. Plenty of things can only be bought from certain shops which are all card only so you can't go buy it elsewhere in cash. 

Certain brands don't allow their products to be sold online, if you go instore and buy in cash you're still following their dictation of having to do that even if you don't realise. 

Personally would rather the grumpy old man counting out his coppers to pay for his beer did just leave instead so those just tapping and going (irrespective of age or mood) can move on and get served quicker. 

booneruk

hugheskevi said:

Visa and MasterCard fees for business between UK and EU also shows a problem, with fees increasing by a factor of 5 since Brexit removed the intercharge cap. 

If I understand it correctly, the fee could rise from 0.3% to 1.5%, which is peanuts when buying something inexpensive. If an online EU supplier wants to play silly and quote me a largely inflated price in sterling compared with Euros then I'll find somewhere else to shop. Though, I can't remember the last time I've had something shipped in from the EU.

Presumably there's nothing stopping us implementing regulation to limit the fees they can charge also?

mumf

DullGreyGuy said:

Madbat60 said:

I will walk out of premises that say card only.  I refuse to be dictated to by companies.  

Perfectly entitled to vote with your wallet, depending on what you're into though you are certainly still being dictated to by companies. Plenty of things can only be bought from certain shops which are all card only so you can't go buy it elsewhere in cash. 

Certain brands don't allow their products to be sold online, if you go instore and buy in cash you're still following their dictation of having to do that even if you don't realise. 

Personally would rather the grumpy old man counting out his coppers to pay for his beer did just leave instead so those just tapping and going (irrespective of age or mood) can move on and get served quicker. 

How nasty! Get out of our way because we don’t use cash is effectively what you are suggesting.