Recent experiences withdrawing a few thousand in cash

ColdIron

etienneg said:

ColdIron said:

I had to get a scaffolder and it was cash or no scaffolding

So if cash transactions above £1,000 were prohibited by law, what would the scaffolder do?

Hard to say, perhaps suck his teeth and ask for two payments? Or nothing at all as it was clear he wanted it off the books

etienneg

boingy said:

etienneg said:

GeoffTF said:

mongoose2009 said:

very soon you wont be able to do any transaction in cash over £1000 under an circumstance

The FCA has already proposed that and more for cash deposits:

For personal accounts we proposed a limit of £1,000 per 24-hour period (which is the minimum amount law enforcement are allowed to seize under the Proceeds of Crime Act) and £10,000 per 12-month period.

https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/financial-crime/cash-based-money-laundering

Can anyone explain why anybody has a legitimate need to do a transaction over £1,000 in cash? The usual response to this sort of question is along the lines of: "It's my money and I can do what I want with it!" But this isn't an answer - it just sidesteps the question! I can understand why drug dealers, smugglers and thieves love cash. I also understand why some unscrupulous traders want to hide from HMRC by using cash. None of these is a legitimate need.

OK, let me mention one instance which I might accept: that of selling a used car privately. Alternative payment methods exist, of course, but there are possible downsides (such as chargeback) that can put people off. Perhaps we need a payment method with a cast-iron guarantee? Food for thought for the providers of banking services.

This example aside, why do some people hate the idea of restricting cash to small transactions?

One of my legitimate reasons for large cash transactions: buying and selling vintage machinery. I occasionally buy, restore and sell vintage agricultural machines. Tractors, implements, accessories etc. The best place to buy and sell is at one of the regular vintage fairs. Prices are typically £500 to £2000 and cash is still pretty much the only way to trade unless you are buying from a dealer. Most of the "low-end" stuff is traded by private individuals. It's very much an old-fashioned experience and you won't find many youngsters there. So cash is king. It will change eventually but not for a while! 

And if you go to a farm machinery auction you'll still see many people handing over envelopes stuffed with cash rather than using the card payment option. 

These sound more like people who choose to pay by cash, rather than needing to do so. If cash transactions above £1,000 were prohibited by law, there are already alternatives that would come into use.

When Covid first arrived, and handling such as cash was thought a possible transmission method, many small traders changed to card-only payments. I'd never bought an ice cream from a van using anything but cash until then! Changes happen when there's a perceived advantage, and I see great advantage in restricting large cash transactions. I'm just trying to explore genuine reasons not to do this, and to see if there are good alternatives for situations I hadn't thought of.

km1500

the problem is if you are selling something there was no other secure way other than cash

yes you can have a bank transfer but these can be recalled if fraud is involved

I know there are such things as counterfeit notes but this aside the only secure way of selling something of high value is by taking cash and to be honest it's the only way I would sell something like a boat or a car or something like that

Barkin

For me... buying & selling used photographic gear - cameras, lenses - and musical instruments & band gear - guitars, amplifiers, PA kit etc. 

Mainly through various forums that I inhabit, generally via a meet up somewhere public (supermarket car parks are a favourite) where the buyer can examine the goods, the seller gets the readies, and both leave happy. 

Adyinvestment

etienneg said:

These sound more like people who choose to pay by cash, rather than needing to do so. 

Freedom of choice



I'm just trying to explore genuine reasons not to do this

Privacy

boingy

etienneg said:

boingy said:

etienneg said:

GeoffTF said:

mongoose2009 said:

very soon you wont be able to do any transaction in cash over £1000 under an circumstance

The FCA has already proposed that and more for cash deposits:

For personal accounts we proposed a limit of £1,000 per 24-hour period (which is the minimum amount law enforcement are allowed to seize under the Proceeds of Crime Act) and £10,000 per 12-month period.

https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/financial-crime/cash-based-money-laundering

Can anyone explain why anybody has a legitimate need to do a transaction over £1,000 in cash? The usual response to this sort of question is along the lines of: "It's my money and I can do what I want with it!" But this isn't an answer - it just sidesteps the question! I can understand why drug dealers, smugglers and thieves love cash. I also understand why some unscrupulous traders want to hide from HMRC by using cash. None of these is a legitimate need.

OK, let me mention one instance which I might accept: that of selling a used car privately. Alternative payment methods exist, of course, but there are possible downsides (such as chargeback) that can put people off. Perhaps we need a payment method with a cast-iron guarantee? Food for thought for the providers of banking services.

This example aside, why do some people hate the idea of restricting cash to small transactions?

One of my legitimate reasons for large cash transactions: buying and selling vintage machinery. I occasionally buy, restore and sell vintage agricultural machines. Tractors, implements, accessories etc. The best place to buy and sell is at one of the regular vintage fairs. Prices are typically £500 to £2000 and cash is still pretty much the only way to trade unless you are buying from a dealer. Most of the "low-end" stuff is traded by private individuals. It's very much an old-fashioned experience and you won't find many youngsters there. So cash is king. It will change eventually but not for a while! 

And if you go to a farm machinery auction you'll still see many people handing over envelopes stuffed with cash rather than using the card payment option. 

These sound more like people who choose to pay by cash, rather than needing to do so. If cash transactions above £1,000 were prohibited by law, there are already alternatives that would come into use.

When Covid first arrived, and handling such as cash was thought a possible transmission method, many small traders changed to card-only payments. I'd never bought an ice cream from a van using anything but cash until then! Changes happen when there's a perceived advantage, and I see great advantage in restricting large cash transactions. I'm just trying to explore genuine reasons not to do this, and to see if there are good alternatives for situations I hadn't thought of.

It's a two way street. If a seller only accepts cash it's hard to argue. You can choose not to buy the rusty broken machine that you like or you can pay cash. If you don't buy it someone else will and then you won't have the fun or the stress of making a broken thing work again. Most of those vintage machine folks trust cash more than anything else. It will change eventually but it will take more time. In the meantime there are probably a bunch of people keeping a couple of thousand in cash in their kitchen drawer because the banks are making it too hard to bank with it. Mind you, the banks are also making it hard to transfer cash between your own accounts. At present it feels like the banking system is assuming everyone is guilty rather than targeting their measures more precisely. I think that has to change.

How exactly would anyone enforce a ban on large cash transactions?

BTW, 5 minutes away from us is a chippy that only accepts cash. It also happens to be the best chippy in the area. f I ran that business I would be actively encouraging customer to pay electronically just so I didn't have to deal with large amounts of cash but they have made a different choice. And choice is good, isn't it? Cash is not evil.

Swipe

boingy said:

etienneg said:

boingy said:

etienneg said:

GeoffTF said:

mongoose2009 said:

very soon you wont be able to do any transaction in cash over £1000 under an circumstance

The FCA has already proposed that and more for cash deposits:

For personal accounts we proposed a limit of £1,000 per 24-hour period (which is the minimum amount law enforcement are allowed to seize under the Proceeds of Crime Act) and £10,000 per 12-month period.

https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/financial-crime/cash-based-money-laundering

Can anyone explain why anybody has a legitimate need to do a transaction over £1,000 in cash? The usual response to this sort of question is along the lines of: "It's my money and I can do what I want with it!" But this isn't an answer - it just sidesteps the question! I can understand why drug dealers, smugglers and thieves love cash. I also understand why some unscrupulous traders want to hide from HMRC by using cash. None of these is a legitimate need.

OK, let me mention one instance which I might accept: that of selling a used car privately. Alternative payment methods exist, of course, but there are possible downsides (such as chargeback) that can put people off. Perhaps we need a payment method with a cast-iron guarantee? Food for thought for the providers of banking services.

This example aside, why do some people hate the idea of restricting cash to small transactions?

One of my legitimate reasons for large cash transactions: buying and selling vintage machinery. I occasionally buy, restore and sell vintage agricultural machines. Tractors, implements, accessories etc. The best place to buy and sell is at one of the regular vintage fairs. Prices are typically £500 to £2000 and cash is still pretty much the only way to trade unless you are buying from a dealer. Most of the "low-end" stuff is traded by private individuals. It's very much an old-fashioned experience and you won't find many youngsters there. So cash is king. It will change eventually but not for a while! 

And if you go to a farm machinery auction you'll still see many people handing over envelopes stuffed with cash rather than using the card payment option. 

These sound more like people who choose to pay by cash, rather than needing to do so. If cash transactions above £1,000 were prohibited by law, there are already alternatives that would come into use.

When Covid first arrived, and handling such as cash was thought a possible transmission method, many small traders changed to card-only payments. I'd never bought an ice cream from a van using anything but cash until then! Changes happen when there's a perceived advantage, and I see great advantage in restricting large cash transactions. I'm just trying to explore genuine reasons not to do this, and to see if there are good alternatives for situations I hadn't thought of.

BTW, 5 minutes away from us is a chippy that only accepts cash. It also happens to be the best chippy in the area. f I ran that business I would be actively encouraging customer to pay electronically just so I didn't have to deal with large amounts of cash but they have made a different choice. And choice is good, isn't it? Cash is not evil.

My local chinese takeaway in the next village is the same. 

Eco_Miser

I'm treasurer of a community organisation that runs an annual summer carnival (and other events throughout the year) in an officially deprived area. So each year I bank our carnival takings from over a thousand rides, tombola tickets, coconut shy etc. at a pound a time, mostly handed over by children. Cards and card readers just wouldn't work, quite apart from the extra cost.

hallmark

etienneg said:

hallmark,

I respectfully suggest that if you go in with the attitude you display in your post, the bank is likely to decline your request for the cash. Any escalation to the use of bad language or rudeness to bank employees would simply lead to the bank closing your account and declining to do business with you in future. The same sort of thing applies to other banks, so don't just think you can move elsewhere and be any better off.

These days there is much more regulation on financial institutions than in the past. This places heavy responsibilities on them in respect of money laundering, so they are only trying to act lawfully and within the regulations. Use of cash for anything other than small transactions naturally raises questions, so your statement "I have no desire to divulge what I'll be doing with my money & shouldn't need to" is just plain wrong.

"Why don't you use a bank transfer, or cheque, or other such means to move your money?" is a perfectly reasonable question. Large amounts in cash naturally raises suspicions of illicit activity - drug dealing, stolen property, illegal imports, etc. - in other words, classic money laundering. Surely you see this? A little more reasonableness on your part would help a lot.

Strange post. Not quite sure how you got from "I'm intending to politely tell them I have no desire to divulge what I'll be doing with my money & shouldn't need to." to escalation to bad language & rudeness.

Likewise at no point did I suggest I'd be unreasonable or not comply with reasonable procedures.  I said I thought a 30-minute interview would be over the top. Nothing I said is unreasonable so it's strange you'd immediately say that. Perhaps you should re-read my post.

Ocelot

I use cash for everything apart from petrol, auction payments and online payments. Have always preferred it.

I have also spent £600 at a car boot sale in the past, and they only take cash.

I keep cash at home so I don't have to withdraw a large amount at any one time (yes I know it's a risk).