That a Vodafone shop wouldn’t accept cash in payment and it pissed me off?

When I got my bag stolen once (with my purse and phone inside it, but thankfully not my passport) I went to my bank branch, withdrew cash, cancelled my card, walked into Vodafone and bought a pay as you go phone to make the appropriate calls. I couldn't use a pay phone because my area had done away with them. I could pay cash for the phone, pay cash for the top up. It meant that within a couple of hours I had basically resolved the situation and that I didn't have to miss work the next day or anything. Would have been a completely different story without being able to pay cash.

A few years ago we had new windows fitted to our house. When invoiced, I paid them in cash, if you worked for them, would you again think I was dodging tax?

I might think that, tbh.

All our bank accounts have a limit of how much we can withdraw in cash from machines (£200 pd for mine, £300 for DP's and the joint account). If we were minded to pay cash for something large, we'd have to get to a branch during working hours to get the cash out. Santander, who we have a joint a/c with has closed their local branch and the nearest one is 12 miles away. With banks closing branches, a lot of people must find themselves in this position (we don't have a Barclays here, either). When we bought our car, and our motorhome (both from private sellers), we paid by doing an online transfer there and then.

So yes, I'd be a bit suspicious that someone who wanted to pay a big bill in cash had themselves been paid in cash to avoid tax.

I tend to draw out money each week and use cash day to day because it keeps me accountable in terms of spending what's in my purse and no more - otherwise I have loads of small contactless transactions for meaningless things which add up and I lose track of them. My mum who's in her 70s never carries cash and uses a card for everything though!

A lot of local independent shops around our way (Zone 4 SE London) are going cashless, no cash on the premesis seriously reduces the risk of burglaries/theft. I can see how it wouldn't work in a different sort of community but in our area it works really well.

For this kind of retailer that is usually selling expensive items or contracts I think it's fair enough. The number of people who would want to use cash in their stores must be tiny and there is a lot of extra work and hassle around handling cash. It makes commercial sense for them not to.

I'm rubbish about remembering to carry cash. Usually only catches me out in the occasional car park that doesn't have a card reader or an app option to pay.

I've recently come across somewhere where the parking machines for on-street parking don't take cash. Possibly Brighton, but I can't remember.

@ Saskia - yes i was caught out by this on supertram, had to 'borrow' cash of my 12 yo to get to the children's hospital. the conductor got the fare but in loads of change. I was surprised that they didn't take contactless.
My Mum is 86 and lives rurally and totally relies on cash, never uses card. the local village shop only takes cash anyway. there are no cash machine nearby so she hoards cash in the house (think several thousand) which we are concerned about.

Towards the end of last year, we had an internet outage that covered quite a wide area and went on for 2.5 days. Our local shops couldn't take card payments.

Something like that can happen any time (in fact, it happened on Wednesday in the area where I work and affected the local shop there). What would these shops do then?

Our shop was brilliant, by the way, and let people have stuff on tick, trusting them to come back and pay when it was sorted.

How would that work with children if we went cashless? Where would they learn about cash without actually seeing it?
As i said above my dc are early 20s but they know exactly what is happening with their money through phone aps etc.

BoomBoomsCousi if they're in the vodafone shop looking to buy a phone or a contract, i doubt they're that vulnerable.

What a stupid idea.
I hate using my card with cash I know EXACTLY how much I have to last etc.
How would that work with children if we went cashless? Where would they learn about cash without actually seeing it?

London buses are now cashless

Khione unless it's changed in the last couple of weeks, you can't use a contactless debit/credit card on a Sheffield tram. The only contactless cards they take are travel cards/season tickets. You can on buses though.

YANBU. The shop may not be obliged to take cash, but they could at least have a clear sign to say so. This would avoid the embarrassment of customers being turned away at the till.

chomalungma

Gift card instead

Someone will device a card that everyone can put money into and then you pop that in the card- they then activate the card to get a PIN number

@DappledThings you can use your contactless card directly on the tram in Sheffield - and I suspect (but can't confirm) on the bus too.

I’ve taken debit card payments for 20p this week... we have no limit & therefore the customer can pay in this way

Lose it and you are stuffed till a replacement comes.
At least a new card will come and you still have access to your money. Lose cash and its gone for good.
Also credit cards give you added protection on amounts over £100,

Cashless societies would make work collections more difficult. And the thrill of opening a card to see a bank transfer

It’s how people like to pay for goods, so the shops will turn to that method.
Eventually shops will not be taking cash

Banks charge for taking cash, a staff member needs to bank cash, time out of shop, banks have less staff so longer for shop member in bank

Easier to not take cash and just take card payment

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve handed over cash in a bar when my offered note is met by the bar staff handing me the swipe machine. Cash really is dying out. The only places I see that only accept cash are nail bars and I suspect that’s all part of their general dodginess.

Which makes me think- we went to the Elton John gig at Hove cricket ground last year. We were a group of 7 aged from 23-60. We were amazed to discover (after queuing) that none of the many drinks tents took cards, the whole ground was cash only. Since between us we could only raise about £20 cash and there are no cash machines on site we had a very abstemious gig as did many people around us. Good for our livers but not so good for their profits. I now wonder if this was a tax dodging plan of the caterers that misfired when so many people didn’t have cash with them.

the Sheffield ones have an announcement telling you to 'hold on' which really adds to the thrill

Love it! I might go to the bother of finding cash after all!

Using a card for £1 just felt too silly for me

Same here. I'm of the age where I feel like a bit of a twat paying by card for under about a fiver.

I also wonder if it makes things more expensive. All the parking machines I know that take card, charge 25 pence extra to pay that way. If you do that a lot, it adds up.

If shops price things to account for the fact that someone buying a single small item like a drink or chocolate bar might pay by card, we will all end up paying more.

I'm currently experimenting with paying by card as often as possible, but not for little purchases of a pound or two, to make the cash I do carry last as long as possible. But I still need quite a bit as an exercise class I do each week is paid for by cash, then things like work collections, many parking meters are cash only etc. I probably use maybe £30-50 pm in cash so will keep this sort of amount on me for the foreseeable.

Just wait till you get a chip in your finger linked to your account. No need for even a card. Difficult to lose but not impossible

DappledThings I'm the same! I used to commute by tram and always felt a little rush of excitement when it set off - the Sheffield ones have an announcement telling you to 'hold on' which really adds to the thrill