Times I have needed cash this fortnight

[marymarkle]

I know there are some on here who say they never ever use cash. I don't know how they manage. Like most people I use a mixture of bards and cash.
So in the fortnight the times I have had to use cash are as follows.

Buying the Big Issue. I assume those who never use cash never buy the Big Issue.
Paying for drinks at a cash bar at a wedding. Very posh venue, but cash bar only, no cards.
Getting the bus into town. I live in a City where the buses only take cash or a bought bus card. I hardly ever use the bus, so no point buying a bus pass, so I used cash. You can not use a card.
Went to a local vintage fair today. This is a small fair and the best stalls are always some people who do this as a hobby/to make a bit of extra money, and none of them take cards. I assume because of the cost of taking cards.
Paid a tip by cash in a restaurant. I always pay tips in cash so servers get the whole amount. Even the best places take an admin fee.

By refusing to use cash I would have negatively affected my life this fortnight and not supported someone who is homeless.

I get paid in cash and most of the time can’t be bothered putting it in the bank unless needed so I just use it like that. It helps me budget as I can see it going down and makes me really stop and consider what I’m buying. Most of the time I’m abroad or away from home I use my card. Different people have different circumstances

adaline I did not know that.

So what did you think ApplePay was?

It's just contactless payment, albeit with no limit on the transaction (unless imposed by the merchant) because it requires that you have unlocked your phone within the last sixty seconds. Android Pay is slightly more of a lottery with regard to whether it imposes a limit, but is again just contactless payment. There is no situation where Apple Pay will work where a card won't, except you will have to enter a PIN if it's over thirty quid with a card.

Android pay needs an NFC capable phone to start with.

MissMaisel which countries are cashless?

I'm astounded at the accounts of Guides, School Meals and Trips all requiring cash. My children are in their twenties, and we did all those things by a mixture of standing orders and online services like Parent Pay a decade ago. I think we did Brownies by cash, but that was getting on for fifteen years ago: the associated Guide and Ranger groups we did by standing order. We did do primary school meals by cheque, but I know the school in question switched to ParentPay shortly afterwards.

Music lessons, driving lessons, tutors: all standing orders or online transfers, so far as I remember. I am, like others, seriously struggling to remember cash, or even cheque, transactions for my children ten years ago, and I presume that today it's swung yet further away from cash.

(Of course, this then ends up in disingenuous pearl clutching over 12 year olds with bank accounts, payment cards and pocket money paid by standing order).

Of course, this then ends up in disingenuous pearl clutching over 12 year olds with bank accounts, payment cards and pocket money paid by standing order

We got DS an account (Nationwide) aged 13 ... this was nearly 10 years ago.

I had a bank account at age 8 nearly 50 years ago. Of course I had no debit card as they didn't exist. But children's bank accounts are not a new invention.

Great to see that The Big Issue is trialling contactless payments
www.bigissue.com/latest/the-big-issue-partners-with-izettle-to-bring-contactless-payments-to-vendors/

Iceland is not a cashless society. What you mean is you can pay by card practically everywhere.

Android pay needs an NFC capable phone to start with.

As does ApplePay. But that doesn't alter the fact that it enables precisely zero additional transactions. Someone carrying a card for which they know the PIN can do every transaction they can with ApplePay or AndroidPay.

Those countries are not cashless at all.....

I have travelled all around Iceland - round the Ring Road and Fjords. It is not cashless. There are articles all over the internet saying it is cashless because of the number of actual card transactions versus cash transactions. But shops and restaurants still take cash.

MissMaisel What Icelandic people are claiming this?
And I was there 5 months ago for 3 weeks and used cash as well as cards. Must have been imaginary then?

In fact I did not come across one place in Iceland that was card only apart from hotels and luxury shops. I am not saying there is nowhere that does not take cash, there may be. But it is not common. I did the same there as here. All large amounts by card, small amounts cash.

I am word policing
Oookay.
This is just getting batshit now.

Sure that is exactly the same

The difference isn’t just businesses which take cash but people using it.

Somewhere could be prepared to take both but in reality do all their transactions with cards.

My dad pisses off the car dealers as he buys new cars with cash.

Unless you are Icelandic or have lived there it's not appropriate for you to word-police.

What? Iceland uses a lot of cash. Like mary with whom I agree about little, I've spent a reasonable amount of time there in the past couple of years and paid cash in all sorts of places, mostly AmEx wasn't universally accepted and it so happened I only had free forex payments on my AmEx card.

I don't think I encountered anywhere which was cash-only (ie, you could function without cash) but equally I encountered a lot of places which were obviously mostly working in cash. As ever, the more rural, the more cash. I

If by "cashless" you mean "you can live from month to month without using cash", then almost all developed countries are cashless, particularly if you don't leave major cities (although unless it's changed recently, topping up a Suica transport card in Tokyo other than by cash is hard).

But if you mean "cashless" to mean "you can't function from month to month using only cash" then Iceland certainly isn't that country. You might struggle to check into fancier hotels, that's all.

I know. The articles on the internet claim Iceland is a cashless society because of the small number of cash transactions. As I said above. But it does not mean that you can not pay in cash. And some people still do.

Iceland has a long history of spearheading internet and wifi enabled technology.

In fact you can still use travellers cheques in Iceland, although I did not know anyone still used those.
And in very remote areas, locals are supposed to still use bartering to exchange produce etc.