Sainsburys checkout lady said that “lots of people are switching back to cash just now”

[Harpings]

I know it’s just one checkout person. But is this something others have noticed/ are doing? Just wondering if so and why it would be ?

You support local businesses by spending money, regardless of what form it takes. Cash costs businesses just as much as cards. We estimated the our employers spend about £400 pw on cash handling costs + cash collection for the bank (too much to carry down) so cashfree will come via business pressures. That's why most people get paid directly into the bank - you don't hear about wage snatches any more, do you?

Is that because the banks are closing all the Brexiteers’ bank accounts?

Right! Emergency cash.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/gina-miller-banks-farage-monzo-b2383611.html

Not just Brexiteers.

You realise that the shop gets charged a card fee?

Must just be your shop

I've started increasingly using cash.

So many businesses are going card only and it's discriminatory for so many reasons. So in order to keep cash available as a payment method, I'm using cash. I don't need to use cash but so many people do.

I hate using cash. I find it easier to budget and use my card.

Things like the window cleaner, kids hobbies and clubs are usually cash only. Sometimes they might be weird amounts like £8 or £13 etc and you can't draw out exact amounts like that so I end up taking tens and twenties out then having loose change.

I was annoyed the other day when I went to get my eyebrows done (cash only). The cash machine near the salon only had £20 notes but I only needed £10 for my £8 wax.

Then end up £10 short in the bank and a random tenner in my purse that I don't need there.

I would rather use my card or transfer on the bank app and pay the exact amount and not have bits of change that gets wasted.

It’s not daft, though; if you’re a small business or a sole trader and you lose a cut of every card payment, paying with cash does two things - keeps their head slightly further above the water and helps keep a lid on price increases. It’s also nice to have a few quid in change to chuck in a buskers hat or a homeless person’s paper cup.

Whether you want every single thing you ever spend money on to be readily referenced is a different matter…

That’s not “daft” it’s completely true. Each transaction attracts a small fee.

this post has been doing the rounds on social media for a while…not sure the £1.50 transaction fee is accurate but you get the idea!

I have a £50 banknote in my pocket. I go to a restaurant and paying for dinner with it. The restaurant owner then uses the note to pay for the laundry. The laundry owner then uses the note to pay the barber. The barber will then use the note for shopping. After an unlimited number of payments, it will still remain a £50, which has fulfilled its purpose to everyone who used it for payment and the bank has jumped dry from every cash payment transaction made..

But if I come to a restaurant and pay for dinner digitally - Card bank fees for my payment transaction charged to the seller are 3%, so around £1.50 and so the fee will be a £1.50 for each further payment transaction or owner re laundry or payments of the owner of the laundry shop, or payments of the barber etc..... Therefore, after 30 transactions, the initial £50 will remain only £5 and the remaining £45 became the property of the bank thanks to all digital transactions and fees.

This is simplistic nonsense because most businesses would bank cash at some point and get charged for banking that.

I have recently just switched to cash the past few months, just with the rise in bills, food and petrol. I felt like I’d lost control of spending so lots of people are going back to that method.

For me, sends the message if you cannot or wil not afford a smartphone, then you aren't the sort of customer we want! I have an older one, but it doesn't have QR ap and cannot hold any more apps lack of storage!

It really does feel as though we are now very much a two tier society

Yes. I’ve mainly switched to cash wherever possible. But lots of places won’t accept it.

I work on a checkout and would estimate cash/card payments are 50/50. I personally never stopped using cash.

Tell that to the Canadian Truckers... when the PM, Trudeau, froze their bank accounts because they wouldn't conform to the State telling them they MUST get vaccinated!!!!

You know the saying..."You don't realise what you have until you've lost it" Don't be so ready to give up your freedoms.

I much prefer cash for the simple reason that I know exactly how much I've spent with cash and its far easier to budget. took the dcs on a day out the other day and the place was entirely cashless so card only payments even at the drinks vending machines. I've actually no idea how much I spent on the day. I also have a bit of anxiety about being charged the wrong amount when I'm just tapping away with my card. atleast with cash I know exactly what I've spent.

Also another thing il miss when we do become a cashless society, because let's face it it is going to happen. is il miss the joy of finding a bank note in the street. I found a £20 note a few years ago it really made my day! sad to think I may never find one again.

It's because people are trying their best to keep cash. The powers that be want a cashless society, and that is a very dangerous thing. Imagine having no control over how much you spend, and what you spend your digital currency and when?

Then there are the huge profits that banks and card providers make on card transactions. So people are supporting small independent businesses by ensuring they get the money for a purchase by using cash, instead of having them send a percentage of it to a big rich corporation.

Cash is King!! Use it, or lose it.

If cash disappeared there is no reason at all to stop banks introducing a transaction charge on all purchases to all of us.

There needs to be cash and card. Banks will take their cut regardless if it’s cash or card. But cash give’s small business a chance to pay a little less tax, which is sometimes can the difference between staying in business. With a large purchase you need the security of card. Card only is dangerous as it gives the banks and government too much power. Also in cyber warfare it’s too easy to screw over the public by wiping it out.

People also use cash when they are raiding savings to survive as some old savings accounts don't have payment cards.

Yes, even small businesses that use Izettle and sumup devices. So I pay cash so they get the full amount, and the banking world does not profit.

Oh, you have reminded me that I found a scrunched-up £5 note; it looks like it has been in someone's pocket and in the wash! I found a £50 note before the lockdowns and gave this to two charities as I was financially sound. I also found about £80 walking to the shops in the winter when it was dark and raining. Gone be the days of rummaging down the sofa to see if there is any money, so you have enough to buy something or for transport fees. 😁