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 ?

I gave someone I know cash the other day so they could take it to the shop & put electricity on their meter.

I couldn't have transferred them money because the bank would have kept it as they owe the bank money.
Bank called in an overdraft out of the blue & suddenly their cards don't work, because they have no funds available.
They won't have any when their entire wage goes in this month as they'll still be overdrawn (plus probably charges for bounced direct debits)
How would you suggest they keep the lights on?

Most people are living in debt they hope to clear with next months paycheck between money owed to credit cards, overdrafts etc... in an endless cycle of living on next months (or the month afters) money.

How do they buy food if those credit facilities are taken away (which could be anytime as it's outside their control)?
What if they miss a council tax payment & now have to pay the whole year in one go?
How do they put fuel in their car to get to work to get paid to clear debts at all without cards that work?

Cash makes you face reality faster than the creeping use of credit.

I've had my bag stolen, with my phone in it before & been really glad I keep enough emergency cash at home I can pay for a cab home.

I've been in a shop when there was a card machine problem so they couldn't take card payments more than once & only people with cash could buy their milk etc..

Cash can get you out of a problem when your card doesn't work.

I bet you would have thought lockdowns were far fetched in 2018, or official meetings about aliens. But it's all coming true one by one.

It’s safer for societies to maintain multiple means of exchange. When technology fails, cash is a good back up - payment systems and the supporting infrastructure is not infallible.

Cash is created by the Bank of England, whereas electronic money is created by commercial banks. This is important because electronic money is reliant on debt for its creation. See Positive Money explainer.

Electronic payments only outlets also exclude some elderly / vulnerable people, so I avoid them where I can.

It already costs business accounts to deposit cash mostly

I think it shows how important it is to try and remain somewhat tech-savvy. The world will move on without you. So many people still seem to struggle even with something like google maps or checking a train time.

I do not want to end up like my parents, slightly scared to navigate the world because they do not understand how to.

Its a horrible idea. Who decides what is socially acceptable? you only have to look at the recent issues women had trying to retain their rights when self-id was mooted. They lost jobs, homes, etc. The government was hell-bent on introducing laws that would charge you with a hate crime if you professed the belief that biological sex was immutable. Women had police visits and investigations. So now imagine that they could also stop their bank cards from working to purchase train tickets, rent cars, buy fuel, get a loan, and have internet services. How do you organise a fight back, etc if you are basically on house arrest within your area with limited means of communication with others?

I work in retail and one day a couple of weeks ago had a day where loads of people paid cash, large amounts in some cases to the point where I could hardly shut the till. That day was unusual but I agree that there has definitely been an upsurge in cash payments.

Some people really need to read up on a topic before having a strong opinion.

Its not about ‘taking our money’ it’s taking away our capacity to use it.

Also I hope everyone here has 100% trust in the government? Because if you don’t give a shiny shit about a cashless society you better had.

I prefer being able to order at an order screen or via an app. I love the ability to see the broader range of options, what elements you can swap, adding extras, remove items, etc. I've always found printed menus very limiting - yes, I know you can ask the waiter for alternative sides etc., but often in a busy place, I can't hear them properly and either have to keep asking them to say again, or just give up and accept the menu item as it stands. I would imagine places that have screen/app ordering systems have higher incomes/profits with people adding extras etc., and it frees up waiter time to improve service, faster service, faster cleaning of tables between guests, etc. But yes, some people still need the ability to order in person too. I just see screen/app ordering as a very useful tool that will work well for a lot of people.

This is exactly why I use cash. I have adhd and need to know what I'm spending and how much I have left rather than totting up several amounts in my head. Also, as you said, I put things back if I have a fixed amount.

This.

Cashless is giving all of the power over. If you think things always remain the same then you’re a fool. What if we don’t even have separate banks in the future, imagine we have government bank accounts. Imagine a party introduces social credit. Imagine you say or do the ‘wrong’ thing in that new dystopian nightmare.

What’s that saying? When a road has been built, good luck on not using it.

It's a load of rubbish.

I'm not sure how the end of cash would make the future any more potentially dystopian than it already is. There are already dozens of ways the Government, if they choose, can monitor your day to day activities. Most of us already carry around a personal locator device the majority of the time that GCHQ, given the word, can locate in an instant.

If Braverman decides she wants to go full police state, then giving away where I nipped out for a pint of milk by paying electronically is really neither here nor there. If there comes a time when the State can legally, and comprehensively un-person you by denying you electronic services entirely, then that would necessitate already having full and unfettered control over private banking, ISP's, electronic comms and so on, so you are not going to have ready access to cash in any case.

You might get by for a wee while with what you have in your pocket, but your next salary isn't going to appear, you won't be able to pay cash for your amenities because you won't have any anyway due to them being cut off, and if they really want to know where you are, all they need to do is flash your image around. Someone will dob you in.

Like I said, the paranoia about losing cash is ridiculous, because the feared consequences would only arise in a society where the government could already completely ruin you in an instant anyway.

What about shops who won't accept cash? You're not going to be able to buy anything there are you?

And in a power cut situation, the few shops that would be open would soon run out of stock, and many won't open because they've not got the facilities/insurance in place to store large amounts of cash until the banks open again! Many small business insurance policies limit cash handling to just a couple of hundred pounds otherwise premiums rocket for higher amounts! And of course, security alarms won't be working without power, so their insurance would probably be invalid anyway (most business insurance policies have a prerequisite condition of a working security alarm). What do you expect the owners or staff to do? Walk around with a few thousand pounds and hide it under the bed at home?

And do you have anything further to add to this as to why it’s rubbish please?

Of course.

I'm sort of going to do it more. I'm trying to work out where my money goes but I am hopeless at keeping a record of what I'm spending my money on so what I'm going to do for August is:
Buy a gift voucher for Sainsbury's and at the end of the month I will know exactly what I've spent on food and cleaning stuff.
Setting a budget for casual spends, icecreams when I take GC to the beach or buying me a coffee or a magazine.
Hopefully keeping a record of anything else I spend.

I hope it works because I can never work out where it has all gone.

much easier to budget to cash limits rather than bank, but also I suspect a rise of cash working ie undeclared as people are desperate but also work for mates is likely being paid rather than quid pro quo at the moment as well.

Further there has been a bit of scare mongering about loss of cash for digitalpayments.

PLus many people are buying and selling stuff which is a cash based system usually

I work in a small pet supplies shop on a Saturday and have noticed a lot of customers are now paying cash again. Some because they are on a budget and some because they feel more in control of their spending when they hand over actual cash.

Having recently had my cards cancelled because of somebody trying to use my credit card details online, I always make sure I’ve got some cash on me just in case.

That would overcome the problem for some people, but not for those who prefer to use cash for whatever reason - not least to fight against a cashless society, as discussed elsewhere on this thread.

I find card and contactless so much easier to manage. Physical cash doesn't have any value or meaning to me and I'd lose track of trying to keep hold of bits of paper or metal tokens all together. I don't like carrying around a bag or a purse so I'd find cash all over the house, on the side, down the back of the sofa, in the washing machine, under the bed. I'd have no idea how much money I actually had because I would lose it all the time.

Contactless was a game changer and when they got rid of the limit for Google pay I don't even use my card anymore and I have no idea what my pin is. My phone will tell me. I know how much I have in the bank, I get a notification every time I spend anything and seeing the number on the screen registers better in my brain for bugeting much better than any piece of paper could. I went to a cashless festival last year and I quite liked knowing the risk of being robbed of my cash was greatly reduced. Same for being pick pocketed too. I'm less likely to loose my phone because I use it so often for more than just payments or its littery on a landyard around my neck and I'd never let it go out of battery. I feel like I have greater security with less cash.

That's scary. Can she get paid in cash? How can she manage if she has nothing for the month?

And where do you get your 'freedom and sticking it to the man' cash? That's right, from a bank/cash machine. Unless you want to live entirely off grid, which you could, but I'm betting you don't and won't.

You conspiracy theorists really don't think it through, do you? But you're happy to vaunt your superior "knowledge" all the same.

You could also open an account with Monzo/Starling - this is what we use for all food/household. We load it up with our budget for the month and we can always see an up to date balance plus what we have spent so far.....

When we just used our regular bank account we ended up going massively over budget.

@XDownwiththissortofthingX Can I have a look into your crystal ball as to what government is on the way?