Using cash in England and privacy

[AutumnalPieChomper]

I’m an American traveling to Manchester, England this week. I haven’t been in a while. Can you still pay in shops with cash in UK cities? I prefer using cash for privacy reasons, and would like to know if I should exchange my money at the airport or not.

My husband recently went to Amsterdam and everywhere he went refused cash. He says Europeans don’t care about the right to privacy as much as Americans and are moving toward cashless societies. Is this true?

We use chip and pin or contactless so you just tap your card or insert it into the machine. Your card is never taken off you. When I was in New York I found it extremely odd that the server would walk off with your card and do something to it at the till (register). It felt like a process from about 30 years ago and thought it was very strange. Here you just tap your card very briefly and it’s done in front of you so I can’t see how anyone would see your details on it if that gives any reassurance

See my previous post. I’m wondering if maybe you have different rules in the UK so don’t have the same privacy violations as the US when you use a card.

Has the OP said anything about the Great Reset yet? I’m sure it’ll be along shortly if not.

I nearly always pay cash. There are some small outlets that only take card. Best place to change money is in a bank if you are in Manchester. Manchester is a very interesting city. I am from London and have only visited there once. It used to be a huge centre for cotton fabric production hence called cottonopolis so it was once very wealthy and some old buildings show this. There is apparently a vibrant club and music scene too. You will usually need an umbrella in Manchester at this time of year. I hope you have a lovely stay.

I remember when it used to be like that here. I never liked it.

I haven’t used a physical card to pay in years, always device payment. Even if you do use a card, it won’t leave your hand.

shops and restaurants don’t need to look at your card to get your full name in the US. Even if you pay by tapping, they have access to your info in their system.

I normally withdraw cash from an ATM when abroad. OP I seem to recall that US banks charge a lot for this. So I'm not sure how this would work for you. If you are bringing US Dollars with, you can change them easily in any bank or post office., Some supermarkets or travel agents also exchange cash.

Most places take cash.

Sounds lovely! Thank you for the info and tip!

Don’t forget the Deep State, Pizzagate and Hunter’s laptop.

You would be fired in the UK if you tried to access this kind of info without a legit reason. It's a breach of GDPR and the company could face massive fines.

You sound incredibly paranoid.

No one has access to any details here.

We obviously take privacy more seriously.

I’m glad you’ve never experienced this kind of male violence. My experiences have perhaps made me overly cautious and paranoid, but paying cash is an easy way to protect oneself. 🤷‍♀️

Don't you have GDPR guidelines and the like in America?
I've never actually thought about this to be really honest. You can withdraw money here quite easily. We use contact less a lot in the UK. We still use cash a lot here in the NE of England. I always carry cash. I prefer it myself (to stop myself spending stupid amounts and budgeting). As previous posters have said I would carry your bank card as a back up, while having cash on your person. You can change your money at post offices, super markets (like ASDA, Tesco & M&S) or western unions etc.
I'm sorry you have experienced stalking. Unless someone has first hand experience with it, they are very unlikely to understand the psychological impact it can have. 💐

I have worked in many shops and would never have had access to that data. I feel our privacy laws (gdpr etc) must be a lot stronger as in the business I work in currently we have to think about data rules fairly often and you can barely do anything without falling foul of the laws. Therefore the thought of a random shop worker being able to see the name of a customer from using their card in store feels a bit unthinkable to be honest. I don’t know for sure of course but just my general thoughts. A lot of places will still take cash if that makes you feel more comfortable- it’s just a lot less common here as most people rely on card payment.

That’s great. Can you also opt out of having your purchase info sold?

In the UK, one will derive no additional protection from being stalked by paying with cash.

If you feel more comfortable OP then it’s your holiday do as you wish
You may find a few independent cafes don’t take cash but they’ll have a notice up telling you this.

The same occasionally for public transport. If you’re getting an uber check they’re OK with cash first

No wonder you're paranoid! No, it's not like that in the UK. Shops/restaurants etc don't get access to your name or address. I've never in my entire life heard or read of a waiter stalking a customer, that sounds like something from a horror movie. Your card will never be taken out of your sight. The pay terminal will always be presented to you by the shop assistant or waiter and you just tap your card on the machine. There is no way they can know who you are. America sounds fucking horrible if that's what happens.

I was about to say this too. I was surprised when the waiters kept taking the card reader away with them when it wasn’t necessary. That just does not happen here.

most places will. Doesn’t really make a difference though, I don’t know why people are like this!

How wonderful. I wish the US had those data protections!

In the U.K. you have to explicitly agree to the use of your data.
It’s an opt in not an opt out option

Yes, there are data protection laws in the UK that are taken very seriously. No big business would sell your data.

This made me so anxious in America and I was right to be paranoid. I had about 100 payment attempts on my card when I got back from America and my mum had the same thing about a month later. We separately went to the US and both had the same experience. Thankfully I blocked my card after the first attempt but it went on for months afterwards. my mum wasn’t so lucky but got the money back from her bank due to fraud.

Suspect the OP is right to be concerned as americas laws are clearly very lax.

I think the majority of places take cash (probably like 95%), but personally I would ask "cash OK?" when it comes to paying and see what they say. Some shops and cafes will have a note posted somewhere outside if they only take card (or if they only take cash, which is still the case for a few places).