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?

I thought you said Europe had fewer protections than the US? Which is it?

I've worked in retail for years, this isn't a thing. We don't have any access to your information just because you bought something in store. There are some shops that ask for your email address so that they can send you an e-receipt instead of giving you a paper one, but you can just say no.

Most, not all, places still take cash I the UK.

We lived in the US for a year, in that time our US credit card was compromised three times. I’ve had U.K. credit cards for 40 years, I’ve never had any fraudulent activity on them or on my debit cards.

You have to explicitly opt in, and the company needs to make sure they are very clear to a customer about what that entails if they don't want to get in bother.

And in case you're wondering, no one can make charges to your bank account either if you haven't authorised them. PayPal for instance can't take money from you unless you have made the transaction yourself. I know this is/was a thing in America.

A UK bank should have a privacy notice which details how and why they will use your data.
It would be in breach of GDPR to give access to personal or financial details. A bank may aggregate and anonymise purchase info, though, but all banks need to provide customers with a privacy notice saying how their data is used. Anyone who collects personal data has to have a legitimate reason and there has to be informed consent, according to the GDPR. GDPR is the general data privacy regulations.

I think customers here regularly give away their purchase info to companies though, for example, through store loyalty cards. I remember when Paperchase was bought over by Tesco, I got an email from Tesco about my data - I had naively not realised my data would have been included in Tesco’s purchase 🤷🏻‍♀️

Our laws around all of this in Europe are very, very strict OP. You're honestly giving yourself a headache for nothing.

Most places WILL take cash but the majority of Brits don't care about using cards "for privacy reasons", whatever that means
Manchester is great but we are all pretty down to earth up here so I suggest you chill out a bit

I think if you use a US card, though, your purchase info would be government by whatever laws on data privacy they have in the US, so what happens with UK bank accounts is irrelevant.

Ok…if you’ve been stalked, I can see why you might have some issues with privacy. I’ve gone through it too (though with someone I know, not a stranger). Unlikely in a foreign country that you’ll pick that up here so you should be ok on that front and the data selling will be flipping useless given you’re abroad and therefore acting out of the ordinary.

However, I work in Greater Manchester and lived there for most of my life. You are FINE with cash.

Oh, and I find the best rates for exchange tends to be in Marks and Spencers (national treasure of a store) 😂 But a post office will do as well.

If you guys want to talk any recommendations of things to do in Manchester, let me know as I LOVE the place. It’s my heart and home. There’s so much hidden and unique stuff. You’ll have a ball!

I think the OP thought we were more relaxed about privacy as she didn’t realise we have much stricter laws so don’t need to be as vigilant all the time.

Why are you so suspicious? It's far safer using cards than carrying cash. even your dealer will take a bank transfer --

Interesting.
GDPR explicitly prevents companies using your data for purposes you have not consented to.
I have never experienced using a card in a shop and my data being sold onwards.
And most stores I just tap my card so a server wouldn't learn my name.
Sorry you have experienced this.

Not if you get mugged for all your cash
OP nobody can get your personal details from card details here.

OP: Europeans don’t care about the right to privacy as much as Americans

It's quite funny in a way isn't it. Europeans don't lack paranoia because we don't care, it's because we know we're protected by rigorous GDPR laws, so we don't need to be paranoid.

American laws seem so lax and ineffective, I'm not surprised they live in fear of using their cards!

We don't do that here

Are you having an affair and that's why you need "privacy"?

Nowhere looks at your card. You keep hold of it unlike in the USA, we have strict protection laws. Noone other than your bank area the transaction

Ah yes, my mistake. Yes, it’s ironic, criticising us for not caring about our privacy as much as do US citizens, when in fact we’ve created and operate a system that affords us much more privacy than the Americans have managed!

Most places will take cash, and there are many places that will change it for you, but I think it's worth reiterating in case you didn't see the earlier post that you should avoid getting any £50 notes as there is a general reluctance to accept them.

You don’t need to as card companies are not legally allowed to sell this. They can sell aggregate data but not personally identifiable data.

For exchanging cash in Manchester City centre I would use the post office or Marks and Spencer’s

Nobody needs to because the law says that’s the default position.

You have to opt in before your purchase info can be passed to third parties.

We have very strict rules on GDPR here. It would be hugely illegal for someone to access that data and use it to contact you. This just isn't a thing in the UK. I mean, perhaps it might happen in a dodgy bar or vape shop, but not a proper business.

The only way businesses can get information about your purchases is with store cards (which is why they give pretty good rewards). Your bank can't just sell your info, that's mad. I guess your US bank would be able to on what you've bought overseas... but we don't worry about that. I basically never use cash nowadays (in fact I often just use my phone).

Most places do take cash, but some touristy places don't to make things easier - I would check online if you're going somewhere specific.

We're cashless to the extent that cheques were very nearly abolished in the UK a few years ago. Payment methods in the US are behind those in Europe. I work in a business with a large US presence. Half the invoices there are paid by cheque, which is pretty much unheard here. People on this thread talk about using their card contactlessly, but so many of us use our phones, watches, etc instead. I often go out with just my keys and phone, no purse, no handbag.

It's nearly ten years since we were last in the US, but we're going again soon. What can we expect for paying for things?

Where I live there’s a lot of cashless businesses as nowhere to bank cash and the fees are higher than cards now.

Why can’t you use Applepay (or equivalent) as that is more secure? I can’t remember the last time I used an actual card.

Using cash is odd. Are you cleaning it?