to be worried that we are heading towards a cashless society?

[WaitingforGalGadot]

I read an article a few days ago about how the Government would like to phase out cash so that everyone is compelled to pay by card or bank transfer, supposedly to make things easier and quicker and destroy the black market.

I actually think this is really ominous as once there is no more cash, there is no more anonymity and your spending habits and lifestyle can be tracked even if you are not doing anything illegal. Big Brother watching your every more.

It also means the banks can impose negative interest rates (where you have to pay the banks to hold your money) on savings accounts to get people to spend rather than see their savings reduced and of course also means that you don't really have control of your own money since the banks can collapse, bail in your money or appropriate it (as has happened in places like Argentina, not too long ago).

Cash is also really useful and personally I don't find it a faff to use cash. I think this is really scary.

[fruitlovingmonkey]

I find it interesting that the country closest to a cashless society (Sweden) is also one that is most advanced in women’s rights. Conspiracy theories on a postcard please.

[bananafish81]

I got rid of my oyster card. There's no point to them now you can just use your touch-less debit card or credit card.

I keep my Oyster card in the outer pocket of my handbag so it's easily accessible without having to rummage around in my bag to find my wallet - and leave my debit card in my purse.

[EmpressOfTheSpartacusOceans]

I got rid of my oyster card. There's no point to them now you can just use your touch-less debit card or credit card.

There are still times when it's worth it. I've got an annual TfL travelcard which I get a loan for through work, then pay back monthly for less than I would if I was buying a monthly card. It comes with a discount railcard & various other bits & it means I don't need to think at all about topping up or what I'm spending on travel.

[Firesuit]

I got rid of my oyster card. There's no point to them now you can just use your touch-less debit card or credit card. If you register those with TFL then you have the same facilities for tracking journeys online and claiming refunds as you would if using an oyster. (I had to claim a refund once when I didn't tap out on DLR. Don't use it often so didn't know how it worked.)

You do need to remember to use the same card for all journeys on a given day, to get the discounts for multiple journeys.

[bananafish81]

Amex and visa credit cards
Current account debit card
Monzo prepaid debit card (trying it out)

Plus my company credit card for work

Gym membership card
Driving licence
Medical alert card
NHS medical exemption card for free prescriptions

Husband's business card for his mobile number if I lose my phone

Stamps
The ticket from the dry cleaner

I got cash out the other day so I have £20 and £10 notes, but often don't have any cash

If I know I'm going on a train journey I try and make sure I have 30p in case I need to use the loo at Euston or Victoria stations!

I don't use store loyalty cards - I try to use my Amex for transactions wherever possible as I get reward points. I use it like a debit card and pay the balance off in full every month.

I have a large purse, though if I didn't have to sometimes carry cash I would swap for a credit card wallet

[lljkk]

"points" coupons and cash & important receipts are usually in my wallet, too.

My Tesco keyfob loyalty thing-card is disintegrating! The ones in wallet are still ok.

[ShowMePotatoSalad]

don't really have control of your own money since the banks can collapse, bail in your money or appropriate it

So you're saying it's safer to have huge amounts of savings in cash form? That's ridiculous and much less safe than using a bank.

[WhatHaveIFound]

Store loyaty are the keyfob kind. Just 3 though. I do have my drivers license and donor card in my wallet too.

£20 given to the window cleaner this morning so down to the €s only. Not much use in Yorkshire!

[lljkk]

No Store loyalty cards, WhatHaveIF? My wallet has 3 of those.

In addition to 2 x Debit cards & 1 x credit card, my swim membership card, DS's tennis club membership card, drivers license, the roadside rescue card, coins. And often a few plasters tucked in. A plaster is jolly useful.

Postage stamps, Library cards & the kids swim membership cards are stored separately.

[WhatHaveIFound]

We could have a thread about "What's in your wallet." Mine has a fair lot of items I use regularly.

I have £20, €15, two credit cards & two debit cards.

Personally i'd like to see the end of cheques but DD has just joined a group which insists on them for ticket sales

[splendide]

How sorry

[splendide]

if everyone has to pay a small surcharge every time they buy food then that will collect a lot of tax over time.
His would it differ from VAT?

[mothertruck3r]

India got rid of large denominations of notes about a year ago to try and flush out the black market.

money.cnn.com/2016/11/08/news/economy/india-rupee-notes-ban-currency/index.html

[mothertruck3r]

I think they will do this as the tax take drops. They can put a very very small tax on all types of transactions so that people can't avoid tax. For example if everyone has to pay a small surcharge every time they buy food then that will collect a lot of tax over time.

I suppose if it worked they could replace other taxes like VAT but the Government aren't known for getting rid of tax, they might just make it an extra tax as obviously they can never have enough of our money to waste on pet projects. I think it will be used to control people but also to get rid of the black market that thrives on cash. I'm in two minds about it, depending on who controls the money.

[MongerTruffle]

I can see that applepay would be more secure as it requires a fingerprint

Which is why there is no £30 restriction with Apple Pay. Using your fingerprint is equivalent to using a PIN.

[Aridane]

It's becoming increasingly difficult to top up my Oyster card by cash at my local station. There is no ticket office - and of the various machines, only one will take cash for Oyster top ups (and it's often out of order for cash)

[bananafish81]

@lljkk yep, you can buy a paper day travelcard with cash or card from a machine at any tube or overground station. You don't have to use a debit card at any point. You just can't pay the driver directly with cash on a London bus.

If you have a contactless debit card then if you also have the option to use your card directly, rather than buy a ticket or Oyster card - you just tap your card on the reader.

Many different options, but don't HAVE to use a card at any point if you don't want to

[lljkk]

Thanks for all the logistics about how to use Oyster cards. I've always been baffled about all that. I suspect a completely different system will be in use 10 yrs from now, though.

As I said before, I'm not going to keep good track of a card (or the rules how to use it) I can use so rarely. I just found info that you have to use Oyster once every 24 months or the credit expires (but seems you can get a refund by going to a window... and then would need a new card, I guess). I have form for never using credit up on things. Much more sensible to just buy a daily tube ticket on the day exactly when I need it (hope they take cash or card).

My train line has a black spot when payment by card becomes difficult. Faster & easier to pay for daily tickets with cash.

[Missymoo100]

This is predicted in the bible;

All will receive a mark on the right hand or forehead

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

[SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed]

And here's another one moneysaver.be/news/contactless-payments-belgium.html

[SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed]

According to this link, Belgium does have contactless cards www.justlanded.co.uk/english/Belgium/Belgium-Guide/Money/Debit-Cash-Cards

[scaryteacher]

Meant to add my home in UK is Cornwall and the village shop has a card machine for the Post Office side, but not for the shop, so you get cash out at the PO counter, then spend it at the shop. Lots of the rural economy runs on cash still, and I can't see that stopping anytime soon.

[scaryteacher]

Liverbird Bananafish I said Belgium didn't have contactless, not that they didn't have debit cards! However, having cash is essential for parking for short times; not everywhere takes cards (one of my favourite bakers has only had a debit card machine in the past couple of years); my hair salon of many years never took cards; you need cash to buy a tram ticket if you don't have a Mobib card, and the kids that come round selling waffles for Scouts don't have a card reader either. Having lived in Belgium since 2006, I have seen a slight move towards more e-commerce, but not a lot, and it is still a fairly cash based economy. There is payment by phones in some places I think, but contactless debit cards are not a thing (and they don't have the three digit identification on the back, as my UK one does). It's Maestro, as opposed to Visa or MasterCard.

My home

[PerkingFaintly]

I'd be interested too, liverbird.

I'd also be interested in the question, "safer for whom?"

In previous discussions of fraud, it's become clear the answer is sometimes "safer for the bank". Ie the bank is less likely to have to pay out for losses, not that the consumer is less likely to see losses.

[SnugglySnerd]

It would surely mean the end of things like ice cream vans and arcades on the pier.

Also I think more people would overspend eg on a night out. I used to take say £30 for drinks, club entrance etc (in the 90s I know that wouldn't get me very far now) and put a tenner somewhere safe for a taxi home. Once I'd spent it that was it. I can imagine now it would be easy to spend hundreds on a card without really noticing. Especially if you were a bit drunk and got carried away buying rounds.