Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why so many people don't carry any cash on them?

963 replies

InHibernationTilISummer · 03/03/2018 23:27

Excluding people who are skint and the Queen, obviously.

I've had so many examples of this in the last few weeks:

  • Colleague who came into the work in the bad weather. Lots of delays and problems on the bus route they normally get so wanted to get the train instead but had no money for a ticket because they had come in with their season bus pass and lunch and hadn't expected to be spending any money.
  • Friend turning up for exercise class but hasn't realised that the price has gone up 50p since she last came - and she only brought the exact money she thought she would need.
  • Another friend dropping older child off at sport class finds that there's a fair going on at the sports centre with stalls and activities that her younger child (who was with her) would have enjoyed. Complains that she wishes she had known about it in advance as she would have taken some money out with her.

Is this becoming more common or is it just the people I know? If you aren't skint but don't routinely carry money on you, why is that?

I've been in situations where I haven't expected to be spending any (or much) money and some problem has occurred or plans have changed for some reason (e.g. having to accompany someone to A & E or the last bus not turning up) and I would have been really stuck if I hadn't taken some spare 'emergency' cash.

OP posts:
bananafish81 · 07/03/2018 12:37

Sorry, missed out a bit of the quote

*But fiddling about with paypal, exchanging email addresses, tracking who has paid what and dealing the inevitable mistakes when someone sends money to the wrong account is a pain compared to just handing a fiver over as you walk through the door.

Not using cash is always going to be easier for you, because you're transferring the effort to other people.*

crunchymint · 07/03/2018 12:42

With work collections, an envelope is sent round and you tick off your name once you have put money in. The point is that no one knows how much other people have put in. We have people in minimum wage and others who are well off. And many who are poorer would be embarrassed by other methods. So going to stick to that.

crunchymint · 07/03/2018 12:43

A friend is a tradesperson and still gets cheques from elderly people a lot.

bananafish81 · 07/03/2018 12:45

Different for a business as they have to keep books. The activity I run costs £2. I put the cash in a tupperware box I carry with me and pay costs out of that. I am not going to spend time keeping books.

So if I want to come to your class the onus is on me to make sure I have cash on me. It's my problem if I haven't done that. If I haven't made sure I have a fiver on me, then I have to skip your class

Presumably same as anyone who normally carries cash who might have spent it earlier in the day. We want to attend, we make sure we have the £2. We don't, we can't attend. Simple.

LightastheBreeze · 07/03/2018 12:47

When DM died I had to order a chequebook to use as the solicitor seemed to want cheques for everything, no paying by bank transfer or mobile there. That was only 2 years ago.

blastomama · 07/03/2018 12:48

Same thing if you suddenly want a cup of coffee and can't easily get cash. Just go without? For the sake of not carrying a couple of pounds? Why? Just curious, really

I can get coffee on my card. If for some reason that is not available, I can just not have a coffee if I have no cash. Nothing odd about that.

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 07/03/2018 12:48

I don’t carry a bag and most of the time if I’m out it’s only school run so don’t have cash.

BarbaraofSevillle · 07/03/2018 12:53

I would never want anyone to pay me cash for anything, because it's putting the effort on me to give them change, or carry a load of shrapnel around, or take the cash to the bank

Or you just spend it next time you buy a coffee, lunch, go somewhere that doesn't take cards, etc etc etc. You can still do that you know. Just about nearly everywhere takes cash as well as phone and card payments.

MargaretCavendish · 07/03/2018 12:57

And agree that for those running the group taking cash is way easier. Checking every payment online as people come through the door would be a headache.

That obviously depends on the group - my yoga class is pre-pay online only, you can't turn up with cash. I assume the teacher finds that easier.

crunchymint · 07/03/2018 13:00

Totally different for groups that you have to book for in advance. Not for the turn up baby and toddler groups where you don't know who is coming week to week.

blastomama · 07/03/2018 13:01

Most things like I use don't take cash. Kids piano, football, drama club, all pay online. Gymnastics club has a card terminal attached to her phone, very simple.
I need coins for school bake sales, not much else.

crunchymint · 07/03/2018 13:04

Seems like you mostly use businesses, so that makes sense. I am guessing you are fairly well off. Most of the things I go to are run by volunteers.

blastomama · 07/03/2018 15:03

They aren't mainly businesses. football is community based run by volunteers, piano teacher is a young local woman, gym club is non profit.

I'm very far from well off.

crunchymint · 07/03/2018 15:12

Okay, but piano teacher is a business.

blastomama · 07/03/2018 15:15

Not really.

Blackteadrinker77 · 07/03/2018 17:09

A friend is a tradesperson and still gets cheques from elderly people a lot

I must admit I get a lot of cheques from an Aunt. Aunt is house bound and I'll order her shopping to be delivered to her neighbour who very kindly nips and puts it away for us if I'm away on business and can't. Aunt hates technology to the point of phobia almost so just writes me a cheque for each shop, which I pick up when I get there.
Seems archaic to me. Aunt isn't elderly just very poorly and has been for 10 years. I have to go out of my way to bank around 10 cheques sometimes.

blacktea So how do people make payments to you, and how do you check they have paid you
I like Ping, it lists the payments received and all with just a mobile phone number.

BarbaraofSevillle · 07/03/2018 17:58

Of course a piano teacher is a business if you are paying them to teach you to play the piano.

Technically they should be registered as self employed and complete a tax return even if they only do it on a very part time basis and the income derived from it is so low that there is no tax or NI due.

For the people who have to back cheques, you don't have to go to the bank in person. You can post them, pay them in at the post office, or some banks allow you to send them a photo of the cheque to pay in that way.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 07/03/2018 18:05

For the people who have to back cheques, you don't have to go to the bank in person. You can post them, pay them in at the post office, or some banks allow you to send them a photo of the cheque to pay in that way.

None of those options are any easier; all of them are a massive faff.

crunchymint · 07/03/2018 18:13

My friend does work for a lot of elderly people. So cheques come with the territory.

crunchymint · 07/03/2018 18:16

I had never heard of ping

Blackteadrinker77 · 07/03/2018 18:24

I had never heard of ping

I find it the easiest as it has no fees and you can even use IBAN accounts with it.

lljkk · 07/03/2018 18:34

( Someone upthread said she could fill her car with petrol for £20: wow! )

The nice thing about cash is almost everywhere takes it. Right now I have credit vouchers sitting in paypal, Amazon, argos, Halford's, Next, Sports Direct, Sainsbury's & at least one other. Most electronic, some on plastic card. Except paypal, I don't often use/shop at any of these places so I'll lose money if I don't keep actively remind myself I have vouchers & credit notes to use up with each one. How nice it would be to have one payment system I could easily transfer between them, or even take the credit to other places to use for the things I DO need to buy.

(Oh wait...)

bananafish81 · 07/03/2018 18:42

Or you just spend it next time you buy a coffee, lunch, go somewhere that doesn't take cards, etc etc etc. You can still do that you know. Just about nearly everywhere takes cash as well as phone and card payments.

The whole point of the OP is asking why people choose not to carry cash

Carrying cash is inconvenient

Wherever possible, those of us who preferentially use cards, would prefer to avoid having to carry or use cash

If I was in a situation where someone had to give me cash for something, then I'd spend the cash, obviously!

But in my life, there's v few occasions where anyone wants or needs to give me cash, my friends and colleagues are also cashless where possible

I had never heard of ping

UK banks and building societies are signed up to PAYM, the system of mobile payments, so you just need someone's mobile number to send them money. Different banks call it different things. PingIt is the best known, but 9/10 current accounts offer it as a service

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paym

Easy peasy

bananafish81 · 07/03/2018 18:45

But that's nothing to do with cash or cards, that's store credit vs money. Cash is just paper money, card is non paper money

Vouchers and credit notes are tied to a particular store, but you can spend money anywhere, it doesn't have anything to do with it being physical paper money or not

LoniceraJaponica · 07/03/2018 20:28

Can anyone tell me if contactless Android pay can be used for transactions over £30?

I seem to be one of the few mumsnetters who don't have an iPhone.