To think that we are being forced into a cashless society?

[rockingthelook]

My parents really don't like to use debit cards, especially the contactless ones, however , due to C19 this seems to be the way forward? They like to take their money from the bank and use the cash rather than cards, really don't want to bank or pay for anything online because they don't trust it, but everything seems to be geared towards contactless. They had a walk today and wanted to buy a cup of tea from a takeaway cafe and couldn't, not only because the place wouldn't take cash, but the cards had to be contactless, and their cards aren't (they asked not to have this feature as frightened of them being stolen and used) It seems to be that the banks etc are using the C19 situation to force things through, my mum was even told by the cashier in the bank the other day to use the cash machine in the bank rather than get the cash over the counter because of the 'risks', fgs it's THEIR money, can't believe Age Concern/UK aren't all over this!

Not sure who you bank with @LovingLen but I have two accounts, one sends a text verification code, which you copy and paste to set up a new payee, the other asks for digits from the debit card.

Maximum five minutes in total, payment then set up for ever. Much less time than going to t(e ATM, making sure you've the got the right demonisation of notes, coins, find you purse, counting it out. All which has to be done every month, whereas setting up a payee is once.

And never a names don't match ever for me.

@Coronabegone

Not sure who you bank with *@LovingLen* but I have two accounts, one sends a text verification code, which you copy and paste to set up a new payee, the other asks for digits from the debit card.

Maximum five minutes in total, payment then set up for ever. Much less time than going to t(e ATM, making sure you've the got the right demonisation of notes, coins, find you purse, counting it out. All which has to be done every month, whereas setting up a payee is once.

And never a names don't match ever for me.

I have account with Lloyd’s who do a ring back and you type or say a code and one with Nationwide which I have never put in a payee but the hurdles you have to jump through with Nationwide for anything I guess it won’t be simple, they gave me a card reader thing. I probably need to get yet another account with Monza or somewhere like that. DH is with Nat West and he has to use a card reader thing. Names don’t match is a new thing to make people check the payee is correct but people sometimes have their middle initial on an account but don’t tell you it and that is the sort of thing that triggers that

Nobody's mentioned Bitcoins. For all those fretting about how to pay for their drugs and prostitutes in a cashless society, don't worry - a solution is already on its way.

I do think the cashless society is a bit like the paperless office we've all been promised since the 1970's. People just like it, it won't go away, and getting rid of it won't cure society's ills (see above).

I do think the cashless society is a bit like the paperless office we've all been promised since the 1970's.

I do find it hard to get my head round that, in 2020, there are still people who think they have to print everything. I used to work with someone who used to print all of her emails

Of course it's easy once you have set up the payee, setting it up is the PITA, making sure you have put it in correctly then getting codes or the bank having to do a callback, blah, blah, blah. Setting up a new payee is really long winded nowadays.

Is it?! It's a piece of piss in the natwest, you just add them and natwest text you. Takes less than 2 mins.

Maybe I am just impatient.

There are still too many cases of elderly shoppers having their purse pinched that contain large amounts of cash. Going card-only has security benefits as banks will refund fraudulent transactions.

Gosh there are some right tin foil hatters on this thread, plus Facebook copy & paste shite!

OP I don’t know how old your parents are but if they’re out on their own presumably they are compos mentis and therefore perfectly capable of learning how to use a chip and pin card when necessary, even if they still prefer cash. I’d encourage them to get a bit more savvy about how to stay safe with digital transactions instead of pandering to them. My dad is 87 and manages very well with online shopping, banking and apple pay. I don’t know how he’d have managed through the current situation without the ability to do so quite honestly. I’m also very surprised your parent’s bank have issued them with cards without chip and pin technology, surely they don’t make two types to pander to neurotic pensioners?

I do think the cashless society is a bit like the paperless office we've all been promised since the 1970's.

My office has been paperless for years. It's perfectly possible if you want it to happen. Trouble is too many people want the "crutch" of paper so they end up with the worst case scenario of paper AND electronic which makes things worse.

Of course it's easy once you have set up the payee, setting it up is the PITA, making sure you have put it in correctly then getting codes or the bank having to do a callback, blah, blah, blah. Setting up a new payee is really long winded nowadays.

Nope, never had any trouble like that. Sounds like you need to change banks. It's clear some banks have better online systems than others. I once opened an account with, I think, Coventry B/s - the security etc was ridiculous so I simply closed it again and moved on to a different bank that was a lot smoother.

My office has been paperless for years. It's perfectly possible if you want it to happen. Trouble is too many people want the "crutch" of paper so they end up with the worst case scenario of paper AND electronic which makes things worse.*

Totally agree, paperless office is totally possible! I'm also in a paperless office!

My office is largely paperless.

Gosh there are some right tin foil hatters on this thread, plus Facebook copy & paste shite!

I don't think it's being a "tin foil hatter" to want to keep cash available as an option for those who wish to use it.

You also only have to look at China to see an example of people being punished via their spending because they don't have good enough "social standing" in society. That's not fake. It's not Facebook "copy and paste shite" - it's real and happening right now. People are rejected from eating in certain restaurants, from using public transport and from entering certain buildings purely because they don't have "good social credit".

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System

It talks about people being banned from places because they've crossed the road without using designated crossing points. Children of parents with "poor social credit" are banned from attending certain schools and universities.

Cash should always be an option for those who wish to use it. I worked retail and never even worried about cash being "dirty". I now live rurally and even through the pandemic lots of places are cash only because we don't have the phone signal/network possible to allow card usage. There are plenty of cafes, pubs and shops that only take cash here.

Some will have both and will ask you to use contactless/card where possible but people certainly aren't being turned away for paying in cash. I get paid in cash and have to pay it in to the post office every week. Fortunately I'm still able to do that and the post office haven't deemed it "dirty" else I'd be a bit buggered, as there are no banks near here to use - in fact, the nearest is 25m away and is only open about three hours a day, if it's open at all.

[quote Daisychains20]@BakedBlossoms of course I will teach a 77 year old with dementia how to use a card, it should be easy right?!

Card isn’t safer at all, card fraud is a major problem...I could List many problems with using card, where as cash, the only problem is apparently germs!

I will happily continue to use my cash in stores that take it.[/quote]

Which one of those brought the world to a standstill this year?!

Bring on a cashless society.

I’m trying to remember when I last used cash? I’m currently doing shopping for some elderly shielding neighbours. They email me their shopping list, I drop the shopping off and they transfer the money to my bank account. Seems to be working well.

I think I last used cash when Wilko card payments went down about a year ago, DH uses cash more than me though and if we need any I get it as cashback at Waitrose. If we ever have lots of change, we use it on the self service checkouts to get rid of it but I haven't done that for at least a year or two now. I did get £50 just before lockdown but we haven't used it.

Yes I think were moving to cashless - but my view is that is a good thing and we were heading that way anyway. C19 has just accelerated it.

I personally hate cash and do Think if I'm worked in retail right now I wouldn't want to touch it.

I think people over generalise when it comes to cash. Often people suggest cashless doesn't work for the elderly. However my family (in their over 80s) have used debit cards for years and years and happily swapped to contactless cards when they were introduced too.

I think people over generalise when it comes to cash. Often people suggest cashless doesn't work for the elderly.

Youll always have those people who reject change some of the 'reasons' why we shouldnt go cashless on this thread are ridiculous, were almost at the point of 'my nannas best friends third cousin's dog walker only accepts cash, why would you want to see a dog walker go out of business, wont you think of the animals'

@NotMyTimes
If everyone stops wasting the cashiers time getting money out, the cashier will very quickly find themselves out of a job when the branch closes.
But isn’t this the whole point of a cashless society for the banks to save money?

@JustAnotherPoster00

I think people over generalise when it comes to cash. Often people suggest cashless doesn't work for the elderly.

Youll always have those people who reject change some of the 'reasons' why we shouldnt go cashless on this thread are ridiculous, were almost at the point of 'my nannas best friends third cousin's dog walker only accepts cash, why would you want to see a dog walker go out of business, wont you think of the animals'

What about the PP who was secreting cash in order to leave a violent and abusive controlling relationship - is that a "ridiculous" use of cash?

I would never go fully cashless. I keep all my savings in cash and I would never trust a bank with them.

Of course it's easy once you have set up the payee, setting it up is the PITA, making sure you have put it in correctly then getting codes or the bank having to do a callback, blah, blah, blah. Setting up a new payee is really long winded nowadays.

Rubbish - takes me all of 1 minute to set up a new payee on my NatWest, HSBC and Starling accounts.

I worked retail and never even worried about cash being "dirty".

Well Fucking good for you - plenty of us are worried about it being dirty, even more so now.

*Card isn’t safer at all, card fraud is a major problem...I could List many problems with using card, where as cash, the only problem is apparently germs!
*
Maybe there is card fraud but if you're a victim of it or someone nicks your card and goes on a spending spree the bank will refund you. Whereas can once you lose it/it's stolen it's gone, there's no getting it back. Plenty more problems I could list with cash if you want to hear them

@Fairyliz of course they won't. The people who work at counters in banks do plenty of others thing - work admin, fix problems, help people set up new accounts, advise on things ect. Since the introduction of ATM's the cashier at the bank is not actually a 'cashier' and it is not their job to get cash out for stubborn elderly people who won't change because they don't 'like it' - so yes, their time is being wasted. Bank branches serve far more purposes than just somewhere to withdraw cash, that's why they're still around despite every supermarket having ATM's nowadays

There should be better systems in place to better help someone to leave an abusive partner than having to squirrel away pennies till they can leave, that must be a horrendous way to live

If onlt funding was there that could give DV sufferers a prepaid debit card with a grant that doesnt need to be payed back with enough money on it to help the victim leave

Hingeandbracket why do you want those women to stay where they are having to scrape together what they can to leave just because you fear society going cashless?

Was that the type of 'gotcha' you were going for?

@JustAnotherPoster00

There should be better systems in place to better help someone to leave an abusive partner than having to squirrel away pennies till they can leave, that must be a horrendous way to live

If onlt funding was there that could give DV sufferers a prepaid debit card with a grant that doesnt need to be payed back with enough money on it to help the victim leave

Hingeandbracket why do you want those women to stay where they are having to scrape together what they can to leave just because you fear society going cashless?

Was that the type of 'gotcha' you were going for?

No it wasn't - what a hopeless and nasty response.

My point was it is one example.

I don't "fear" going cashless so you can stick that ridiculous extrapolation straight back where it came from.

I am in fact part of the move towards greater use of cards and online payments etc - I have been an early adopter.

Some people have, however alien it may seem to others, a legitimate reason in certain circumstances to prefer cash and it's a nasty tyranny to simply dismiss those out of hand; that is all.

A debit card with a £500 grant on it would be easier to hide than cash