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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be annoyed that lots of companies won't take cash

334 replies

sicknote26 · 29/12/2022 01:20

Hi,

Been to lots of places that don't take cash, but starting to get really annoyed at not having the option of paying by cash.

Been to a couple of places today, first a well known activity place and a well known restaurant. Both completely cashless.

Aibu or is this a sigh of the times now.

What about the older generation who prefer to pay with cash.

OP posts:
DozyFox · 29/12/2022 07:39

My last post should have said below not above in the last paragraph, obviously 🤦🏻‍♀️

SoozyWoozy5 · 29/12/2022 07:43

Teach him to use contactless…

PortiasBiscuit · 29/12/2022 07:43

I am finding it really difficult to get a lamplighter to come round regularly, also have my horse shoed and my black bombazine cleaned..
Times change, gotta change with them.

Buckland123 · 29/12/2022 07:45

It bothers me that someone (I don’t know who, but feasibly someone because it’s possible) can track what I have been spending and where. I don’t know why this bothers me, but it does. I’d rather my shopping transactions weren’t available for someone to look at (again, not sure who - but maybe my mortgage company for example?) It just leaves me uneasy.
I also read something about people in China having their cards blocked on their way to a protest (so they couldn’t go) - not sure if that was true or not but if it is, then that’s scary.

LolaMoon · 29/12/2022 07:49

I always think places that do this are run by privileged people who don’t think of those who may not be able to always pay by card and that they must alienate so many potential customers

This is not true. Banks have now imposed strict rules about paying in cash. They now wont allow anyone to pay in cash to someone else's account and even if you are paying in cash to your own account, my bank told me you can only pay in 10k a year in cash and no more. If you try to do so, they will need to interview about where it came from (Santander told me this a couple of weeks ago). Its to do with money laundering rules. Therefore, if you run a business you have no choice but to insist on card payments. Its not because they are privileged or trying to be unkind to people, its bank rules.

Weepachu · 29/12/2022 07:54

What if the day comes that Alexa or Siri overhear some wrongthink and the next thing you know, you don’t have banking privileges anymore.
China already has a social credit system. It’s only a matter of time until it comes here.

magicthree · 29/12/2022 07:58

Mobile Card readers are now so cheap that even small businesses can have them if they want.

They might be cheap but someone who is selling eggs/potatoes/flowers etc. at a farmers' market is unlikely to want one, nor someone selling a few unwanted items at a swap meet.

ComtesseDeSpair · 29/12/2022 08:05

Weepachu · 29/12/2022 07:54

What if the day comes that Alexa or Siri overhear some wrongthink and the next thing you know, you don’t have banking privileges anymore.
China already has a social credit system. It’s only a matter of time until it comes here.

If you are this anxious about the government and their ability to oversee then it’s also best to opt out of owning a passport, a driving license, claiming any kind of benefit including tax credits and child benefit, and using the NHS.

user1497207191 · 29/12/2022 08:06

KousaMahshi · 29/12/2022 01:34

I know large numbers of more than one older generation and they all have debut, credit cards, as well as Revolut.Some of them even have google and apple pay.
Why does this idea persist that anyone over 55 can't cope with what is, after all, not at all new technology?

I agree. I got my first card in the mid 80s. That's nearly 40 years ago. If there are any OAPs who don't have cards, where have they been hiding for the last few decades? Same with telephone/online banking - I was using telephone banking in the mid 90s using one of those tone machines like a calculator - that's nearly 30 years ago. I was paid in cash only up to 1986 then paid by BACS ever since, like the vast majority of the working population. I can understand people in the 90s not liking to use "modern" tech as they would have retired say in the 90s when tech was just getting a hold, but anyone, say in their 60s and 70s would have had plenty of years of working age where all kinds of tech was widespread and they'd have had plenty of time to get used to it in all walks of life, work, home, etc. I'm just short of 60 and even we were being taught computers in school at the start of the 80s!

user1497207191 · 29/12/2022 08:08

magicthree · 29/12/2022 07:58

Mobile Card readers are now so cheap that even small businesses can have them if they want.

They might be cheap but someone who is selling eggs/potatoes/flowers etc. at a farmers' market is unlikely to want one, nor someone selling a few unwanted items at a swap meet.

It's cheaper than bank charges, cash insurance, time spent counting it, time to go to the bank and risk of theft or forgeries.

sashh · 29/12/2022 08:11

Jasmino1o · 29/12/2022 02:41

I personally don’t mind because I tend to pay with Apple Pay, however, I have worked in retail
in the past where there have been older customers forgetting their pin at the checkout and then blocking their card, or who have asked me to type in their pin for them because they couldn’t see the keypad, this could potentially put them in a vulnerable position.

My GM has her pin written in a little book that she’ll take in her handbag if she’s taking her debit card with her, so if she had her handbag stolen then the thief would have access to all the money in her bank (we live in a rural area so not able to quickly pop into the bank to cancel the card), whereas if she was shopping with cash she wouldn’t be carrying all her bank account’s contents.

If she does have her bag stolen the bank won't refund her anything if she has her pin with the card.

Much better to disguise it.

I used to have a diary in my bag, just a small one and in the phone numbers section I had things like my parents phone number but I also had a number that was actually my PIN disguised.

This was before you could change the PIN.

Weepachu · 29/12/2022 08:12

ComtesseDeSpair · 29/12/2022 08:05

If you are this anxious about the government and their ability to oversee then it’s also best to opt out of owning a passport, a driving license, claiming any kind of benefit including tax credits and child benefit, and using the NHS.

Yes dear 🙄

Quisquam · 29/12/2022 08:14

Why does this idea persist that anyone over 55 can't cope with what is, after all, not at all new technology?

MIL is 96, but hasn’t been able to cope with new technology in all the time I’ve known her - can’t use ATMs, mobile phones, cordless phones….Smart phones, tablets, computers - not a snowball’s chance in hell! She doesn’t have dementia diagnosed, but she can only cope with life, by living in a routine where everything stays the same.

Whenever a household appliance breaks down, SIL has to try to find one with very similar controls or she can’t use it. MIL broke her hip a few years ago. When she came out of the rehab care home, she’d forgotten how to use her landline telephone - SIL had to buy her a very simple one, where she could label about 6 buttons, for numbers of close family, the only people MIL rings up.

We wonder if she has some autism? Likewise DD has learning disabilities - she can go into a shop and pay in cash. She can’t remember a pin; and even with contactless, a shopkeeper could charge her £1,000 for goods, costing £10 and she wouldn’t realise it was wrong. Whereas, if she only has £20 in cash, there’s a limit to what she could lose.

It’s all very well for “normal” people to say “I’m alright Jack, with a cashless society!”; but other people with additional needs aren’t and they shouldn’t be shut out of normal life, by the thoughtless majority!

NinjaWarriorCooker · 29/12/2022 08:14

ILoveeCakes · 29/12/2022 01:29

It's all super clever until the machine goes down. Which it does at least once per week..............

Not had this happen in years!

RampantIvy · 29/12/2022 08:17

In parts of the Peak District the pay and display machine for parking tickets take cash or you have to pay using a parking app - except you can't always get a signal.

It's bonkers that they don't take card payments.

Maray1967 · 29/12/2022 08:19

JudyGemston · 29/12/2022 02:33

I’ve never encountered a situation where the “machines were down” and I use Apple Pay or contactless for just about every transaction I make. I’m in a busy part of London and I have no use for cash.

You need to be aware that it can happen. In the last month I’ve had a ‘machines down, cash only’ situation at cineworld and at Lindt. Both times those of us with cash were able to pay while the no cash carriers had to disappear off to find a cash point. When the Lindt shop was cash only, the nearest cash points were also out of order, displaying a ‘suspected tampering’ message.

TrashyPanda · 29/12/2022 08:26

Nowadays, I only have cash for tipping my hairdresser.

it’s so much easier to use card or phone.

I’ve never liked having a large amount of cash on me, it feels unsafe.

never ever come across a card machine being down.

For those with impaired vision, all card readers have the number keys in the same pattern, so you can put in your number by touch once you have memorised the “pattern”.

Teenagekicksmyass · 29/12/2022 08:32

I tend to have quite a bit of cash on me.

I do my in-laws food shopping for them on my online Sainsbury’s account at the same time I do my own.

They pay me what they owe me in cash. They don’t have mobile phones smart enough to have a banking app to transfer the money, and even if they did they would never be able to use it.

So few places take cash these days I end up having to faff about trying to get to the bank to pay the money in. But then I work full time and the bank is always closed! Fortunately I have discovered that I can pay it in via the post office.

Twice recently I have been in a shop when the card readers went down, luckily I can always pay. 😂

user1497207191 · 29/12/2022 08:33

Jasmino1o · 29/12/2022 02:41

I personally don’t mind because I tend to pay with Apple Pay, however, I have worked in retail
in the past where there have been older customers forgetting their pin at the checkout and then blocking their card, or who have asked me to type in their pin for them because they couldn’t see the keypad, this could potentially put them in a vulnerable position.

My GM has her pin written in a little book that she’ll take in her handbag if she’s taking her debit card with her, so if she had her handbag stolen then the thief would have access to all the money in her bank (we live in a rural area so not able to quickly pop into the bank to cancel the card), whereas if she was shopping with cash she wouldn’t be carrying all her bank account’s contents.

Why does she only have one bank account with "ALL" her money in it? That's nonsensical. It's akin to her walking around with all her money in cash in her handbag. Get a different account for her to use as "spending money" and get her to keep the "main" account card safe at home. I thought everyone did that?

We even did it with our DS when he went to Uni - he's now got 2 bank accounts, one with his savings and where his student loans and wages are paid into (the card never leaves home), and a Monzo account for spending money that he takes out with him (and is on his phone). He set up a standing order from his main account of £x per month, which not only protects the money in his main account but also acts as a budgeting tool as he can only spend his monthly transfer sum, which is the maximum he can "lose" if the card gets stolen or cloned or he gets drunk and goes on a spending spree (never happened).

Just done the same with mother in law who has dementia. She had a weird convoluted "system" of several bank/savings accounts with passbooks etc and would spend a full morning every 2 or 3 weeks going to one bank to withdraw a shedload of cash, traipse across town to other banks to pay it in, pay some bills out of one account, other bills out of another - heaven knows why she made it so complicated - she can't even remember why she had so many accounts and didn't really understand what she was doing - she just did the same thing out of "muscle memory" rather than anything else. She "lost" huge amounts of cash and she'd hadn't a clue where it went. Not one offs, but just "dripping away" every week. She'd withdraw a few hundred in cash, and it would disappear - she'd not go anywhere or do anything, but a week later, she'd only have a fiver in her purse. The thing was, she was so paranoid about losing money or having it stolen, she'd hide it - on occasion we've found some in socks in a drawer, in a pillowcase on the bed, in a cornflakes box, so we assume she'd accidently throw it away (with the rubbish if in a box or tin) or it would disintegrate in the washer!

OH took control after he looked at her passbooks to work out how it all "worked" and realised that thousands were disappearing over a year (he traced between bank accounts, logged her household bills, etc), and there was a huge black hole of untraceable cash, withdrawn from one account, but disappearing before other bank account pay ins and bills. We knew cash was going missing but the sheer size of the loss was shocking. Over a few weeks, he got her to close all the passbook accounts and just kept 2 card accounts, with different banks. He then got her pensions paid into one account, and all her direct debits paid out of it, so that became her "main" account, then the other account was her "cash" or spending money account and he set up a standing order. She now goes out with her "spending money" card to do her shopping and we take her to the cash machine to withdraw cash for birthday presents and a tiny amount of cash for the milkman and window cleaner. The "leakage" has stopped virtually instantly - she's a lot happier as she finds it a novelty to "touch" her contactless card to pay for things - yes she's written down her pin number for when it asks (is it after 10 contactless?) but there's so little in the account, it's not the end of the World if the card got lost/stolen and used (losses would be massively less than her previous cash leakages!). She's in her 80s with dementia and just needed someone (OH) to take control and show her how to rationalise her banking/cash use and streamline it to be safer and simpler! We were talking over Xmas, and she can't even remember traipsing around between banks nor even using cash to go shopping - using her card is now all she knows!

SkippyKangeroo · 29/12/2022 08:36

WineDarkNo308 · 29/12/2022 06:48

My DH takes his wages out of the bank in cash every week and only leaves enough in his account to cover his phone bill. He pays cash or he doesn’t shop there. He’s always done it, he’s 54. Just prefers cash. Once it’s accumulated into a few hundred pounds spare I’ll get it from him as I don’t like it in the house and pay it into the savings account. After 26 years I’m not going to try and change him.

I hate this pointless stubbornness, part of the 'no-one tells me what to do' sector of society.

He's just making life more difficult for himself and cutting off his nose to spite his face.

Yes, machines go down for a very short while occasionally, which is why if you have a modicom of common sense you have £20 tucked away on you just in case.

Also if you are going to a village fete, gala or craft fair , you'd be pretty daft not to take cash with you..even though some let you pay by phone using 4G.

I fully support card only establishments, it's just common sense when it comes to saving on overheads in difficult times.

user1497207191 · 29/12/2022 08:38

@Teenagekicksmyass

They don’t have mobile phones smart enough to have a banking app to transfer the money, and even if they did they would never be able to use it.

Online banking these days is remarkably simple, moreso with mobile phone apps. Banks like Monzo are really, really, simple with a very well designed app. (Yes, I agree the more traditional banks have pretty poor internet systems, but modern banks are a lot more user friendly).

Smartphones will become the "only" phones in the next few years so they'll have to change anyway. Like the landline "tone" system that's going to be switched off in 2025, older mobile phone technology such as the text messaging system and the older 2g and 3g are due to be switched off in 2 or 3 years' time. The older "non smart" phones will simply stop working, like the older home "landlines".

The sooner people start getting used to modern tech, the better and those who are trying to cling on to the old ways are just going to find themselves more disenfranchised as they get older and less able to adapt to change. People need to change sooner rather than later as it'll only get harder as they get older.

Quveas · 29/12/2022 08:40

As an older person I use cards almost all the time but I also carry cash. Win, win.

But for those who are saying that there is a reason someone can't use the chip and pin - for example visually impaired or memory impaired - banks are required to provide chip and signature cards under the Equality Act 2010. There are also a number of ways that banks make services more accessible - but most of them do next to nothing to promote the services so you have to ask. How many people are aware, for example, that there are "talking ATM's"?

Luana1 · 29/12/2022 08:41

Debit cards started to come into use in the early 1970's though, so even an 80 year old now would have been using one since they were in their 30's. Strange that people like to perpetuate the idea that 'the older generation' are hopeless technophobes.

I can see how having to use cash over a card can be annoying to people of all ages though, but as a previous poster said we all soon got used to cheques not being accepted, so I'm sure we will feel the same about cash in years to come.

user1497207191 · 29/12/2022 08:43

@Quisquam

MIL is 96

Yes, but she was only 56, 40 years ago when cash machines and credit cards were introduced. Yes, for her, it's probably too late now, but she had plenty of time when she was younger and more able to embrace "new" things that everyone else was doing. How did computers, the internet, online/telephone banking, debit/credit cards pass her by for all those years when she was a lot younger and more able to cope with change, but apparently she didn't notice and made no attempt to learn how to use any of it?

Fizbosshoes · 29/12/2022 08:43

I mostly use card but the other day I paid a small amount in cash and the cashier looked totally bewildered almost as if she didn't recognise the currency. it took an age for her to count it. (I hadn't paid in 2ps or anything!)