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

[sicknote26]

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.

Thank you! Yes there are downsides. There are downsides for the marginalised in society as well. Homeless people for example, generally don’t have cards, they rely on people giving cash.

My DS has a paper round and was delighted with his tips this Christmas- that wouldn’t have happened if we were cashless. Not a massive deal, I know but still.

I hate the idea of a cashless society.

Yes this!

Cash is just so unbelievably inconvenient. Why would I want to buy something for £6.99, and have it essentially cost me £10 because now I have £3.01 rattling around in my purse and nothing to spend it on.

Our business is one where people will typically pay by card or bank transfer. Occasionally someone will want to pay cash but it's becoming more of a hassle for us to accept it as more and more local banks are closing and it takes a good chunk out of our day finding an open branch and having to queue to pay in. There will definitely come a time when we refuse to accept it.

I agree, and I think a previous poster above nailed it by mentioning "stubborn" people. There are a lot of people who just won't change because they don't want to. As years pass, and they have to change their ways, they become less able. They've only themselves to blame and basically shot themselves in the foot all those years when they've regarded it as some kind of warped badge of honour not to even try to move with the times. Now they have to and they can't!

YANBU.
It's ridiculous to refuse cash. I use cash a lot, and it should be an option just as cashless transactions should be. It should be the customers choice.

Yabu - the banks caused this by closing down the branches. We have no bank and the post office closes Saturday for good, no wonder the local cafes etc only take cards.

Apparently fig leaves are your friend for the bombazine

www.mimimatthews.com/2017/11/26/a-victorian-ladys-guide-to-cleaning-dresses-of-muslin-silk-velvet-and-lace/

I’ve been using cards for payment since the 1970s, as people say it’s hardly new technology. However I do always keep cash on me just in case.

Even my hairdresser has a QR code for tips.

My ex’s mum got out of a domestically abusive situation by saving the change from shopping. If she had used a card she wouldn’t have been able to get out of there.
This was nearly 30 years ago, nowadays she would be tracked by her debit card and her phone. When I had my daughter she taught me to cut open a spare nappy to hide money in and put your shoes on the bottom of the pushchair for if you ever need to run. These women will essentially be trapped and tracked by technology.

I work in retail. Some days no cash at all, others much more. Quite often people are either apologetic or arsey about using cash.
I don’t care how they pay, just that they do.
I did have someone a few weeks ago, go on and on about preventing a cashless society, how passionate he felt about it, would not shop somewhere cash was not taken, then paid by card as it was more convenient for him. That made me smile.

Also I never understand why people say it is easier to budget with cash? It just…isn’t?

I have basically never used cash. I was 18 in 2010 and you could pretty much always use card then in most places although I think that was chip and pin not contactless I can’t remember

This was nearly 30 years ago, nowadays she would be tracked by her debit card and her phone

Sorry, I dont understand- how can her partner track her debit card unless they have a joint account? If she opened a personal account only in her name, he wouldnt be able to track that because of confidentiality and privacy laws- GDPR. Only the police would have access to be able to track someone's debit card and they'd only do that if someone committed a serious crime - they wouldnt just hand over the details to some random person because they asked.

I try and do a mixture of both really.i prefer card as its so easy.you don't need to worry about correct amount on bus etc.i pay weekly shop cash as easy to keep track of

What about homeless people - I always wonder if they struggle to buy things as they don’t have cards

This applies to domestic bank accounts not commercial accounts.

Lots of small businesses use domestic accounts to avoid bank charges though.

I prefer to use cash as it helps me to budget.
it’s too easy to tap for payments and forget about the amount, especially when it’s just a few quid here and there.

physically seeing cash helps me to see how much I have left.

big purchases I will use card.

I have the opposite problem for takeaways near me. They are all cash only.
Should help with the new year healthier eating

They’ll be doing that so they can dodge tax by under-reporting their earnings. I wouldn’t support those outfits.

As a contrast to the stories of very elderly people not being able to manage without cash - my grandmother is 95 and uses Apple Pay for most things nowadays. So it’s not all, and Apple have some good accessibility features.

Additionally - my parents are in their 70s and get rather bemused when people give examples of people their age unable to use any kind of computers, technology, or even cards. It’s been around most of their adult lives. Hell, they worked in IT for most of their careers - who do you think invented and developed all of these things?

@Weepachu I live in a nice area and these are all well established businesses so I doubt that.

You’d really like to think but I bet they are under-reporting. I live in a nice area too but there’s chicken shops everywhere. What business in this day and age ONLY takes cash?

How does the tooth fairy get paid these days? (Or has he/she/it/they been made redundant?!)

I used to it when I was young, it's jusy because you can put the specific amount in yiur wallet and when it's gone, it's gone. Tbh it's much more tangible to see what you spend when you're using cash as opposed to a card. Do you regularly check your bank balance? It's not the same

I can’t remember the last time I used cash but anyone who thinks there’s no downside is plein ignorant.

Off the top of my head, a cashless society is alienating for some older people and those with some disabilities. They matter too.

For ease of budgeting, surely some of the online banks like Starling are superior to cash? They have various budgeting tools, and money spaces, built in. You can separate out bill money, weekly spending, Christmas saving, etc etc. And also actually see where your money has gone.