Page 13 | To be sick of cashless society

Ihatepcos · 2023-01-10T09:31:43+00:00

I prefer to use cash, I always have. I find budgeting and spending so much easier. If I am tapping away on my card I think nothing of constant £3 £6 etc being spent on things I probably wouldn't buy if I was spending cash. More and more places simply don't take cash and it's driving me mad.

phoenixrosehere · 10/01/2023 12:12

Jazz12 · 10/01/2023 11:15

It’s also about not knowing how much we already spent or how much we have left AT THE TIME of purchase. There are credit cards that send Texts when a txn happens. Ours doesn’t. I doubt any cc company sends out balance info after every transaction, that defeats their motive (to get you to spend)!

we have a 10k limit on our credit card, and we have 5 more cards (totalling to over £50k in credit limit ). we just use one card. But it’s scary how much debt we can accumulate if we are not careful.

Cash works best, next best is a debit card, credit card is a source of misery

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Many do have apps though where you can check for yourself before spending or you can even call up and look into an account.

Cash is helpful if you are near an atm or bank to get it in the first place.

Emotionalsupportviper · 10/01/2023 12:12

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr · 10/01/2023 09:37

I was happy riding a horse everywhere and suddenly it’s all cars this and cars that

Don' worry.

It's just a fad. It'll never catch on.

Itschristmastimeinthecity · 10/01/2023 12:12

But there will always be "good and valid" reasons not to do something such has the example of DV that was brought up earlier.

Does that mean that there aren't 100 more pros? I think sometimes we need to be rational.

I can sympathize with the DV situ but those saying things like its controlling etc etc - Get a life seriously. Are you a criminal? Then what are you hiding?

Conspiracies, Conspiracies.

bringmetheheadofpastaalfredo · 10/01/2023 12:12

BoadiceaOverall · 10/01/2023 12:08

I'm curious - literally the only places I've ever seen cash not accepted at all are the card-only queues at supermarkets or festival bars. Mind you, I don't shop in person very much these days, so perhaps I am behind the times. Do some shops just flat out not accept cash now, then?

Only a very few. All these people whining about the cashless society when what they mean is one coffee shop they went into was card only. It's a made up problem.

Yes, we will probably eventually be a cashless society, but its equally as likley that we'll be back to bartering shoes for candles. And neither will probably be in the lifetime of anyone here

Badbadbunny · 10/01/2023 12:14

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 12:02

@Badbadbunny There is lots of tax evasion anyway. The government keep cutting the staff who look at this. They don't care.
The tax office used to scrutinise inheritances but again cut staff so it no longer happens.

Yes, I'm an accountant, I know how things have changed. But HMRC are more "targeted" these days, so better use of their resources.

I remember back in the 80s where tax inspectors would be real pains in the arse because of obsessing about small/trivial matters - they were real jobsworths who didn't care about size of tax being recovered - they'd happily spend a day poring over someone's "books" and walk away at the end of it having raised a tax assessment for an extra £5 - it was complete and utter madness.

Or a case involving a coal man, where the inspector spent several months checking every last piece of paper for 6 years, the guy's "work" diary for a couple of years, even driving around the route to check time it would take and mileage etc (before google maps!), checking MOT history for mileage, checking the guy's household bills, checking his passport to see if he'd been abroad on holiday. He just wouldn't accept defeat. He had to in the end, as there was nothing to see, but that was a huge waste of resources and it cost the poor guy thousands in accountancy fees just to defend himself against unfounded challenge!

HMRC are going after the bigger fish in a more controlled way based on intelligence rather than just randomly going on "fishing" expeditions. And they're getting better at it. Starting to see "trickle down" effects now and them targeting specific industries/areas. Just a shame that they still seem frightened of certain communities - they'd never touch scrap dealers and roofers back in the 80s and still won't today!

Itschristmastimeinthecity · 10/01/2023 12:16

closingloop · 10/01/2023 12:09

Ok, so you really REALLY can't think of a reason why cashless is bad?

I have a £20 note. I give it to you in payment, you pay for something else with it. Maybe it could change hands a 600 times in a couple of years. Then it comes back to me. It's worth £20.

Or, and this is where people do need to think,

I pay you £20 by card. Bank charges for each transaction are are 2% and the original £20 decreases slightly each time it 'changes hands' 600 times in a couple of years. Then it comes back to me.

All that's left is a penny, the rest is taken by the bank charges.

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Which bank charges 2% for local transfers?

speakout · 10/01/2023 12:18

I haven't noticed OP.
I pay with cash for pretty much all my purchases when I am out and about.

Badbadbunny · 10/01/2023 12:18

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 10/01/2023 12:07

Yes, we are sleepwalking into a society where all we do can be monitored and controlled, where fees and subscriptions can be added at a whim, basically giving all and sundry a passport to our life savings. Not good.

We've been dependent on "them" for decades anyway. Very few people have their "life savings" in cash do they?

Occupational pensions, mortgages, life assurance, investments, wages, benefits, etc are all electronic and have been for years/decades.

Not many people have their "life savings" in gold bars or fine wine or antiques.

The boat sailed about 25 years ago, that was the time to object or take an alternative route.

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 10/01/2023 12:21

Badbadbunny · 10/01/2023 12:18

We've been dependent on "them" for decades anyway. Very few people have their "life savings" in cash do they?

Occupational pensions, mortgages, life assurance, investments, wages, benefits, etc are all electronic and have been for years/decades.

Not many people have their "life savings" in gold bars or fine wine or antiques.

The boat sailed about 25 years ago, that was the time to object or take an alternative route.

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That's exactly the point. Life savings are not in cash - they are in the bank - and once you have to start giving your bank account details for every petty little purchase, you are opening up that channel into the place you keep all you money.

Damnautocorrect · 10/01/2023 12:25

I get paid in cash (tax all paid etc etc). It’s a nightmare, especially with bank branches closing.
i do prefer cash though. You know what you’ve got and where you stand

Badbadbunny · 10/01/2023 12:25

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 12:07

And 40 years ago we still had computers you used by putting a tape in a tape recorder. The vast majority of people had never used a computer.

40 years ago was 1983. We had personal home computers such Sinclair ZX80, 81 and Spectrum. Schools were being given "BBC" computers and starting to teach computing. (Some already had been using Commodore PETS - I had computing as an O level option back as far as 1988! though the school only had one PET which had to be shared back then so it was mostly theory rather than practical!). I started work in 1983 in a small firm (just 10 people) that was fully networked and we had a desktop computer each, all using floppy disks. The revolutionary IBM "PC" was launched in 1981!

marmaladepop · 10/01/2023 12:27

notasoldasiseem · 10/01/2023 09:54

All of you recommending that we all update to cards - do you never consider how difficult cashless makes it for financially abused women (and men) to make a purchase of any kind or save money without the knowledge of their abusive partner? All card purchases show up on bank statements.

This.

bringmetheheadofpastaalfredo · 10/01/2023 12:27

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 10/01/2023 12:21

That's exactly the point. Life savings are not in cash - they are in the bank - and once you have to start giving your bank account details for every petty little purchase, you are opening up that channel into the place you keep all you money.

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What rot. AS if the people banging on about cash aren't using the banks just as much, aren't using the ATMs, paying with direct debits and standing orders and doing all the rest.

If you're that paranoid about some imaginary Big Brother poring over your bank account to see if you went to Costa yesterday, you're too far gone anyway. Plus anyone who wanted to know would have ten other ways to find out anyway. Your every move is on CCTV, your phone can track everywhere you go and eveyting you do.

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 12:27

@Badbadbunny They have to let lots of stuff go. Not trivial £5 things. So with inheritance tax, you can basically lie about assets with price of shares and assets listed as way lower than they are worth. Unless you have an enormous estate it is very unlikely anyone will look at it.
Resources are spent on fraud in welfare benefits for small amounts. But tax evasion is rarely tackled and is tacitly accepted e.g. covid schemes set up in a way that everyone said would lead to widespread fraud.

CatJumperTwat · 10/01/2023 12:27

iwanttobelikegracekelly · 10/01/2023 12:03

So please don't accuse people of not caring about the vulnerable if they aren't attached to cash. It's a childish, reductive, and silly argument.
Literally nobody has said they're opposed to choice.
I'm sorry for what you went through and glad you escaped!

Don't call my lived experience views childish and silly. How patronising.
I have said that cash helped me escape that situation. Without it I could not have escaped.

If you support a cashless society, and do not support legislating to protect access to and spending cash, then you are opposed to choice.

Please don't do that. You know quite well I called your ARGUMENT childish and silly, not your experiences.

Badbadbunny · 10/01/2023 12:27

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 10/01/2023 12:21

That's exactly the point. Life savings are not in cash - they are in the bank - and once you have to start giving your bank account details for every petty little purchase, you are opening up that channel into the place you keep all you money.

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No, you have your money in different places, surely? So, no, someone knowing your bank details in one bank won't know what other investments, bank accounts, pensions, etc that you have at other banks. I don't think I've ever encountered anyone with literally "all their eggs in one basket". That's madness for all kinds of reasons, not just paranoia.

Goldpaw · 10/01/2023 12:28

We had a computer club at our school in the early eighties, which was very much in the sticks. Only those good at maths got to join!

diddl · 10/01/2023 12:28

What are visitors from other countries supposed to do?

I doubt that the local pub would accept my card!

Crumpleton · 10/01/2023 12:29

Beees · 10/01/2023 11:35

Recently had a meal in a Cafè where when I went to pay with my card I was asked if I had cash, fortunately I do carry a bit but do prefer to use my card as reward points are pretty good.
Same question was asked to everyone that made a purchase.

Thay sounds quite dodgy to be honest. Does that mean they didn't accept card at all, which should have been made clear to you before you ordered or that they did accept card but would prefer cash payment which would ring alarm bells.

They did have a card machine but caught me on the hop, not a question I've ever been asked before, wasn't mentioned before ordering.
Most people did infact pay via cash.
Meal wasn't nice so no return visits happening.

Not that I'd want to live in a cashless society as there are shops/markets where I only use cash and wonder why places with a healthy turnover of customers don't excepted cards at all. Dodgy indeed does come to mind.

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 12:30

Goldpaw · 10/01/2023 12:28

We had a computer club at our school in the early eighties, which was very much in the sticks. Only those good at maths got to join!

At that point we did not have one computer in our school.

CatJumperTwat · 10/01/2023 12:31

diddl · 10/01/2023 12:28

What are visitors from other countries supposed to do?

I doubt that the local pub would accept my card!

Why not? I use my cards on holiday and have never had a problem.

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 12:31

Badbadbunny · 10/01/2023 12:27

No, you have your money in different places, surely? So, no, someone knowing your bank details in one bank won't know what other investments, bank accounts, pensions, etc that you have at other banks. I don't think I've ever encountered anyone with literally "all their eggs in one basket". That's madness for all kinds of reasons, not just paranoia.

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Lots of people have all their money in one bank.

Climbles · 10/01/2023 12:32

A cashless society make it harder for thieves, tax dodgers and drug dealers.
Get a starling or monzo account where you can have different ‘pots’ of money. It makes budgeting much easier.

JudgeJ · 10/01/2023 12:32

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 10/01/2023 09:43

I love it. No more realising that you haven't got change for the bus or looking for a cashpoint or scrabbling in the kids' moneyboxes because of some random school collection. Cashless works well for the disorganised.

I like a mixture of the two though when I was driving up to the Humber Bridge with about £1 in change I was glad to see the 'cards only' sign!

Iamtheblacksheep · 10/01/2023 12:32

People that Twitter about cards being easier weren’t in the butchers with me on Christmas Eve when the dear precious souls couldn’t pay for their turkeys when the card readers failed.

I happily skipped in and paid with my cash. This is quite a remote area. They all had to get in their cars to go to the atm in the next town