To be sick of cashless society

[Ihatepcos]

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.

@illiterato

You miss my point. Not everyone has the capacity to use the internet or know what to do. It's really not just a case of ' o keep up with the times '

YANBU

Like the OP, I like to sometimes use cash for low value items, because it’s easy to tap away for a few pounds here and there, without realising it all adds up!

There is a posh bakery near me called Gail’s who do not take cash. So I won’t go there. Their stuff is IMO stupidly expensive, so I think their policy of ‘card only’ is to make customers think they’re not spending too much. I prefer going to Gregg’s, which is a few doors down

I use cash wherever possible , and have been known to leave places that won't accept it .

It's far easier to budget with cash , the Post Office has reported a large upturn in cash withdrawals in the last couple of months .

It's not more expensive for businesses to use cash, although it's more of a hassle.

I saw something on Facebook the other month which I thought was quite illuminating. I've more or less gone cashless since covid, I only use cash when my mum gives it to me when she is paying me back for something I've bought on her behalf. But this was saying that a £50 note is always a £50 note and keeps its value. But if you pay by card, the bank takes its cut every time, so the £50 is diminished over time.

I mean they're not essential to paying, contactless cards are just as efficient. As smart watches do so much more, paying is just an added perk.

Bank always takes some cut. Whether on account overal charge or on other bits.
These are just two examples of basic business account charges....
50 note will not stay 50.

That's why we don't believe everything on facebook

The handling fee is precisely the argument.

If you put four people in a room, two people with cards and card machines (one with a zero balance, the other £20 in credit) and two with a £20 note between them and ask them to pass the £20 back and forth a few hundred times, at the end of the day the £20 note is worth exactly the same as at the start of the day.

The balance remaining on both of the card/card machine accounts will be zero.

The £20 does indeed disappear. The bank keeps a little bit of it every time. I wonder why they prefer cashless??

That's not what they said.

'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.'

Totally different to what you are insinuating, but you know that

Back in the olden days we were allowed to take the school PET home at the weekend, and when the office had a brand new RM380z I was allowed in the office to use it, but not take it home

I might have been the school swot

It doesn't disapear. It pays for service.

If you pass 20 back and forth with bank charge for cash deposits and tip bit of extra for time to take it to that bank (time is money) you will end up with same.
Same like with card machine and banks/payment system providers.

Why would you be buggered? If you have everything backed up properly you can just fire up another phone and in ten minutes everything is back at your fingertips.

Ha. You assume that all people can afford to -

Can afford a smartphone in the first place
Can afford to quickly replace said smartphone when it breaks
Let alone have a second smartphone as 'back up' !!
Can afford the electricity to keep it charged, some people's meters are off for days until they next get paid. Also, older phones run out charge quickly
Can afford to pay for mobile data every month

I can tell you, I live in a deprived area. Here you see many people, even young people, carrying old 'non smartphones'. Also it is common to sit in the dark with nothing electric on for a few hours on a Saturday night, because you have a few pence in the meter and as long as it doesn't cut you off before Sat at 6pm, it can't cut you off til 9am Monday.

When my smartphone broke I had to wait 10 days before I could get a secondhand "new" one. Luckily I do not need it to pay for things.

I was given £50 at my birthday in May. It’s sat in my purse since. I never need cash. I can’t see it helping me to budget as I don’t want to withdraw a tenner if I want to spend £3. I can just dived exactly the amount I need.

Not much imagination being used here. Cash can be hidden and squirreled away over time in different places. Or even if that's not the case, a little will be enough to get away and get help in an emergency.

If everything's digital and your phone is taken off you, you're stuck.

😁If you don't need your £50, for goodness sake stick it in a charity collection box so that someone who does need it can have the benefit of it. Or was this just a stealth boast?

Yes the Chinese social credit system is terrifying.

And Western governments are all pushing for digital currency. The Bank of England has already talked to the government about making digital currency 'programmable'. This would mean it could be stopped or rationed or that it could be programmed to run out after a certain time limit, so it would need, for example, to be spent before the end of the month or you will lose it.

This is not conspiracy theory. It's all being discussed, along with universal basic income which would work the same way.

This is a problem of your own making yet you’re batting away a reasonable suggestion. This really is a YOU problem. It’s no one else’s fault if you have no self control and just tap your card for any random purchase. Whether it’s cash or card involved, it shows a lack of restraint. Ultimately, it’s your money being deducted either way - cash doesn’t make a difference.

I think that it's possible to discipline yourself to budget via a debit card. I wonder though about the homeless - how do they manage?

It doesn't help when you have small children who want to go and pay for their sweets/ice cream etc as they can't do it independently without an adult with a card.

Not a stealth boast just that I have no need for cash. I’m sure in an emergency I’ll use it but I just never use cash so it’s been sitting in my purse in the house since May adbivtendvtinfirfetbitbtgete (as it’s extra money given to me for my birthday I don’t miss it).

Of course it's possible. Hundreds of millions of people are doing it.

I am not sure what the issue is. Homeless people usually don't frequent places with card only paments.... Food can be either had from local charity or bought cash in most shops. Should the move to cashless cause issues local charities would 100% help with card (which they can do now, the charities usually know their stuff). Not eaaiest, but not impossible. Even shelter says so

Lots of people do not have that tight a budget. So ifr they overspend by £2.80 in a week it does not matter. Some people have a very tight budget and in that case cash makes it much easier to keep track. Cash is also better for people who tend to overspend. As I said a friend does that so she leaves her card at home and takes a certain amount of cash out,. Then she can't go over that amount.

And Western governments are all pushing for digital currency. The Bank of England has already talked to the government about making digital currency 'programmable'. This would mean it could be stopped or rationed or that it could be programmed to run out after a certain time limit, so it would need, for example, to be spent before the end of the month or you will lose it.
This is not conspiracy theory. It's all being discussed, along with universal basic income which would work the same way.

Exactly. People really are okay with this??

That's what I meant when I said think, people, think!!

You are right, it's no conspiracy, it's being openly discussed by the government and the bank of england.

You can do that with free extra bank account as well if needed. Just transfer sum before you go.
I have separate account that holds my going out money when I go out. In case the card gets liften in a club, so it doesn't end up costing me with randoms tapping at the bar.

Costed exactly £0 and gives me insides as well (not needed)

But arguably notes are also programmable- they have a serial number. Cash only has value because you and I both “believe” that the bit of paper is worth 10 pounds. It’s just a bit of paper. If the Bank of England says cash is worthless or expires then it is/does. There’s nothing to stop notes expiring unless reactivated by coming back through the banking system.

UBI only works as an economic system if it’s spent rather than saved so this is a necessary thing if people want to go down that road.