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.

No.
We force banks to accept them as customers, by law if need be.

The only time I regret not having some coins is when I see a person begging. I'm a soft touch for that. If I can I'll buy a sandwich or something for them instead, but they prefer cash ha ha. Other than that I never use cash.

I have a Revolut account. Best Thing Ever! instant transfers to others, immediate balance info, instant transfer from the main account into it etc. all info on the app. What I do is calculate a set amount for the Revolut which is my "fun" money, and use that for bits and pieces like coffee, the odd treat on special offer (not household, just for me!) etc. I check the balance every day before going out so I know how much I can chuck on myself. It's not a vast amount, but enough to not make me feel guilty for spending on the main household bills etc.

Everyone has their own system I suppose. That works for me.

Absolutely agree.

@Beees and @Witsendwilly because I had 50p on me. Using a card for small amounts, including 16p for a banana is the problem that places don't take cash, people want a choice.

There are apps that you can download to keep track of your everyday spending.

So how many thousands in notes do you think we should keep under the bed "just in case"?

Unless you have large amount of cash, then you'd still be stuffed if all your bank accounts were frozen, wouldn't you?

A few notes in your pocket/purse would only pay for food/transport for a few days. What happens when it runs out? You can't draw out cash because your bank accounts are frozen. You'll get your telecoms, power, etc cut off because the direct debits wouldn't be honoured. At best you could survive a couple of weeks or so until your cash runs out, then things start to escalate out of control. (Unless you have thousands under the bed!).

If someone is worried about their bank account being frozen for whatever reason, best thing is to have a few accounts with different banks (both current/cash accounts and credit card accounts), so you've got options if one bank account gets frozen. Likewise covers you if a particular bank/credit card provider has a power/communication outage - just use another. That's just the same philosophy has having your cash in different places, i.e. some in your purse, some in a drawer at home, etc "just in case" your purse is stolen or lost, you have a backup!

I love it. I hate going out with a bag or having lots of loose change rattling around my pockets/in the house. I use Gpay on my phone, don't even know where my card is at this point in time.

I get the psychological aspect behind the physical handing over of cash makes you realise how much you spend- I agree just tapping your phone doesn't register it as much. This year I aim to open another free current account and transfer a weekly budget from my main account. I will then only allow myself to pay from that new account.

How? If someone doesn't have a fixed address then how can they have a bank account?

What about people who can't have one because of illegal activity or no ID?

I don't support banks but they are businesses and they have various legal obligations. They can't just give people accounts.

HSBC even have an account for people with no stable address.
There is no reason for an able person to not have an account.

Omg I've never written a cheque 🙈

You seem cross and a bit patronising.

Nope, not cross nor patronising. Maybe it suits you to say that to deflect from the very valid points I made, and you ignored.

Glad to hear you don't need cash. I'm alright Jack much!

As for the gloves as the petrol pump - what about all the single use plastic? Also ignores all the dirt from door handles, banisters, public transport etc, do you wear gloves for these too? It's your responsibility to keep your hands clean, nothing to do with cash.

All of you clinging to cash - do you never consider how easy cash makes it for criminals to engage in human trafficking, pimping, and drug dealing?

The argument about 'what do you do if the card system goes down' only works to a point.

If that happens you aren't going to be able to get more cash when what you have runs out because the ATM won't work and the bank branch system will probably not work too.

You are better to have cards with a couple of different banks to spread the risk (one visa one MasterCard) and to keep some cash at home under the bed if you are really worried about this.

If everything goes at the same time for a prolonged period we are into fucked anarchy level chaos anyway!!!

And "modern" bank accounts such as Monzo have excellent apps which analyse your spending, enable you to set up budgets for each type of spending, tell your average spending per day and forecasts how many "days" of spending you have left based on balance and spending habits, different "pots" of money to allow for savings for different things, etc. Also gives you an immediate "ping" on your phone when you spend something so you know immediately if someone is using your card and can check that you've been charged the right amount!

But, yes, there are also other apps which take data feeds from your online banking to help you monitor and control spending - ideal for those with multiple bank accounts.

Oh yes, I have an old pound (the round ones) rolling about somewhere in the car for supermarket trollies, but as I live by myself I hardly have need for them. I tend to take my shopping bags and scan as I go to quicken the entire process

And tax evasion!

I don't mind either but I was surprised to see a 'discount for cash' at a Korean restaurant in central Birmingham. I didn't know that was a thing.

It was a massive supermarket, I don't think they'll be refusing cash any time soon. The self service tills only take cards, I could have queued with a tenner at a manned till, and been given a handful of change but I was in and out on my lunch break.

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

Q2C4
To be honest, l wonder that too. And it's not a one off, it happens regularly.
A lot of them (but not all) seem to be in 'work clothes' with hands that clearly do a lot of physical work (more agricultural, it's a fairly rural community). Although the Eastern European farm workers always pay by card.
A lot of older people still like to pay using cash.
What l don't like is people licking their fingers to sort the cash, then handing it to me. 😬

Yep! More than once I've gotten a text from work to say he left my wallet behind, I never even notice as I actually don't need it at all, between my phone and watch I've got transactions covered

@katseyes7

People turn up with just their phone, then shout at the poor soul sitting on the till because their shopping's over the limit, and the system won't accept their payment. Is it really too much effort to have your card with you?

I caused a pin drop silence in Tesco once. The till staff member was telling a woman that her shopping was over the limit. The woman was saying that she needs everything. There was a stalemate until I suggested splitting the products into two transactions.

It genuinely hadn’t occurred to either of them. Do you not tell customers they can split items into two transactions?

A lot of places will take cash, even if they say they won't. Especially after they've rung the sale in the till or prepared your order.

There is no obligation on customers having to have electronic means to pay, equally the shop doesn't have to sell you goods. However if you say ordered a meal, ate it and offered cash to pay (legal tender etc) you could not be accused of wrongdoing if the cafe/restaurant etc didn't take cash.

What do these places do if there's no internet?