Cash - am I out of touch?

[Anewuser]

AIBU thinking I should still be able to use cash?

I accept that most places, and people, find it easier using cards but shouldn’t you still be able to use cash occasionally?

Went out for lunch the other day. The bill came to over £100 but as it was something planned, I had cash. The pub said whilst they can take cash, they don’t give change. Since when was this a thing.

At work, when people get married/have babies/leave etc, we do a collection. You always used to stick your contribution in a pot or envelope but now you have to do it online. Not everyone gives now because it’s obvious how much they’ve contributed.

AINBU, that I should still occasionally be able to use cash or AIBU cash has had its day.

@MereDintofPandiculation My local bus company used to do that. They were legally challenged and now have to provide an official IOU that passengers can take to an office and get their change from.

Where we live only 2% of transactions involve cash, a majority of those were shown to be at the airport, its very unusual for places to accept cash here. If they do its usually the odd larger department store etc and shops in the airports.

I'm not convinced that's true, I've been to places that refused to accept cash without stating it outright. Do you know that this is an actual law?

No, but let's look at it this way: the customer has consumed the good, but is prevented from paying in cash. How can the restaurant force payment in card? Let's say the customer genuinely doesn't have a card. (They've just lost it and haven't received a replacement yet. Not that uncommon a thing!) What can the restaurant do if they're not willing to accept cash?

@StarDolphins As I said earlier, please don't take your anger out on the (probably) minimum wage customer facing worker. No doubt she was following procedures. Please take it up with management instead.

Same thing as when a customer has no money at all, I would think, they are in debt to the restaurant. Again I have no experience in law or policy at all, but I'm just not certain that the restaurant is acting unlawfully - unreasonably, yes, but not necessarily illegally.

Anywhere I have been that takes card only makes it clear before you order.

Whilst I like the convenience of cashless transactions, it makes me sad that the bank ends up with all our money.
Imagine you have a £20 note. You pay your grocer. Your grocer pays the £20 note to his supplier. The supplier gives the farmer the £20 for that much worth of vegetables. The farmer pays his farm hand with the same £20 note and that farm hand spends his £20 in your business. Everyone wins.
Nowadays a £20 transaction gets a percentage skimmed in fees. It's now £19.00 with the grocer. The grocer pays the supplier, the bank takes a percentage and it's now it's £18.50. The supplier pays the farmer and it's now £17.80 after the bank charges the transaction fees. With enough transactions, the bank has £20 and the money cannot be spent anymore.

I rarely use cash these days. Normally just have the odd £10 in my purse and some loose change.

I love that my bank rounds up purchases so saves for me as I spend. It amazes me how quickly too.

I do think it's wrong though that they don't offer change. I would just gave rounded down and explained you had no other means of paying and if they can't offer change it's not your fault.

Was there any warning advising of this before you ordered or on display ? Even a mention at reservation? If not that would be my argument as if you had known you would have gone elsewhere

It’s a bit if a nightmare for us at the moment. My son is autistic and doesn't have mental capacity. He never had a bank account as it just wasn’t necessary . Then he moved to a residential placement and I decided he needed his own account and card as so many places don’t take cash. However he has no ID, as his appointee everything is in my name. as he’s an adult I cannot open an account for him and as he lacks mental capacity he cannot open one either. It took a year, lots of faffing around to get him ID (we cannot get a passport for all the same reasons) and a very understanding and helpful bank manager to get him an account. There are many families in the same position. Many homeless people won’t have bank accounts either! Its a slippery slope.

Personally I use cash for everything. I’m trying to make a stand but feel it won’t be successful! I had to laugh the other day as I always leave cash for my teens and they never take it. Daughter phoned in tears because her phone wouldn’t open the bus so she couldn’t access her digital bus pass. I told her to use her card but apparently no one uses cards only Apple Pay 🙄 which won’t open either . Of course she had no cash so she was stranded !

I was thinking about this the other day. I haven't had any cash in my wallet since Covid 2020. The times I've been given cash, I've just put it in a drawer and then given it to my kids when they come home for gas money. But, here's the thing, for example when I use Venmo, I know I'm giving them a % of my money every time I put money from there into my bank. But yet, I still keep doing it? The banks must be so happy.

We have business banking - lodging cash costs money - the bank take a cut of that. And then there all the tax that’s not being paid. Also having cash on premises leaves you vulnerable to burglary.
im happy to see the back of cash, coins especially.

I was very anti cash until this year.
Now it seems like every tap and go place here is Australia is charging a surcharge (0.5-1.5% of the purchase price) to use it. Rip off (the finance companies, not the business owners who are just covering their costs).
So I'm going back to paying cash for things and encouraging everyone I can to do the same.

Had a long wait in a queue yesterday because the person at the front of the queue was claiming they couldn't get signal on their phone to pay. She offered the cash, but they didn't take cash. It was only a coffee and in the end the exasperated counter staff told her to just have it.

I am not against different methods to pay, but cashless only works if other things are working (phone, internet etc). Mostly they do, but it's impossible when they don't and cash isn't an option.

We have this debate before our "Big" fundraising events at Scouts.

Its more convenient for people to pay by card.
However we would need to buy the card reader(s), and would need WiFi to run them... probably hotspotting of someone's phone, ad we don't usually need Internet access!

We will probably take the plunge, but it is a lot of hassle for 3or4 events a year.

Thats a pretty rare occurrence, unless cafes are going out of business because of all the coffee they have to give away

You don’t require phone signal for apple pay etc, thats why you can use it on flight mode on aeroplanes. It simply takes you into the red if when you do get signal the spend is above whats in your account. So being cashless wasn’t the issue, someone intentionally buying something they didn’t want to pay for was the issue, its no different to people who ‘forget’ their wallet after ordering something that can’t really be returned.

When DD20 was a waitress she’d get cash tips but she’d give them to DH and ask him if he would transfer the money. Young people don’t use cash. They spend online and phone tap everywhere. I have never needed a signal to use phone pay. Even charity shops and market stalls have card readers. I bought a hand knitted cardigan at a Christmas market as the lady had a card reader. I was surprised and she said it was so easy, cheap and her sales had increased.

I imagine people would Cotton on they could get a free coffee if they pretended they only had cash.

I went to a pop up bar yesterday for a drink
while they take card
they had a few big signs up saying
We accept cash 😂

Same. I live on a tight budget and use cash to help me keep track. YANBU, OP.

I prefer not carrying cash

This happened to me once but I did go outside to sort it then returned to pay. I knew I had no money on the only card I had on my phone so wouldn't work. Had to transfer cash to that account to pay. (Monzo account for holidays).

Normally I have everything on my phone but had just returned and didn't have a chance to sort it.

and therefore get to keep the money because it would cost you more to get to the office than the refund amount

I know the bus company set up is a swizz. But the point is legally they could not refuse to refund change.