To ask you about cash?

[PassingStranger]

What with card payments going down and threats to shops online systems

Are you thinking you should keep more cash in the house? I am.

It's not really promoted as being safe though. They always say money is safer in the bank.

Would you consider having more cash available?

Cash keeps those on the margins able to take part in society.
Enables women trapped in bad relationships to spend money without it being tracked by their OH.
Keeps the unbanked able to eat or pay bills.
Helps people who struggle to understand budgeting in the more abstract way you have to with digital currency to budget.
Helps children develop a small understanding of the value of money which they do not gain with a card.

Digital cash will be another step towards a combination between George Orwells 1984 and Idiocracy, which is where people seemed determined to head.

I wouldn't use a shop that insists on cash in the same way I'd avoid traders for household jobs who won't do bank transfers.

@SwedishEdith 🤷🤔🙄

I keep £500 cash in our safe for emergencies like this - for example if we had a power cut like Spain, at least we could buy water etc.

My favourite fish and chip shop only takes cash. I like their product so I use cash - it's really not difficult.

No-one is telling you not to. But I don't carry cash so it would be inconvenient for me so I'd go elsewhere.

I don't generally carry cash either, but it's really quite easy to get some out from an ATM. I just don't understand why using cash is perceived as being so difficult.

I'm not sure why you're so bothered about whether I use cash. You're happy paying someone who insists on cash, I'm not.

I think that's a good idea OP - just to keep £100 for a just in case scenario.

I work in a supermarket (very small one) and one day the card machine payments part went down, but the till was still working for cash payments. The problem was rectified within an hour or so, but people without cash could not participate 😆

You would think, but I suspect the reality would be different.

I think you are looking at it from a position of logic and common sense, and there doesn't seem to be much of that around these days.

Well presumably after this week's power outages in Spain & Portugal, the larger shops at least will be building this into their disaster planning, if they haven't already done so

It also means shops and petrol stations are closed, no trains/buses, etc.

They're not set up to handle large amounts of cash anymore. They won't have the insurance for large amounts, won't have safes big enough, won't have secure transport arranged to take it to the bank, etc., and won't have the security to protect the staff from the increased risk of theft/robbery.

If you want to facilitate tax evasion, fair enough.

Which is why I suggested that they would probably just close. You can add to your list that they probably wouldn't trust the people on the tills to handle large amounts of cash either.

Yes you should have enough cash to last you at least a week or so. Blackouts are inevitable at some point. Many businesses will still take cash if it is the only option, if only because any that don't will have no trade at all.

I'm not talking about an end of the world, shit hits the fan type of scenario, I am talking about temporary interruptions to power supply that will happen when there is a significant event like a cyberattack or terrorism.

Exactly that. During Storm Desmond when our entire city was without power for 3 days, the shops did just that. They closed. Same with the petrol stations, bus stations, railway stations. At one point a couple of supermarkets gave away their perishables, i.e. bread, milk, chilled foods, but it was all wheeled into the car park - shoppers didn't go into the premises. Other supermarkets gave their perishables to food banks and charities/churches that opened to feed the needy. Frozen foods were all lost and had to be ditched as the power cut started in the evening so the frozen stuff had already defrosted overnight by the time staff/management arrived the next morning.

Our village bakery/sandwich shop opened for an hour or so to sell their perishables, but that was the owners themselves, they didn't call the staff in, and as owners, they knew the prices and worked out totals etc on calculators, making hand written notes of what they were selling - small scale is easy enough. By lunchtime they'd sold all the perishables so shut and stayed shut for 3/4 days until reliable power had been restored - they didn't open straight away as power was via diesel generators parked outside sub stations which kept cutting out - you can't bake bread and pies etc if the power keeps cutting out!

I always keep money at home in a fairly obvious place. My theory is that should I be burgled, some burglars might find what they are looking for straight away and then leave.

Can’t remember the last time I had any cash. My DD has a stash in her bedroom of birthday money etc - must be £200 in there! But no not planning on keeping cash. Haven’t had any problems paying for stuff online. I haven’t been to a place that prefers it - many won’t take cash in fact.
And I have enough food in my cupboards for a week if there’s an issue. It would be boring but I wouldn’t go hungry.

I don’t carry a purse any more, just a little card holder - I usually have a £10 note tucked in it. The only time I have a reasonable amount of cash is after my birthday when MIL always gives me £100 in notes.

You think? How will they know the price of every item? The till does that. How will they keep a record for stock control? They can’t write down and then ring up full trolleys for a shop full of people.
What about fire alarms etc? Electricity for the electric doors and lights?

I will have a small amount of cash. I order groceries to be delivered.

This is how I got out of debt. It works.

They do have contingency plans, including secondary power supplies for essential functions, supply chain resilience to provide essential goods, staff training on how to handle cash payments.

It’s all about focusing on the essentials, especially for the most vulnerable, not giving you the same service as usual.

The argument of “I keep cash in case it all goes completely wrong and the banking system falls over” is quite quaint. Might as well wipe your backside with it in that scenario.