Do you still use actual cash to pay for things? Ive just realised I've not used notes & coins for months

[ApexDragonfly]

Its suddenly struck me that I've completely stopped using actual money in every day life. If I go out anywhere I use my phone/watch to pay so no longer bother carrying my purse most days. If my teen dc ask for money I just do a bank transfer rather than handing them cash. Ive just booked a friend group Christmas dinner and everyone transferred their deposit to my bank account. I think the last time I used actual money was when I was on holiday, but even then things like taxis were via an app, flights and hotel booking were paid online, and bigger restaurant bills I paid via card.

I think what's made me realise this is that the news is full of govt warnings to have some actual cash in case of a cyber attack. And I checked my purse and found I had £100 cash in it (I went camping in June, so took went to a cashpoint to get actual money in case i needed it. Turns out I didnt spend any of the actual cash money and have used my card to pay for everything since then).

Surely I'm not the only one who has gone cash free? Ive enabled voting

YABU - I still use cash for most things.
YANBU - I never/hardly ever use cash

I think the option of cash keeps some merchant bank charges less than they would be if no cash existed.

Also resilience against power or internet cuts.

How are you going to buy food in an outage when the till and stock systems, probably even the shop doors!, are all online systems? Fuel pumps could be automatically disabled. Prescriptions are all online. The people working in the shop are paid online

This has been pointed out to the luddites previously in similar threads, but no, they still seem to think that in a situation where there has been a total electronic outage they are going to be able to waltz into Waitrose and pay with cash, even though there is no epos in operation, no stock control, no ability to bank that cash etc etc

Even supposing you do find somewhere agrarian that will still barter for your notes, what are you proposing to do in a few days when the ATM's are still down and you can't replenish your cash?

In the sort of "total collapse" scenario being posited, cash is just as useless as any other form of payment.

I use cash regularly still. A lot of independent shops and cafes on my high street and they have a minimum spend of £5 or even £10 to use a card.

Everything the luddites say also applies to cash. "What would you do if you lost all your cards?" Same as you'd do if you lost all your cash, except I'd have a good chance of keeping my money.

Hardly ever but always like to have some in my purse in case. Often the same £30 and coins are in it for a long time.

probably around 90% of customers in the shop I work in pay card, we prefer it, it’s a pain in the arse banking cash, the time it takes etc. personally I basically never use cash, I find it a pain

I've got a couple of convenience store clients and their ratio of card to cash customers is likewise around 80-90%. Both say that when it hits over 90%, they'll stop taking cash due to the extra costs, not just bank charges of banking it, but the time taken to count it and take it to the bank (plus fuel costs), and the higher insurance they have to pay for handling/keeping cash on the premises (plus more expensive security system as imposed by the insurers). I think they're actually hoping to get it over 90% sooner rather than later to make the decision.

I has this last year and a lovely kind man behind me paid it for me😃

I can't remember the last time I used cash for anything other than paying the gardeners or a babysitter. Never take any out with me.

I carry a tenner in case I need it in an emergency, and I've got about £50 in my safe just in case. But I prefer to not use cash if I can help it (especially as I seem to have the opposite-to-normal ADHD where if I have cash it feels like free money and my bank balance doesn't go down, so I would spend it on crap; I can budget better if it's in my bank and I can make sure the balance doesn't drop by spending carefully).

It was Margaret Thatcher who abolished the right to be paid in cash so if you are against this, it is tantamount to supporting Thatcher.

Always worth having some cash to hand. If there’s any issues (and banks have had problems) you can still buy food and essentials.