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

Or if they’re laundering because they want a lot of legitimate cash to hide the dirty cash. If they’re 💯 card and suddenly start banking wads if drug money it’s going to look more suss than if the legit business has a high proportion of cash takings.

To be honest, the paymaster function wouldn't be the thing on my phone if miss/ struggle without.

'Cash is King' is so cringe, and is inevitably trotted out by tax dodgers or by blokes that think that cash makes them look more macho.

Businesses that claim it means they are keeping 100% of the value aren't very bright if they don't factor in time spent cashing up, depositing one, charges for that service etc.

You know 'cash only' is dodgy from businesses that insist on it..takeaways, tradesmen, dodgy pubs.

The only thing I need cash for now is my daughters activity class, which means remembering to get that money out every week, which is annoying.

In a pub, I saw a tip jar labelled “Donald Trump assassination fund”. Cash was far more convenient for that, and less likely to be tracked.

Yes! And I absolutely hate shops that don't accept cash.

Every card transaction costs the business money in processing fees. It might be only 50p, but multiply that by hundreds or thousands of transactions, and it adds up. When you pay in cash, the business doesn't have to pay those card processing fees. So why are we pushing a system that takes a cut of businesses' money when there's a perfectly good alternative?

It makes sense for financial companies, though. They've managed to convince everyone that cashless payments are progress and that tapping your phone is the height of convenience. Convenient for whom? Certainly for the companies making money from every transaction.

And there's another problem: when you don't physically handle your money, it's much easier to spend it without thinking. You tap your card, walk away, and barely register the money leaving your account. Meanwhile, the companies processing those payments continue to profit.

I also hate hearing people say, "I don't carry cash anymore." So what happens when you want to give a few pounds to a homeless person? Not everyone has a card reader or a digital payment app, and not every act of kindness needs to involve technology.

I worked as a waitress for years, which is why I alway tipping in cash. At least I know the money is going directly to the person I'm tipping, rather than having to rely on an employer's system for distributing card tips which they have to pay tax as well.

What really annoys me is how society has managed to rebrand getting rid of cash as progress. Since when did progress mean giving up more choices and becoming increasingly dependent on financial institutions?

I use cash for - my cleaner, and our local shops (they don't take card for under £5 and usually what I buy from them is under £5 )

I always use cash I find if I use my card I lose track of spending and can't keep to my budget ☹️ when I go grocery shopping I just take the cash I need that way I can't blow it all on junk because I don't have the money ❤️

@Loverurarliving01 Yep so many other things have been presented as “progress”: keyless cars (security is ten times worse), subscriptions for everything, the pingdemic app.

And as others have said: tradesmen who take cash are crucified in true Mumsnet fashion, yet the tax-dodging corporations who dodge billions of tax: “I can’t live without my Amazon Prime!”

Rarely. And usually only if I need to break a 20 for the kids school disco.

You're just wrong though - they also have to pay to handle and bank cash.

I also disagree it leads to more mindless spending. I think this is truly personal/ how your brain works but for me it's the opposite. I budget and track every penny and it's way way easier to do that with electronic records which I can filter and label. On the odd occasion I end up with cash it feels spent already to me as it's left my bank account and is no longer available to save.

I was out last night and about half the table paid with cash! I was really surprised.

And as others have said: tradesmen who take cash are crucified in true Mumsnet fashion, yet the tax-dodging corporations who dodge billions of tax: “I can’t live without my Amazon Prime!”

I think it's more an irritation at the dishonesty. Id rather a tradesperson said to me that they'll do a discount for cash due to the VAT saving. I'll say no (my job means I have to be really squeaky clean) but I'm not outraged.

Cash is king signs are annoying on a couple of levels. First it's a nonsense misunderstanding of the phrase which is about cashflow not how you receive payments and secondly it's definitely a tax dodge but masquerading as a reasonable business efficiency.

I hate Amazon and their tax avoidance much more for what it's worth.

And recoverable quicker as you can get a new phone pretty quickly and restore all your apps/data from your online backup. Far easier/quicker than it was in the old days when you had a purse/handbag nicked and had to reconstruct everything manually, ie endless phone calls etc.

I agree on both points. Businesses are charged a fortune in bank charges when they bank cash and I likewise track money and the digital records make it so much quicker.

Im an accountant and have grown to hate clients who handle cash as it makes the book keeping so much harder as they rarely keep proper records which adds a lot of time - the card only ones have much simpler bookkeeping which reduces their bookkeeping and accountancy bills.

This!

I've actually spoken to local businesses that have told me they lose money on card transactions under £5 because of the fees they pay. It's rather convenient that everyone talks about how easy and modern cashless payments are while ignoring the small businesses that have to pay for the privilege of accepting them.

And regarding budgeting, good for you if electronic records work for you. But your personal experience isn't universal, and neither is mine. Just because you can manage your money responsibly using a card doesn't mean everyone does. Credit card borrowing in the UK is growing significantly, and pretending that making spending as effortless as tapping a phone has absolutely no downside is naive.

I'm not claiming cash will magically solve people's financial problems. I'm questioning why we're so eager to abandon it. Why should small businesses have to pay fees to financial companies for processing transactions? Why should people lose the option to pay with their own physical money? And why is getting rid of cash automatically labelled progress?

You can prefer paying by card. That's your choice. But don't confuse what works for you personally with what's best for everyone else.

I've actually spoken to local businesses that have told me they lose money on card transactions under £5 because of the fees they pay. It's rather convenient that everyone talks about how easy and modern cashless payments are while ignoring the small businesses that have to pay for the privilege of accepting them

It's possible they have a very bad deal on their card processing but more likely they're just fibbing to you. They're hardly going to say they prefer cash as they don't need to declare it are they? And obviously the cost of cash handling is irrelevant if it's not hitting your books.

Totally agree on the budgeting - depends what you prefer as I thought I'd made clear in my last post.

Small businesses have to pay to deposit cash as well. Card transaction fees are around 1-2% these days. Either their profit margins are miniscule, they are lying, or they lack the sense to shop around for card reader deals or tot up the cost of banking cash.

Every day.

Only time I use cash is to spend the kids’ birthday money if I haven’t had chance to get to the bank to deposit it (I transfer them the money as soon as they give it, of course, even they prefer to use card!)

I don't know where my purse is, it's been so long since I last went in it.

If small businesses want to do well they know they need to provide the convenience of card payments, just as hospitality venues know they need to provide toilets even though that is a cost to them. It’s just part of providing a service, don’t do it and you’ll lose customers. Simple as that. Even charity stalls on high streets and buskers have card machines these days!

Cash for cleaner and window cleaner and I always ask any small independent tradesman working in the house if they want cash.
I always ask in small independent shops if I am paying for something under £10.
Keep cash alive is my mantra. Having worked in retail, I’ve seen the loss of sales involved when the systems go down.

Digital cash only works if the internet is reliable.

I've just recently started using cash again for grocery shopping. I hadn't for years, I realised that it was too easy to mindlessly tap my debit card, and not really think about the actual cost of things. Now I draw out a certain amount every month, and I have had to relearn how to account for my spending. It's actually helped loads with my budget, and yes I'm left with lots of shrapnel, but some shops love it, and I'm not too proud to feed my pennies into the self checkout for little top up shops like milk and fruit.

A local teen is doing some maths tuition with DS and is £15 cash a week. I have no idea why he is insisting on cash as I can’t see him using cash himself. The amount of effort that seems to go into sorting out that £15 is unreal. We had evolved to £20 one week and £10 the next so I’m not faffing around with £5 at least and have recently gone to £30 per fortnight.
All of the barbers in our local town are cash. I’m not entirely sure how they get away with it.