Have you gone cashless?

[Stephenite]

I haven't used cash for years. I tell a lie... the baggage trolleys at Manchester airport will only take a British pound coin.

Most payments are made with the Garmin. Petrol goes on the MC as there's a discount. Small exchanges between friends and colleagues are settled with a mobile phone app.

It's a very alien concept to me - cash. Something I'd associate with dusty shanty towns in Africa and Manchester airport.

 

[vickster]

Not completely as I have cash in my purse (from parents in repayment for some shopping). I used some in Asda self checkout the other day, some at Mediterranean supermarket and I pay the window cleaner with cash when I have it

 

[oldwheels]

Good morning,

<grouch>No, never; Cashless payment is just another cost to be covered in the retail price with no benefit to the customer. <end grouch>

Up until recently the card payment fees were too high, so many retailers had a minimum of say £10 and others added these fees on to the selling price.

Then the law came along banning this, so some businesses put up all of their prices, others ignored the law and charged anyway and some introduced a Service Charge that applied to all transactions including cash to cover this fee.

It is true that the retailer's card transaction fees have dropped a lot, quite recently Paypal introduced a 5% + 5p for very small transactions, Zettle offer a 1.75% fee on all card transactions. These are getting close to bank cash handling fees so are less of a barrier than in the past.

Even in a pub that is 17.5p on a £10 order or possibly 25% of the net profit margin. Of course this fee doesn't divide well, so it's easier to cover it with a 10p price increase rather than a 3.3p one.

So for businesses where the price is already at the limit of customer acceptance, going cashless might be the last straw, this not something that they would notice immediately, just one or two less customers adding up over time.

About 10 years there was a company called Cashbox, they would lend pubs etc, cheap cash machines and the pub would put it's own cash in the machine, Cashbox kept the interchange fee and the pubs saved having to put their cash into the bank.

You can get a cash machine for around about £1,500 if you accept that it is not physically secure against theft, fine for inside a pub where you can empty it at night.

Unfortunately the guy that founded the company ended up in court as he used to work for a bank and had done something wrong when setting up the business, so it was never clear if the model would have worked.

Once cash has gone or mostly gone, it would seem that transaction fees can creep up over time quite easily.

I also expect that the pay by phone option is going to come under regulatory pressure soon as it is becoming too popular and it is in effected un regulated short term credit.

Bye

Ian

It never occurs to most people that using a card costs the retailer a variable amount depending on what the bank thinks it can get away with.
My last experience was with an arts centre I was involved with and the bank initially demanded 7% on every transaction.
In the past debit cards had a fixed fee per transaction but credit cards were percentage. No idea of current situation tho'.
It soon eats into your profit margin.

 

[Joffey]

I use cash to buy eggs from the honesty box up the road but that's getting annoying as I need to keep going places to get change.

 

[BoldonLad]

Pre-Covid, I used card for most purchases, excepting, for example, drinks in pub, coffee and cake in cafe. Since Covid, I have been using card almost totally, only exceptions are when I encounter the odd business without a card machine. In cash, I doubt I have spent more than £20 since March 2000.

Personally, if you are competent at keeping track of your money, I don't see a down side, much easier than messing about with change etc

 

[fossyant]

Even our chippy is order on-line for click and collect. Miles quicker than queues. We used a fair bit of cash over summer as MIL had stashed nearly £3k in old £20 notes, so we'd take the old ones, spend them on shopping and replace. MIL wanted the cash and keeping out of the bank.

Since we cleared it, I've hardly used cash other than when I got £20 cash for my birthday. That took a while to spend. I think I've got £1 in the car for supermarket trolleys but most have stopped that now with CV.

 

[vickster]

I think I've got £1 in the car for supermarket trolleys but most have stopped that now with CV.

Not around here other than Waitrose

 

[FrankCrank]

Just before leaving the UK 16+ years ago, I took great pleasure in cancelling all my monthly direct debits, and cutting my credit card in half. Life here in Thailand is way easier in terms of day to day finances, and everything is payed in cash. A few people do pay using cards, but very much the minority for now. I have a UK bank card, it gets used for flight bookings (remember them) and the occasional purchase on Aliexpress, but that's it. Another one, for your amusement, I've never put fuel into our car in all the years living here - they have pump staff to take care of all that, then pay in cash as always. Not bragging or anything, just showing how different things can be

 

[alecstilleyedye]

the only time we really need cash is to pay the man who comes round to cut the grass. other than that, we sometimes have cash if the kids get money from relatives and we just transfer the money into their accounts so they can actually spend it.

oddly, cheques have had a new lease of life as you can put them into your account via smartphone camera.

even the kids' schools now have an online payment system these days and the school canteen only takes biometric payments; in normal times of course...

 

[alecstilleyedye]

and, tbf, the bank cards only get used if my phone charge is low...

 

[bagpuss]

I normally get my pocket money in cash from the missus on a Friday and have to make it last . Have built up a reserve over the last 2 months due to lock down.....sshh please don't tell her .

Found out on a visit to Oslo public toilets are entry by an app on your m/p / credit card....spending a penny / kronor in cash is out . They even want to know when you take a pee .

 

[swee'pea99]

It never occurs to most people that using a card costs the retailer a variable amount depending on what the bank thinks it can get away with.
My last experience was with an arts centre I was involved with and the bank initially demanded 7% on every transaction.
In the past debit cards had a fixed fee per transaction but credit cards were percentage. No idea of current situation tho'.
It soon eats into your profit margin.

When I worked at a high end photographic shop, we used to get the occasional punter using AmEx cards to get discounts for cash. At the time AmEx used to charge the retailer something like double the standard 3%, so the punter could offer, say, £1900 cash for a £2000 lens 'or I can use AmEx'. Everyone knew how the game was played, and as long as buyer and shop 'split the difference', everyone was a winner. Apart from AmEx of course.

Personally I used to take out £50 a week or so. I still take out £50 - but only two or three times a year.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Rarely use cash. Irritating when a retailer/service provider only accepts cash.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

I only began using contactless during the first lockdown and now take my card out on bike rides (just in case). When we get back to "normal" I hope to return to cash for all the usual small things. Indeed there still are places I frequent that don't do contactless. Most recent was a small plant sale outside someone's house. Honesty box only there. And those plants were excellent quality bargains

 

[MontyVeda]

Pre-pandemic I only ever used cash at street market stalls or in the pub (neither of which i went to very often)... so was more or less cashless anyway.

Use it or lose it! I imagine that the push for 'cashless' will be the excuse to close more ATM's leaving those that prefer cash to struggle to get any.
Having said that, I use card a bit more than hard cash more now but still have £££ in my wallet.

ATMs aren't the only way to get cash since loads of shops offer cashback these days.