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Comment by sizzle | Hacker News Reader

Until you run out of cash on hand or it gets lost or stolen....

If it does, you go to the bank and get more cash.

If your card gets stolen however, you go to the bank, fill out a ton of forms, pay a fee for losing your card. Wait a few days for your new card to be delivered in the mail. And then, finally can you pay again. In the meanwhile, you are forced to pay with... cash! Which nobody accepts, because not having a debit card is socially unacceptable in our society.

> you go to the bank and get more cash.

Not sure which country you are talking about but the vast majority of people go to an ATM not the bank to get cash. You still need a debit card to get cash from an ATM.

In my country I can withdraw cash from the machine as I pay for shopping at the supermarket. And I'm not saying I withdraw cash then pay. I pay with the card AND the cash I withdrew comes out after the transaction is complete.

I haven't been to a bank for getting cash in 10 years. And as you say, ATMs are where you get cash.

We can do that here in the Mid-South, too. Got a story you might like. The customer, service desk which allows some cash back for free was packed. So, I had to go to register with something to buy. I tried to minimize the cost overall for a $500 withdraw at a company with $100 max per transaction. I hit their self checkout. I did five orders on the machine each with a single grape. Each order was one cent plus $100 cash back. Total transaction cost was five cents.

Self-checkout person was going "what the hell?" on that one. I also heard her talking to others about being hungry from break being delayed. I gave her the grapes after explaining what I was doing. She was happy, too. Probably did it herself at some point haha. Cashiers trip out to this day if I tell them about that whenever someone is buying a candy bar or something to get cash back. Occasionally, person in line leaves to get a grape. Just one. :)

Hence, if your wallet is stolen, you go to the bank, not the ATM.

But I actually assumed just the cash was gone. Either bank or ATM works fine in that situation.

I lost cards many times. Never been asked to pay a fee to get new card. No forms to fill out either. You just call them, tell them you need new card and they send it.

That's fine when you are at home - quick and painless.

But try losing your card overseas and see how you feel then... Especially if you have to put a stop on your card... Slow and very painful...

Unless you have a spare you'll be asking a friend to use Western Union for bridge finance.

But try losing your card overseas and see how you feel then...

Depends on the card. With Amex or Diners Club it’s not a problem.

Last time I had to ask for a new card, I had to wait for one month, I was happy to be have family members lending me cash.

No different to anything getting lost of stolen, and a bracelet is less likely to get lost or stolen.

We are in agreement. I was just stating some tradeoffs to physically carrying money that weren't mentioned.

> a bracelet is less likely to get lost or stolen.

You meant 'more', right?

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