It’s already here, we just have better names like FICO, and Terrorist Watch Lists.
If you don’t think the government doesn’t have a file on you, you haven’t been paying attention.
If you don’t think the government doesn’t have a file on you, you haven’t been paying attention.
That only impact what rates your lenders will use(or if they will lend you money at all). That's no different from using your driving history and demographic data to set insurance rates. It's maintained by private companies. You can still use cash if you want.
No fly lists are an ok example. Still, they are not tied to how much brown nosing you do towards the people in charge.
That doesn't seem unreasonable to me that people who are entering some sort of financial contract with you have the ability to easy see your credit history.
But again, just don't use credit (or use it minimally) and you're good.
...Do keep in mind that the progenitors of Equifax and the other Credit Bureaus were private investigators most frequently hired by the well heeled in order to "gauge trustworthyness", which takes many forms... Including Union busting, and building blacklists.
If you don't use credit or use it minimally your credit score will begin to fall.
Maybe start with them?
A large number of stores around me, including some grocery stores, no longer take cash.
That's illegal where I live (New York City).
I have no interest in outing/doxxing you, but if you'd care to share where you live, I'd love to know where that is -- so I can make sure never to go there.
Technically the grocery store I am thinking off takes "cash" but only at registers that are perpetually closed. Maybe if someone made a huge fuss they would possibly open that register up.
Local barber shop, also only accepts credit cards.
At other stores, I've seen plenty of those self checkout terminals with the cash slot taped shut and a sign saying "card only", and of course no one is working the traditional checkout lanes.
Interesting. I've visited there a bunch of times and never had an issue using cash. I have a bunch of family there and will ask them if they see the same thing (Seattle is a pretty big town).
Do you care that stores make it hard to use cash?
I'd expect that many folks in Seattle are "unbanked" and are often inconvenienced and/or excluded by such practices.
Perhaps it's time for Seattle to move into the late 20th century[0] and require businesses to accept cash:
"New York City Council member Ritchie Torres last week proposed legislation that would require all local businesses to accept cash in addition to credit cards and contactless payment methods. Massachusetts has required since 1978 that no retailer "shall discriminate against a cash buyer by requiring the use of credit." New Jersey lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill to ban cashless stores. Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. have also introduced bills that would require businesses to accept cash."
The NYC legislation[1] mentioned above as a proposal was passed by the city council in 2020.
[0] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cashless-retailers-penalize-the...
[1] https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3...
I wonder if the move away from cash is an attempt to reduce the risk of theft, but I have no direct knowledge of the situation.
Even the local (large, very large) Chinese supermarket is mostly cash-less. I presume technically they take cash, but every checkout line that is staffed says "card only".
Not according to DeNederlandsche Bank[0]:
"Consumers in the Netherlands can choose their preferred method of payment at most retailers. Although the use of cash at points of sale is declining, broad acceptance by retailers is also important – for example as a fall-back option in the event of POS terminal disruptions. The study, in which over 1,000 retailers participated, shows that cash is still the most widely accepted means of payment for point-of-sale transactions, at 97% (see Figure 1). Debit card payments are the next most popular payment method, with acceptance standing at 87%. There are substantial differences between individual sectors, however. Acceptance of cash and debit cards is the highest at petrol stations, large and small retailers, at >=98% and >=92%, respectively. It is the lowest in the entertainment sector, at 93% for cash and 80% for debit cards. A mere 3% of all retailers said they used a debit card-only policy, mostly for efficiency and security reasons."
I'd also note that it was the non-acceptance of cash to which I was objecting, not the ability to use non-cash payment methods. Perhaps that's a difference that's too subtle, but I don't think so.
[0] https://www.dnb.nl/en/general-news/2020/dutch-retailers-cont...
It was a nightmare. Cash was wildly impractical to use. The first hurdle was the inability to buy a bus pass from the machine at the airport with cash. Hell, you couldn't even buy a coffee from a vending machine. With every restaurant I had to check beforehand to see if they would accept cash - and the vast majority didn't. I survived, but I'm glad it was only a day.
I don't care if the stats say only 3% of retailers are cashless - in Delft, at least, if all you have in your pocket is a wad of cash, you are a second class citizen and barely able to function in society. If you don't agree, I suggest you try the experiment yourself :)
I'll take you at your word. I guess it sucks to be you.
I don't agree or disagree. Rather, DeNederlandsche Bank disagrees with your assessment. Take it up with them, I have no skin in that game.
The people who have bad credit scores are the exact same people who cannot, in fact, use cash if they want.