> Is it mostly crime related shenanigans?
Not having to carry a wallet anymore. Never going to the ATM. No need to pocket loose change. Quicker checkout times.
Not having to carry a wallet anymore. Never going to the ATM. No need to pocket loose change. Quicker checkout times.
Now days they can print you a new card in real time at the branch, but still I will never not have cash, and not have a backup card
I also NEVER use by debit card for anything other than ATM now, credit cards and pay it off every month... I dont even carry my debit card anymore, it is locked in the safe, and a bring it out when I need to get more cash.
I don’t have a wallet, and I don’t want one. I want efficient and secure digital currency, with easy interfaces between digital wallets. I pay for my lawn care via Cash App, most of the other small businesses have Square or something similar.
If I need anonymous currency, I will convert to crypto and then convert once or twice more across different coins. It’s good enough for my use.
In the UK and Australia where I normally am, card infrastructure is just so entirely universal and reliable that it's not even worth considering.
Those problems do exist, I usually just go somewhere else if their card/payment reader is down.
And when we inevitably leave our card somewhere and we need to get home? Or it's blocked for some random reason? Nevermind the services that just don't take cash, or the fact that their card reader might be down, etc.
Doesn't seem tenable to leave the house without at least some cash in a back pocket somewhere.
A lot of people (esp under 30) these days are running around without any cash at all. Pickpockets and muggers, or even just panhandlers, have been suffering as a result.
I do have some cash in my car I think. I put it there a few years ago for emergencies. I haven’t touched it since then.
If I really need cash for something that I can’t get somewhere else, like a visa from the Japanese consulate, I go to the bank and withdraw cash. It’s a weird request for tellers, but I only do it once every two years or so. I’ve forgotten the pin to my ATM card.
How is this different to cash? I also have Apple pay on my phone and watch.
> Or it's blocked for some random reason
I have a couple cards. Also, I've been cashless for 10 years across three countries and this has never happened.
> Nevermind the services that just don't take cash
Assume you mean card. Not a problem in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. I travel a lot, remote, even random middle-of-nowhere merchants accept card. From a business point of view, cash-only makes zero sense. Why would a business turn away people who want to give them money?
> or the fact that their card reader might be down
Never had it happen. A couple of times the payment network has been down, and these terminals seem capable of making the transaction offline and syncing later.
If you're from a country where any of these are legitimate concerns for you, it doesn't mean cashless is bad - it means the systems are bad. And they can be fixed, again, AU, NZ, and UK (and more, I'm sure) are proof. Haven't carried cash for 10 years and it doesn't occupy a single thought.
Of course there's no difference in regard to the risk of getting physically lost.
I was referring risk of carrying a single value store (independent of type).
I also have Apple pay on my phone and watch.
Not sure how that's less cognitive overhead than a physical wallet, but as you like.
From a business point of view, cash-only makes zero sense. Why would a business turn away people who want to give them money?
Margins are thin. Apparently the overhead is significant for some merchants. Such that in my part of the planet, it's not uncommon for street merchants (and small shops) to only take card payments above a certain minimum amount. Oh, and some work under the table. Cash lets them do that.
Meanwhile, the card-only places turn away customers all the time.
If you're from a country where any of these are legitimate concerns for you, it doesn't mean cashless is bad - it means the systems are bad.
Mmm - from first principles, and given that one system is orders of magnitude more complex (and subject to far many more points of failure) than the other - is may very well be an intrinsic liability of that system.
Either way - do as you like, and nice chatting.
My favorite question that many of the people on this site love to ignore, what about natural disasters? Do you believe CC terminals still work when the rest of the infrastructure has failed?
Cash is far from on the way out, you’re being naive.
I also don't live in a place where natural disasters (like hurricanes) are very common. I imagine people in Florida or coastal Texas would have a very different view on things.
People have calculators that tend to work and be accurate outside a POS. Many people can do basic math and add tax, and you hand them cash. Is this hard to believe? It comes from an era where a POS didn’t exist.
> I'm guessing your saying FEMA help won't come very soon
FEMA, National Guard, etc, stand up critical infrastructure first. This means hospitals, not storefronts. They also only bring in limited food. They feed some, no where near all.
> come very soon, it will be everyone for themselves in the city
hardly, for one National Guard is patrolling. You’re purposely being reductive here.
> I also don't live in a place where natural disasters (like hurricanes) are very common. I imagine people in Florida or coastal Texas would have a very different view on things.
So you, knowing you lack experience, blatantly state cash is on the way out when you now state there are some uses? What is your point exactly? Because a few people don’t need cash in the US clearly nobody needs it?