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Comment by mikeash | Hacker News Reader

I can't speak for him, but I haven't had to take cash out of an ATM in years. The last time I used an ATM, a few months ago, was merely to ensure that my card still worked. It turned out that it had expired a year before and I hadn't noticed.

I just don't spend cash that often. I used cards for almost everything. A little bit goes a long way like that.

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I use CC whenever I can or iPhone Passbook for Starbucks, etc. but many places will not take CC for purchases less than $10, eg to buy a coffee or a muffin in the morning at some smaller non-chain shop. Often I get cash at grocery store debit with cash back and don't use the ATMs.

Requiring a minimum charge is barred by the merchant's contract with the credit card company. By that contract, they are not permitted to do so.

No longer true in the US: http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus78-new-rules-electr...

"A PCN cannot stop you from setting a minimum dollar amount for accepting credit cards for payment as long as the minimum is the same for all credit card issuers and PCNs, and isn't more than $10.

What's new about that? PCNs sometimes prohibited merchants from refusing to accept a credit card as payment if the customer's purchase didn't exceed a certain amount. For example, if you accepted credit cards at all, the PCNs or banks might have said you had to accept a credit card for even the most minimal purchases"

Most people don't know this. I usually just leave the items I was going to buy on the counter if they tell me there's a minimum. Most of the time they'll change their mind and take my card, after first trying to slap me with a $0.50 surcharge that I decline.

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