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Comment by Numberwang | Hacker News Reader

This was a bit of a surprise for me when I moved to Ireland and later the UK two years ago.

In Sweden I wouldn't use bills and coins sometimes for months. Suddenly I have had to get used to carrying these around again, and having to pay fees when you pay with cards etc.

I'm looking forward for the world to go cashless, and think this will happen very fast.

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I'm from Norway and I had the same experience when visiting Berlin last year - having to take out euro-bills from the ATM. Here in Norway I never carry any actual money - I only ever take out money to pay my foreign hair-dresser which cuts my hair for a low rate. I suspect he does not have a credit-card machine so he can avoid some taxes. I even pay for coffey and other cheap stuff with my card. They say we will go completely cash-less by 2020 - can't wait.

What fees do you have to pay in the UK when using a card?

As a customer, there aren't many circumstances. The only one that springs to mind is when buying airline tickets with a credit card (but not a debit card).

Where it makes more of a difference, though, is that the fee charged to the merchant is a sufficient disincentive that it's pretty common for small shops and bars to refuse card payments under £10. This is even true of the new(ish) contactless payments that only work up to £20 and which were touted as replacing cash.

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