So noting this this the George and Dragon etc
Also just to confirm i don't wear a tin foil hat and I do use Google pay a lot!
Why am I concerned....
Again, I'm sure smarter people that me can pull to this to part, but I liken it a bit to Russia and their control/influence on the energy markets....look what's happened there and at least there are some alternatives
Imagine a cashless society, with a dominant payment platform powered by Google, or Visa or maybe Alibaba....
Say the West falls out with China, and Alibaba is turned off, in the UK. With little to no alternative. I know it's extreme, but something along those lines, more nuanced maybe, it concerns me that we are not at least discussing this as cash recedes.
Or it's government controlled, another pandemic, you can only go to the shop once a day, and spend once a day.... Seems unlikely but we all know what happened 3 years ago
Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk
Last edited by xxnick1975; 17th April 2023 at 20:07.
More the digital payment service companies than the banks I think.
Quite surprised people here aren't a bit more cynical of it to be honest.
Cashless isn't being promoted for our benefit, we are being encouraged towards it to be sure, but really it's in the interests of financial institutions and government not the general public
Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk
I see both sides of the virtual coin…
From a convenience perspective I have no need for cash, ever. I have happily lived a cashless life for a number of years.
The opposite is for my wife, as a small business owner a card payment incurs a charge, whereas cash can, on occasion, skirt the books.
She’s pro-cash. I’m pro-cashless!
Again, I know this is the G&D, but a cashless society means we don't have cash, at all.
It's fine to say, I don't use cash personally etc, but really we should, I think, be seeing and thinking of the bigger picture.
Those that don't have bank accounts, struggle to use tech, or those that have every reason to be suspicious of corporate or governmental tracking every aspect of their lives.
Cash at least provides an option, one I don't think we should let go quite as easily as we are.
Sent from my M2101K6G using Tapatalk
And the vendors benefit, recall the customer behaviour change when using electronic money, cashless is easier, you don´t ´feel´ you´ve spent the money in the same way as if it were paper. See also changed attitude to debt.
But then again re cynicism, we are on a forum that does rather fetishize spending it, so there is that to consider. AND convenience now trumps most other considerations for most people. most of the time, so the reality of using a phone to almost ´magically´ pay for stuff is gonna tickle a lot of pickles, who´d want the extra fuss and effort of having to pull out a wallet, extract cash or card...and of course the shag of finding the now rare ATM, to extract your money in the first place.
I meant in the context of facilitating tax avoidance.
When I bought my wedding rings from a very old school jeweller I paid with a bundle of cash and a couple of gold sovereigns I'd been given by grandparents. I distinctly remember looking at the rings, cash and gold coins on the desk and the jeweller looking at me and saying "that is what a proper deal looks like ..."
I can't ever see that happening again.
It is an interesting point that cashless changes attitudes to debt; I had not really considered that point before ...
Last edited by Montello; 18th April 2023 at 12:15.
Psychologically paying for something with cash makes the thing itself more valued by the buyer, so studies have shown
https://yle.fi/a/3-11168589
I can well imagine you felt same during the wedding ring purchase you describe, clearly it made some impression on the jeweller, what a fantastic experience and memory...probably most people, mostly just want convenience today though, we live in impatient times, mostly...and the younger folk mostly won't have experienced anything else...problem is the things get devalued.
Need pound coins for trolleys
The thing that's worrying me is the closure of the high street branches, all the small towns around here have lost theirs and a trip to Crewe or Manchester or Stoke is the only way to interact in person with the various banks.
Why is this important?
In the last 11 years I have had to do 4 Probates, (Father, Mother, FIL & Mill and it is nigh on impossible to proceed without actually meeting bank officials face to face, presenting credentials and proving identity.
It's fairly easy for your own accounts, but dealing with the deceased's accounts is another matter altogether.
Last edited by chrisb; 18th April 2023 at 19:45.
I don't use a credit card ever rightly or wrongly just a debit card, I remember getting my first credit card many many years ago, I took my wife into town and bought her a ring with it just to try the card out :) so easy to spend whereas cash always makes me think a little/lot.
Most of the takeaways and barber shops in my area are cash only, which I see as a tax dodge as well as a personal inconvenience.
contact the bank - https://www.starlingbank.com/faq/cus...t/bereavement/
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
Forgot about taxis and cash, I use a taxi probably 3 or 4 times a week but sometimes this can be 7 or 8 in a day for work.
If I pay cash, then I have to claim it back which can take up to six weeks to see my money back, however I can put it on my company card and just submit the receipt.
The rank by the train station in Bournemouth it's surprising how many say their machines are broken so it's cash only, I refuse and book direct with their office and pay online and then the office keep a proportion of the card payment so the drivers worse off in the end.
Sent from my moto g53 5G using Tapatalk
Russias mapping the location of underwater electrical and internet cables
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...BFu-OHY5o7CL9Z
Looks like black cabs in London (or at least this one today) are trying their best not to embrace cashless too!
I do pay tax but prefer not to if you have cash.
Town i live in has several banks and building societies with cash machines inside and out, I draw £1k for the kitchen wallet money weekly for the back pocket, amount dependent on what I've spent, bank card leaves the house when i'm going to the bank. Working late recently in a mates garage we ordered pizza from Dominoes, I then discovered when I went to collect it they don't deal in cash, assistant was left with 3 pizzas and a "fuck you" when he told me only the stupid don't carry cards, I went to the chippy instead.
If I don't have cash I can't overspend, last watch I bought I paid for by bank transfer in the dealers, same as my last car.
To be even fairer, the banks have been waiting for a long time for the digital currency to happen, all our salaries paid into the bank, payments by direct debit only, I would imagine if you went back 25 years this is all part of some strategists master plan. Some science fiction films have the scenario where a few hug companies and the banks run everything.
I don't often comment. But agree...not with the Ryan thing. A bit obtuse and crass with regards to other people...but reflective of other things possibly. Do members really still indirectly boast on here when others are struggling? Not in the spirit of the forum.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Cash still has its place, sold some scrap gold jewellery yesterday on behalf of my sister, who’s in poor health, and took payment in cash......a grand in the hand still feels nice! Also made a good contact in the process, a working jeweller with a bricks and mortar shop who also gets involved with watches, potential for a bit if repair work coming my way. After sussing each other out we shook hands on a deal, that’s how transactions used to be done in the good old days.
I have supported our local Rotary club for many years, in particular the annual Santa float which tours the streets of Standish/Wigan plus static days at local supermarkets.
Covid caused a major decline in donations - sorry, I have no cash.
Rotarians are late adopters of most tech, but our treasurer suggested picking up a couple of 4g based chip-pin readers, and they have repaid the cost 10x.
Door to door cashless collections are strong, and supermarket donations are back to pre-covid levels.
It also reduces the amounts of cash that elderly rotarians need to count, and the risk of theft or mugging.