6 ms·

This assumes the service has already been rendered. If I own a store and you want to buy a candy bar from me, I can end the transaction when you attempt to pay

by kedean 11y ago

This assumes the service has already been rendered. If I own a store and you want to buy a candy bar from me, I can end the transaction when you attempt to pay me with a $100 bill. Since I haven't actually given you ownership of the candybar, there is no debt in place, yet. A restaurant doesn't have the same freedom, since they generally accept payment after the service is completed and you already owe them the debt for the meal.

gambiting 11y ago
The tricky question is - how does this work at petrol stations? You already have the fuel in your tank when you go to pay. Surely the service has been rendered at that point?
- thesimon 11y ago
  They usually have signs at the pump saying "No $100" notes. Edit: At least in Europe you usually pump before paying by card/cash in the store. I guess it differs from the US because of the high crime rate there.
  - khedoros 11y ago
    I don't pay cash often, but when I have, I've pre-paid inside the store, and the pump automatically stops when I've gotten the correct amount of gas. It may be regional. This shows people posting a mix of pre- and post-pay anecdotes: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6640808 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=...
- AnimalMuppet 11y ago
  You pay in advance if you want to pay cash. Or, you give the pump your credit/debit card (which is also paying in advance).
  - kedean 11y ago
    In fairness, it hasn't always been like that everywhere. In my hometown, the move to 'prepay when using cash' only happened about 10 years ago. I distinctly remember working at a gas station in high school and dealing with older customer who refused to believe that they couldn't just pump then pay.
    - dtparr 11y ago
      Agreed, and I'll go one further saying that it's still not 100% this way everywhere. I'm from a pretty rural area and at several of the stations there you're still free to pump then pay in cash. I actually didn't realize pay-first for cash transactions had become the standard until recently as I made the swap shortly after 'pay at the pump' became common and never really looked back. How does it work? You just estimate how much you need, and the pump cuts off at that point? If you can't hold that much you go back for a refund?
      - kedean 11y ago
        Yes, if you overpay then you go back in and get the change back. If I give the cashier a twenty, but only pump $10 worth, then I get $10 back from them. Most people are pretty good at estimating it though, so generally the people that pay in cash will just leave the few dozen cents they didn't use.
  - gambiting 11y ago
    This is the first time I'm hearing about petrol stations where you pay cash in advance and I live in EU. Just fill up the tank and pay at the till?
    - AnimalMuppet 11y ago
      No, pay at the till, then fill up the tank. This is in the US.
thesimon 11y ago
>A restaurant doesn't have the same freedom, since they generally accept payment after the service is completed and you already owe them the debt for the meal. They can however place signs visible in their store or write it on their menu that they don't accept $100 bills.
- Retric 11y ago
  They can add signs saying the sky is green, they still need to accept cash as long they are collecting a debt.* *Fastfood / food trucks are different as you pay before reviving the food. PS: Though they can ban you from coming back after this. And the payment needs to be reasonable. 10$ for a 9.50$ meal is reasonable a 100$ bill is not.
  - thesimon 11y ago
    But when ordering something, you are entering a contract. By placing a sign saying "We don't accept cash" they are placing a condition under which they'll enter a contract with you. By ordering, you are implicitly agreeing to that condition.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]

by kedean 11y ago

gambiting 11y ago

The tricky question is - how does this work at petrol stations? You already have the fuel in your tank when you go to pay. Surely the service has been rendered at that point?

thesimon 11y ago
They usually have signs at the pump saying "No $100" notes. Edit: At least in Europe you usually pump before paying by card/cash in the store. I guess it differs from the US because of the high crime rate there.
- khedoros 11y ago
  I don't pay cash often, but when I have, I've pre-paid inside the store, and the pump automatically stops when I've gotten the correct amount of gas. It may be regional. This shows people posting a mix of pre- and post-pay anecdotes: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6640808 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=...
AnimalMuppet 11y ago
You pay in advance if you want to pay cash. Or, you give the pump your credit/debit card (which is also paying in advance).
- kedean 11y ago
  In fairness, it hasn't always been like that everywhere. In my hometown, the move to 'prepay when using cash' only happened about 10 years ago. I distinctly remember working at a gas station in high school and dealing with older customer who refused to believe that they couldn't just pump then pay.
  - dtparr 11y ago
    Agreed, and I'll go one further saying that it's still not 100% this way everywhere. I'm from a pretty rural area and at several of the stations there you're still free to pump then pay in cash. I actually didn't realize pay-first for cash transactions had become the standard until recently as I made the swap shortly after 'pay at the pump' became common and never really looked back. How does it work? You just estimate how much you need, and the pump cuts off at that point? If you can't hold that much you go back for a refund?
    - kedean 11y ago
      Yes, if you overpay then you go back in and get the change back. If I give the cashier a twenty, but only pump $10 worth, then I get $10 back from them. Most people are pretty good at estimating it though, so generally the people that pay in cash will just leave the few dozen cents they didn't use.
- gambiting 11y ago
  This is the first time I'm hearing about petrol stations where you pay cash in advance and I live in EU. Just fill up the tank and pay at the till?
  - AnimalMuppet 11y ago
    No, pay at the till, then fill up the tank. This is in the US.

thesimon 11y ago

>A restaurant doesn't have the same freedom, since they generally accept payment after the service is completed and you already owe them the debt for the meal. They can however place signs visible in their store or write it on their menu that they don't accept $100 bills.

Retric 11y ago
They can add signs saying the sky is green, they still need to accept cash as long they are collecting a debt.* *Fastfood / food trucks are different as you pay before reviving the food. PS: Though they can ban you from coming back after this. And the payment needs to be reasonable. 10$ for a 9.50$ meal is reasonable a 100$ bill is not.
- thesimon 11y ago
  But when ordering something, you are entering a contract. By placing a sign saying "We don't accept cash" they are placing a condition under which they'll enter a contract with you. By ordering, you are implicitly agreeing to that condition.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]