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This is an alarmist piece on negative interest rates. The real war on cash is driven by consumer convenience, the IRS, and Anti-(Drug|Terrorism|Vice) governmen

This is an alarmist piece on negative interest rates. The real war on cash is driven by consumer convenience, the IRS, and Anti-(Drug|Terrorism|Vice) government agencies. Government agencies want a paper trail to catch tax evaders and illicit activity. Whenever I see a very popular business (usually a bar or restaurant) that takes "Cash Only". I think to myself "Tax Evader". Which may or may not be true. Sadly, they are painting a target on their back.

teddyh 11y ago
I am instead reminded of the coffee-shop owner in Little Brother, written in 2007: > I pulled out my debit card to pay and he made a face. "No more debit," he said. > "Huh? Why not?" I'd paid for my coffee habit on my card for years at the Turk's. He used to hassle me all the time, telling me I was too young to drink the stuff, and he still refused to serve me at all during school hours, convinced that I was skipping class. But over the years, the Turk and me have developed a kind of gruff understanding. > He shook his head sadly. "You wouldn't understand. Go to school, kid." > There's no surer way to make me want to understand than to tell me I won't. I wheedled him, demanding that he tell me. He looked like he was going to throw me out, but when I asked him if he thought I wasn't good enough to shop there, he opened up. > "The security," he said, looking around his little shop with its tubs of dried beans and seeds, its shelves of Turkish groceries. "The government. They monitor it all now, it was in the papers. PATRIOT Act II, the Congress passed it yesterday. Now they can monitor every time you use your card. I say no. I say my shop will not help them spy on my customers." > My jaw dropped. > "You think it's no big deal maybe? What is the problem with government knowing when you buy coffee? Because it's one way they know where you are, where you been. Why you think I left Turkey? Where you have government always spying on the people, is no good. I move here twenty years ago for freedom -- I no help them take freedom away." > "You're going to lose so many sales," I blurted. I wanted to tell him he was a hero and shake his hand, but that was what came out. "Everyone uses debit cards." > "Maybe not so much anymore. Maybe my customers come here because they know I love freedom too. I am making sign for window. Maybe other stores do the same. I hear the ACLU will sue them for this." > "You've got all my business from now on," I said. I meant it. I reached into my pocket. "Um, I don't have any cash, though." > He pursed his lips and nodded. "Many peoples say the same thing. Is OK. You give today's money to the ACLU." > In two minutes, the Turk and I had exchanged more words than we had in all the time I'd been coming to his shop. I had no idea he had all these passions. I just thought of him as my friendly neighborhood caffeine dealer. Now I shook his hand and when I left his store, I felt like he and I had joined a team. A secret team.
- sithadmin 11y ago
  As much as I appreciate the sentiment, this reminds me why I can't ever make it through more than a few pages of Doctorow, with the exception of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.
  - IsaacL 11y ago
    I feel the same way about Doctorow, and I couldn't even get through more than the first chapter of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. It had an interesting setting, but was focused on a boring guy with a boring job. I'm genuinely curious, if any of his fans are reading this, what is his appeal? Is it the political messages and well-drawn near future settings?
elthran 11y ago
I definitely have the same reaction to "cash only", usually preceded by "ugh, that's so inconvenient". I can also never think of a good enough reason for this, especially in the UK where vendor-expensive Amex cards are far less common, and the majority of people use debit cards. To me, its severely inconveniencing customers - I know personally I've gone elsewhere to a different merchant that will accept my card to make a purchase.
- adav 11y ago
  I too have caught myself choosing retailers that I know will accept Apple Pay with an Amex. The convenience is almost as great as the cashback points incentive.
- realusername 11y ago
  On my case it's actually the opposite, I only pay in cash for almost everything and use the card only when necessary or for a large transfer.
kardos 11y ago
While "cash only" could be an indicator of tax evasion, it's also a way to sidestep credit card fees which can chew up a few percent of your profit margin.
- dagw 11y ago
  At least here in Sweden I'm seeing more and more places going "card only", leading me to believe that the cost (and risk) of handling cash must be at least as high as the cost and risk of handling cards.
  - elthran 11y ago
    Yeah, cash has to be counted, delivered to a bank to be deposited, can be "misplaced" by employees, the old "sorry, I don't have enough change" issue
    - caf 11y ago
      Before credit cards became widely used, restaurants used to be common robbery targets. A whole night's takings in cash is a solid score. That's no longer the case, because you'd mostly just get a pile of worthless credit card receipts for your trouble now.
  - tveita 11y ago
    Does Sweden have a national payment network similar to Canadas Interac? If so they might be paying much less than standard credit card fees.
- legulere 11y ago
  They're at 1.58% for Visa and 1.73% for Mastercard in Germany if the information I found is correct. To save those fees some companies sometimes use direct debit instead.
  - quickben 11y ago
    Isn't these a basic fee of few cents tackled onto it too?
dsfyu404ed 11y ago
IIRC there's a minimum processing fee. That's why lots of places have signs like "$5 minimum card transaction"
jseliger 11y ago
Whenever I see a very popular business (usually a bar or restaurant) that takes "Cash Only". I think to myself "Tax Evader". Which may or may not be true If you want to be friendly with your bartender and other people with similar businesses, pay with cash and tip with cash. I almost always do.
maxxxxx 11y ago
In the US they are more likely trying to evade the "credit card company tax". For a small business that has transactions in the single digit dollar range those are quite substantial.

teddyh 11y ago

I am instead reminded of the coffee-shop owner in Little Brother, written in 2007: > I pulled out my debit card to pay and he made a face. "No more debit," he said. > "Huh? Why not?" I'd paid for my coffee habit on my card for years at the Turk's. He used to hassle me all the time, telling me I was too young to drink the stuff, and he still refused to serve me at all during school hours, convinced that I was skipping class. But over the years, the Turk and me have developed a kind of gruff understanding. > He shook his head sadly. "You wouldn't understand. Go to school, kid." > There's no surer way to make me want to understand than to tell me I won't. I wheedled him, demanding that he tell me. He looked like he was going to throw me out, but when I asked him if he thought I wasn't good enough to shop there, he opened up. > "The security," he said, looking around his little shop with its tubs of dried beans and seeds, its shelves of Turkish groceries. "The government. They monitor it all now, it was in the papers. PATRIOT Act II, the Congress passed it yesterday. Now they can monitor every time you use your card. I say no. I say my shop will not help them spy on my customers." > My jaw dropped. > "You think it's no big deal maybe? What is the problem with government knowing when you buy coffee? Because it's one way they know where you are, where you been. Why you think I left Turkey? Where you have government always spying on the people, is no good. I move here twenty years ago for freedom -- I no help them take freedom away." > "You're going to lose so many sales," I blurted. I wanted to tell him he was a hero and shake his hand, but that was what came out. "Everyone uses debit cards." > "Maybe not so much anymore. Maybe my customers come here because they know I love freedom too. I am making sign for window. Maybe other stores do the same. I hear the ACLU will sue them for this." > "You've got all my business from now on," I said. I meant it. I reached into my pocket. "Um, I don't have any cash, though." > He pursed his lips and nodded. "Many peoples say the same thing. Is OK. You give today's money to the ACLU." > In two minutes, the Turk and I had exchanged more words than we had in all the time I'd been coming to his shop. I had no idea he had all these passions. I just thought of him as my friendly neighborhood caffeine dealer. Now I shook his hand and when I left his store, I felt like he and I had joined a team. A secret team.

sithadmin 11y ago
As much as I appreciate the sentiment, this reminds me why I can't ever make it through more than a few pages of Doctorow, with the exception of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.
- IsaacL 11y ago
  I feel the same way about Doctorow, and I couldn't even get through more than the first chapter of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. It had an interesting setting, but was focused on a boring guy with a boring job. I'm genuinely curious, if any of his fans are reading this, what is his appeal? Is it the political messages and well-drawn near future settings?

elthran 11y ago

I definitely have the same reaction to "cash only", usually preceded by "ugh, that's so inconvenient". I can also never think of a good enough reason for this, especially in the UK where vendor-expensive Amex cards are far less common, and the majority of people use debit cards. To me, its severely inconveniencing customers - I know personally I've gone elsewhere to a different merchant that will accept my card to make a purchase.

adav 11y ago
I too have caught myself choosing retailers that I know will accept Apple Pay with an Amex. The convenience is almost as great as the cashback points incentive.
realusername 11y ago
On my case it's actually the opposite, I only pay in cash for almost everything and use the card only when necessary or for a large transfer.

kardos 11y ago

While "cash only" could be an indicator of tax evasion, it's also a way to sidestep credit card fees which can chew up a few percent of your profit margin.

dagw 11y ago
At least here in Sweden I'm seeing more and more places going "card only", leading me to believe that the cost (and risk) of handling cash must be at least as high as the cost and risk of handling cards.
- elthran 11y ago
  Yeah, cash has to be counted, delivered to a bank to be deposited, can be "misplaced" by employees, the old "sorry, I don't have enough change" issue
  - caf 11y ago
    Before credit cards became widely used, restaurants used to be common robbery targets. A whole night's takings in cash is a solid score. That's no longer the case, because you'd mostly just get a pile of worthless credit card receipts for your trouble now.
- tveita 11y ago
  Does Sweden have a national payment network similar to Canadas Interac? If so they might be paying much less than standard credit card fees.
legulere 11y ago
They're at 1.58% for Visa and 1.73% for Mastercard in Germany if the information I found is correct. To save those fees some companies sometimes use direct debit instead.
- quickben 11y ago
  Isn't these a basic fee of few cents tackled onto it too?

dsfyu404ed 11y ago

IIRC there's a minimum processing fee. That's why lots of places have signs like "$5 minimum card transaction"

jseliger 11y ago

Whenever I see a very popular business (usually a bar or restaurant) that takes "Cash Only". I think to myself "Tax Evader". Which may or may not be true If you want to be friendly with your bartender and other people with similar businesses, pay with cash and tip with cash. I almost always do.

maxxxxx 11y ago

In the US they are more likely trying to evade the "credit card company tax". For a small business that has transactions in the single digit dollar range those are quite substantial.