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Basically, sure, cash is fairly easy to use... but cashless is easier. Cashless is "I waved my watch at the register". Cash is more stuff to carry. A wallet wh

by kemayo 8y ago

Basically, sure, cash is fairly easy to use... but cashless is easier. Cashless is "I waved my watch at the register". Cash is more stuff to carry. A wallet which just contains a few cards is tiny; if you want it to contain a reasonable amount of money in bills and coins as well, it's bulky. Making change is a hassle -- ever had trouble paying because the shop can't make change for your bill? I have. Not disputing the privacy downsides of cashless. But for most people's day-to-day life, it's a trade-off they're happy to make.

Animats 8y ago
but cashless is easier. Cashless is "I waved my watch at the register". No, it's not. I keep seeing people futzing with their phone, or using some combination of affinity card, credit card, and EBT card that takes forever to process. Then there's "hosted POS in the cloud", where it takes five seconds for each transaction step as it goes out to some overloaded server. The credit card terminal and the POS terminal can get out of sync, so you get a false "Chip malfunction" message if you put in your card too soon. Here in Silicon Valley, the contactless card thing seems to have come and gone. I see "No Apple Pay" and "No Google Pay" labels taped over the RF card reader at many retailers.
- avarun 8y ago
  That may be the situation in Silicon Valley, but try going to somewhere like London, where you're in the minority if you're not paying with a contactless credit card (let alone Apple Pay). A table of 4 splitting their bill at a restaurant just involves each person tapping their card once when the waiter brings the card reader, and then walking out.
  - walshemj 8y ago
    Must be a cheap restaurant the limit for wireless is low.
- Symbiote 8y ago
  There are signs like this [1] ("No cash payment" or "Payment by card only") in some places in Sweden. I visit fairly often, and have mostly seen them in restaurants. I have never experienced the situations you describe, and have had a Chip+PIN card since 2004. Visa Europe did go down last week [2] but that's rare enough to make the international press. Times you might expect to pay by cash — like buying a single can of beer from a busy kiosk — the cashier already has the card terminal reading "22kr ((c· " before you realize you're next in line. [1] http://www.bohuslaningen.se/image/policy:1.754855:1462893090/image.jpg?f=Wide%26w=1200%26%24p%24f%24w=834285a http://www.bohuslaningen.se/image/policy:1.754855:1462893090... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jun/01/visa-card-network-crashes-and-sparks-payment-chaos https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jun/01/visa-card-netw...
walshemj 8y ago
No its not most of the bulk in my wallet is my cards not the £100-200 I carry.
kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
That's great until someone comes out with a zero day that recreates Superman III and funnels billions onto a blockchain.

by kemayo 8y ago

Animats 8y ago

but cashless is easier. Cashless is "I waved my watch at the register". No, it's not. I keep seeing people futzing with their phone, or using some combination of affinity card, credit card, and EBT card that takes forever to process. Then there's "hosted POS in the cloud", where it takes five seconds for each transaction step as it goes out to some overloaded server. The credit card terminal and the POS terminal can get out of sync, so you get a false "Chip malfunction" message if you put in your card too soon. Here in Silicon Valley, the contactless card thing seems to have come and gone. I see "No Apple Pay" and "No Google Pay" labels taped over the RF card reader at many retailers.

avarun 8y ago
That may be the situation in Silicon Valley, but try going to somewhere like London, where you're in the minority if you're not paying with a contactless credit card (let alone Apple Pay). A table of 4 splitting their bill at a restaurant just involves each person tapping their card once when the waiter brings the card reader, and then walking out.
- walshemj 8y ago
  Must be a cheap restaurant the limit for wireless is low.
Symbiote 8y ago
There are signs like this [1] ("No cash payment" or "Payment by card only") in some places in Sweden. I visit fairly often, and have mostly seen them in restaurants. I have never experienced the situations you describe, and have had a Chip+PIN card since 2004. Visa Europe did go down last week [2] but that's rare enough to make the international press. Times you might expect to pay by cash — like buying a single can of beer from a busy kiosk — the cashier already has the card terminal reading "22kr ((c· " before you realize you're next in line. [1] http://www.bohuslaningen.se/image/policy:1.754855:1462893090/image.jpg?f=Wide%26w=1200%26%24p%24f%24w=834285a http://www.bohuslaningen.se/image/policy:1.754855:1462893090... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jun/01/visa-card-network-crashes-and-sparks-payment-chaos https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jun/01/visa-card-netw...

walshemj 8y ago

No its not most of the bulk in my wallet is my cards not the £100-200 I carry.

kevin_thibedeau 8y ago

That's great until someone comes out with a zero day that recreates Superman III and funnels billions onto a blockchain.