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Philadelphia Just Banned Most Cashless Stores

• otterley 8y ago
  Source article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/philadelphia-is-first-u-s-city-to-ban-cashless-stores-11551967201 https://www.wsj.com/articles/philadelphia-is-first-u-s-city-...
• SilasX 8y ago
  Merge with yesterday's discussion? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19328547 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19328547
  • dang 8y ago
    Done. Thanks!
• matthewfelgate 8y ago
  One of the stupidest things I've ever heard.
  • dang 8y ago
    Ok, but please don't post unsubstantive comments here.
• stirfrykitty 8y ago
  Cashless comes with problems that cannot be avoided. It's easy to trace cashless. What with more and more entities interested in an individual's purchases (insurance companies car/health/house), being able to buy things in cash is important. There are certain things I will only pay cash for to avoid the stigma, insurance issues, and some others: booze, fast food, firearms (face-to-face private transaction, which is legal in TX), and tobacco. All of these are paid for with cash. There is an increasing interest from various companies to learn who buys this stuff. Everyone is trawling the databases to learn more about you. I pay cash at the supermarket for everything, because your purchase history is sold. I know a couple of people in marketing and a couple in the insurance industry, and these people have talked with me about this stuff. Hospitals and insurance companies are now trawling social media and other sources to get dirt on people and to see how their incomes and habits stack up for a variety of reasons. Articles abound on this behavior. I'd rather not be on the radar of anyone for my purchase habits. Cash, for now, allows people to enjoy their peccadilloes without fear of their insurance going up or other bad stigmas. I have "nothing to hide" as the saying goes, but I'm private and none of this is anyone's business.