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When someone posted an article about the coin shortage on Facebook recently, I realized that I haven't used cash for a purchase since sometime before the lockdo
by dhosek 6y ago
When someone posted an article about the coin shortage on Facebook recently, I realized that I haven't used cash for a purchase since sometime before the lockdown started. And even before that, my primary use of cash was the collections basket at church—which the lockdown has ended up transforming into a credit card transaction now. Our formerly cash transactions for our cleaning lady have converted into Zelle payments. Friends who also commented mentioned tipping delivery people although I prefer contactless delivery and always include the tip in the original payment rather than have to come close enough to a delivery person to hand off cash. Cash has long been on a decline and I think the pandemic is accelerating this to the point where it's going to end up being moot.
- vl 6y agoI was in Home Depot yesterday, buying $220 of equipment. Credit card system went down on all registers. So I had to pay with cash.
- dhosek 6y agoCoin-only laundry machines are probably the biggest drivers of persistent cash usage in most of my acquaintances' lives. I'm guessing that apartment buildings big enough to have in-building laundry rooms but small enough to not be able to justify a cashless payment system may just end up shifting to not charging for laundry.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- jedimastert 6y agoI think that gap is growing smaller. Sample size of one incoming, but the building I live in only has 16 2-room apartments and has a app-driven option for the machines (they take coins, but there's no change machines and I've never seen anyone actually do so)
- InitialLastName 6y agoUntil I made the (in hindsight, fortuitous) move into a house with a washing machine, I and many other millions of people in the US used cash weekly at the laundromat. Even their laundry service only took cash.
- kerkeslager 6y agoThere are whole subeconomies that operate primarily in cash. If you think that cash is going to disappear, you're living in an echo chamber. And more to the point, forcing every American to pay 1-3% rent on every transaction is not progress.
- ianhorn 6y agoDon't other countries limit the amount payment providers can charge?
- kerkeslager 6y agoYes. The US, however, does not. Additionally, the terms of use of credit card companies forbids charging a different price for cash versus card. This means that businesses which aren't large enough to negotiate different terms, have to raise prices across the board to cover the cost of credit card payments--even using cash, you're paying rent to the credit card companies.
- ianhorn 6y agoMaybe the simplest law to make it less of a shit deal for society is forbid the forbidding of charging different prices for cash vs card. Or something halfway, like forcing card companies to allow price differences up to x% of their charge.
- kerkeslager 6y ago> Maybe the simplest law to make it less of a shit deal for society is forbid the forbidding of charging different prices for cash vs card. Agreed. > Or something halfway, like forcing card companies to allow price differences up to x% of their charge. If I want to use cash, why should I subsidize any portion of the credit card company? I don't see the logic of a half-measure. I firmly believe that corporations (and other collectives) do not have rights, individuals have rights. This is a prime example where refusal to regulate corporations harms individuals.
- 6y ago