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> When I see a US-made movie where the landlord knocks on someone's door to collect rent in cash, it's rather bewildering That might be the result of thinking

> When I see a US-made movie where the landlord knocks on someone's door to collect rent in cash, it's rather bewildering That might be the result of thinking movies bear any resemblance to reality. Approximately nobody pays rent in cash in the US, either. But movies are about telling stories, not describing how things really are.

ghaff 4y ago
>Approximately nobody pays rent in cash in the US, either. At least above a certain income level if they're not paying someone off the books or maybe splitting a bill with friends/family (and even that is often some digital payment or a check) cash is increasingly uncommon. I don't think I've withdrawn money from an ATM in a couple years. And, certainly rent/mortgage, it would be almost unheard of in most situations. No one wants to be handling thousands of dollars in cash in an urban area.
ethbr0 4y ago
I'd hazard to say a fair amount of low-income rentals are still paid in cash. It's not like the "don't declare income" slice of the economy disappeared. If you're paid in cash but not declaring it, you probably want to pay rent in cash too. Quick search, but unbanked seems a good proxy for "pay with cash": https://www.fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey/index.html https://www.fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey/index.html From the above, somewhere between 4.5% (average) and ~8% (low income African-American and Hispanic) people do not have a bank account. Add in some more who choose not to declare, and it's a small but significantly non-zero number.
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  > unbanked seems a good proxy for "pay with cash" It very well may be. Though the last time I had to survive without a bank account, it didn't mean I paid big bills like rent using cash, it meant I got familiar with the local check cashing place and used money orders a lot. My landlords didn't want to deal with me giving them a bunch of cash every month.

ghaff 4y ago

>Approximately nobody pays rent in cash in the US, either. At least above a certain income level if they're not paying someone off the books or maybe splitting a bill with friends/family (and even that is often some digital payment or a check) cash is increasingly uncommon. I don't think I've withdrawn money from an ATM in a couple years. And, certainly rent/mortgage, it would be almost unheard of in most situations. No one wants to be handling thousands of dollars in cash in an urban area.

ethbr0 4y ago

I'd hazard to say a fair amount of low-income rentals are still paid in cash. It's not like the "don't declare income" slice of the economy disappeared. If you're paid in cash but not declaring it, you probably want to pay rent in cash too. Quick search, but unbanked seems a good proxy for "pay with cash": https://www.fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey/index.html https://www.fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey/index.html From the above, somewhere between 4.5% (average) and ~8% (low income African-American and Hispanic) people do not have a bank account. Add in some more who choose not to declare, and it's a small but significantly non-zero number.

rootusrootus 4y ago
> unbanked seems a good proxy for "pay with cash" It very well may be. Though the last time I had to survive without a bank account, it didn't mean I paid big bills like rent using cash, it meant I got familiar with the local check cashing place and used money orders a lot. My landlords didn't want to deal with me giving them a bunch of cash every month.