4 ms·

Paper Money Diehards Refuse to Fold

helsinkiandrew 3y ago
https://archive.ph/FR8Nv https://archive.ph/FR8Nv
ggm 3y ago
Down here in Oz I worry it's insidious sovereign citizen like groups behind a lot of it. "It's how they track us" mimetic stuff, when often times it's undeclared income which is tax avoidance. The fees are an issue. I don't like privatising money. But, pay wave is consumer friendly.
- FooBarBizBazz 3y ago
  > insidious sovereign citizen like groups behind a lot of it. "It's how they track us" mimetic stuf I mean, you don't need to be a conspiracy theorist to understand that, when they give you 3% cash back, the credit card company has to be making at least that much more by selling something. (That "something", of course, is transaction data.)
  - helsinkiandrew 3y ago
    > when they give you 3% cash back, the credit card company has to be making at least that much more by selling something. I don't think tracking purchases is worth 3% cashback for the average credit card customer (FB make around $10 each user whilst tracking their entire life on the internet). 3% is probably a loss leading/introductory offer, but 1-2% is paid for by retailer charges. There's a good breakdown of who pays and receives what in a $100 purchase in the figure half way down the article here: https://www.economist.com/special-report/2023/05/15/the-old-bank/card-model-is-still-entrenched-in-the-rich-world https://www.economist.com/special-report/2023/05/15/the-old-... archived at https://archive.ph/CNFx3 https://archive.ph/CNFx3
  - ggm 3y ago
    The "they" in "they are tracking us" isn't the bank and their BI on your spend: its the WorldGovernment-Barcode-BillGates-JewishConspiracy-QueenIsAnAlien-AntVaxx mob. But your point is well made. We are tracked, constantly. I note, that the same people decrying using square and stripe payment at the market, carry mobile phones with GPS, and Layer1/2 tracking to cell tower just like everyone else..
nubinetwork 3y ago
These people seem a little overboard, but there are a few reasons I still use cash for some things... I think the biggest one is cab fares. It's faster to hand someone a $20 and get some pocket change back, than it is to boot up a debit machine and wait for the transaction to go through. All the meanwhile the cab driver is holding up traffic, because some debit machines are dog slow, or the connection is so bad that it takes a few tries for it to complete successfully.
- reportgunner 3y ago
  Last week I was walking down the street and looking at the ground in front of me I noticed a 10€ bill laying on the pavement. Picking it up I realized this is most likely not possible with digital cash.
  - teetertater 3y ago
    Which is interesting when you start to consider, that the likelihood of a 10€ bill falling out of your digital pocket is probably way higher: Bank going bust? Surprise banking fees? Overdraft?
  - giardini 3y ago
    This. In the last year I've found over $80 in cash mostly blowing about in parking lots! I attribute that to inflation: $1 just isn't what it once was and people are unwilling to chase small bills. My wife jokes that money seeks me out. Once while driving I saw a man in an oncoming car throw cash, credit cards and a woman's pocketbook out the window on a two-way road - that really pissed me off. I stopped, retrieved what I could and gave it all to the police [the perpetrator's car never stopped and was long gone]. The owner was a middle-eastern woman (from the drivers license et al) and almost undoubtedly the act was one performed in anger. Who knows what happened? Did she spend too much or kiss the wrong man? Personally I hope she did both and, after that incident, dumped the guy. Nonetheless the story also sounds like a good starting scene in a movie!
- helsinkiandrew 3y ago
  For me (I'm in EU) its the opposite - the small purchases I make - coffee shops, food shopping, taxis etc the contactless card payments is by far the fastest approach - it is just touch and go - the hold up is waiting for them to ask if I want the receipt. And although I have Apple Pay I still use a physical card because it is quicker (or atleast simpler) than 'launching' Apple Pay.
pseufaux 3y ago
No interest in the article, but had to click through on the quality of the title pun alone. Well done WSJ.
- jeffrallen 3y ago
  Came here to up vote for the pun.
secretsatan 3y ago
The swiss are going to put this issue to a vote : https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/swiss-libertarians-push-for-vote-to-guarantee-the-survival-of-cash/48260274 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/swiss-libertarians-pus... Although I don't see cash going away anytime soon here, everywhere takes cash AFAIK. I prefer having cash on me when going out, plus the washing machine in my building is a bit old and only takes 1fr and 20c pieces so having change is necessary!
eviwey 3y ago
[dead]
eviwey 3y ago
[dead]

https://archive.ph/FR8Nv https://archive.ph/FR8Nv

ggm 3y ago

Down here in Oz I worry it's insidious sovereign citizen like groups behind a lot of it. "It's how they track us" mimetic stuff, when often times it's undeclared income which is tax avoidance. The fees are an issue. I don't like privatising money. But, pay wave is consumer friendly.

FooBarBizBazz 3y ago
> insidious sovereign citizen like groups behind a lot of it. "It's how they track us" mimetic stuf I mean, you don't need to be a conspiracy theorist to understand that, when they give you 3% cash back, the credit card company has to be making at least that much more by selling something. (That "something", of course, is transaction data.)
- helsinkiandrew 3y ago
  > when they give you 3% cash back, the credit card company has to be making at least that much more by selling something. I don't think tracking purchases is worth 3% cashback for the average credit card customer (FB make around $10 each user whilst tracking their entire life on the internet). 3% is probably a loss leading/introductory offer, but 1-2% is paid for by retailer charges. There's a good breakdown of who pays and receives what in a $100 purchase in the figure half way down the article here: https://www.economist.com/special-report/2023/05/15/the-old-bank/card-model-is-still-entrenched-in-the-rich-world https://www.economist.com/special-report/2023/05/15/the-old-... archived at https://archive.ph/CNFx3 https://archive.ph/CNFx3
- ggm 3y ago
  The "they" in "they are tracking us" isn't the bank and their BI on your spend: its the WorldGovernment-Barcode-BillGates-JewishConspiracy-QueenIsAnAlien-AntVaxx mob. But your point is well made. We are tracked, constantly. I note, that the same people decrying using square and stripe payment at the market, carry mobile phones with GPS, and Layer1/2 tracking to cell tower just like everyone else..

nubinetwork 3y ago

These people seem a little overboard, but there are a few reasons I still use cash for some things... I think the biggest one is cab fares. It's faster to hand someone a $20 and get some pocket change back, than it is to boot up a debit machine and wait for the transaction to go through. All the meanwhile the cab driver is holding up traffic, because some debit machines are dog slow, or the connection is so bad that it takes a few tries for it to complete successfully.

reportgunner 3y ago
Last week I was walking down the street and looking at the ground in front of me I noticed a 10€ bill laying on the pavement. Picking it up I realized this is most likely not possible with digital cash.
- teetertater 3y ago
  Which is interesting when you start to consider, that the likelihood of a 10€ bill falling out of your digital pocket is probably way higher: Bank going bust? Surprise banking fees? Overdraft?
- giardini 3y ago
  This. In the last year I've found over $80 in cash mostly blowing about in parking lots! I attribute that to inflation: $1 just isn't what it once was and people are unwilling to chase small bills. My wife jokes that money seeks me out. Once while driving I saw a man in an oncoming car throw cash, credit cards and a woman's pocketbook out the window on a two-way road - that really pissed me off. I stopped, retrieved what I could and gave it all to the police [the perpetrator's car never stopped and was long gone]. The owner was a middle-eastern woman (from the drivers license et al) and almost undoubtedly the act was one performed in anger. Who knows what happened? Did she spend too much or kiss the wrong man? Personally I hope she did both and, after that incident, dumped the guy. Nonetheless the story also sounds like a good starting scene in a movie!
helsinkiandrew 3y ago
For me (I'm in EU) its the opposite - the small purchases I make - coffee shops, food shopping, taxis etc the contactless card payments is by far the fastest approach - it is just touch and go - the hold up is waiting for them to ask if I want the receipt. And although I have Apple Pay I still use a physical card because it is quicker (or atleast simpler) than 'launching' Apple Pay.

pseufaux 3y ago

No interest in the article, but had to click through on the quality of the title pun alone. Well done WSJ.

jeffrallen 3y ago
Came here to up vote for the pun.

secretsatan 3y ago

The swiss are going to put this issue to a vote : https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/swiss-libertarians-push-for-vote-to-guarantee-the-survival-of-cash/48260274 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/swiss-libertarians-pus... Although I don't see cash going away anytime soon here, everywhere takes cash AFAIK. I prefer having cash on me when going out, plus the washing machine in my building is a bit old and only takes 1fr and 20c pieces so having change is necessary!

eviwey 3y ago

[dead]

eviwey 3y ago

[dead]