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Not having to carry a wallet anymore. And when we inevitably leave our card somewhere and we need to get home? Or it's blocked for some random reason? Never

Not having to carry a wallet anymore. And when we inevitably leave our card somewhere and we need to get home? Or it's blocked for some random reason? Nevermind the services that just don't take cash, or the fact that their card reader might be down, etc. Doesn't seem tenable to leave the house without at least some cash in a back pocket somewhere.

seanmcdirmid 3y ago
I barely ever use my card, so dropping it is less likely. It’s just a backup in case the payment terminal doesn’t support NFC. If their card reader is down, I just go somewhere else. If it’s a restaurant, well, that’s their problem if they didn’t warn me before hand (but it’s never happened before). A lot of people (esp under 30) these days are running around without any cash at all. Pickpockets and muggers, or even just panhandlers, have been suffering as a result. I do have some cash in my car I think. I put it there a few years ago for emergencies. I haven’t touched it since then. If I really need cash for something that I can’t get somewhere else, like a visa from the Japanese consulate, I go to the bank and withdraw cash. It’s a weird request for tellers, but I only do it once every two years or so. I’ve forgotten the pin to my ATM card.
shortcake27 3y ago
> And when we inevitably leave our card somewhere and we need to get home? How is this different to cash? I also have Apple pay on my phone and watch. > Or it's blocked for some random reason I have a couple cards. Also, I've been cashless for 10 years across three countries and this has never happened. > Nevermind the services that just don't take cash Assume you mean card. Not a problem in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. I travel a lot, remote, even random middle-of-nowhere merchants accept card. From a business point of view, cash-only makes zero sense. Why would a business turn away people who want to give them money? > or the fact that their card reader might be down Never had it happen. A couple of times the payment network has been down, and these terminals seem capable of making the transaction offline and syncing later. If you're from a country where any of these are legitimate concerns for you, it doesn't mean cashless is bad - it means the systems are bad. And they can be fixed, again, AU, NZ, and UK (and more, I'm sure) are proof. Haven't carried cash for 10 years and it doesn't occupy a single thought.
- lisasays 3y ago
  How is this different to cash? Of course there's no difference in regard to the risk of getting physically lost. I was referring risk of carrying a single value store (independent of type). I also have Apple pay on my phone and watch. Not sure how that's less cognitive overhead than a physical wallet, but as you like. From a business point of view, cash-only makes zero sense. Why would a business turn away people who want to give them money? Margins are thin. Apparently the overhead is significant for some merchants. Such that in my part of the planet, it's not uncommon for street merchants (and small shops) to only take card payments above a certain minimum amount. Oh, and some work under the table. Cash lets them do that. Meanwhile, the card-only places turn away customers all the time. If you're from a country where any of these are legitimate concerns for you, it doesn't mean cashless is bad - it means the systems are bad. Mmm - from first principles, and given that one system is orders of magnitude more complex (and subject to far many more points of failure) than the other - is may very well be an intrinsic liability of that system.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    Cash only places probably turn away more customers than card only places these days. People just like the convenience, and cash is on its way out.
    - lisasays 3y ago
      Whether cash is on it's way "out" (as opposed to contracting a bit and settling to a certain niche level) is -- as the article indicates -- far from an obvious, final matter. And in my view quite doubtful in fact. Either way - do as you like, and nice chatting.
    - tekknik 3y ago
      > People just like the convenience, and cash is on its way out. My favorite question that many of the people on this site love to ignore, what about natural disasters? Do you believe CC terminals still work when the rest of the infrastructure has failed? Cash is far from on the way out, you’re being naive.

seanmcdirmid 3y ago

I barely ever use my card, so dropping it is less likely. It’s just a backup in case the payment terminal doesn’t support NFC. If their card reader is down, I just go somewhere else. If it’s a restaurant, well, that’s their problem if they didn’t warn me before hand (but it’s never happened before). A lot of people (esp under 30) these days are running around without any cash at all. Pickpockets and muggers, or even just panhandlers, have been suffering as a result. I do have some cash in my car I think. I put it there a few years ago for emergencies. I haven’t touched it since then. If I really need cash for something that I can’t get somewhere else, like a visa from the Japanese consulate, I go to the bank and withdraw cash. It’s a weird request for tellers, but I only do it once every two years or so. I’ve forgotten the pin to my ATM card.

shortcake27 3y ago

> And when we inevitably leave our card somewhere and we need to get home? How is this different to cash? I also have Apple pay on my phone and watch. > Or it's blocked for some random reason I have a couple cards. Also, I've been cashless for 10 years across three countries and this has never happened. > Nevermind the services that just don't take cash Assume you mean card. Not a problem in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. I travel a lot, remote, even random middle-of-nowhere merchants accept card. From a business point of view, cash-only makes zero sense. Why would a business turn away people who want to give them money? > or the fact that their card reader might be down Never had it happen. A couple of times the payment network has been down, and these terminals seem capable of making the transaction offline and syncing later. If you're from a country where any of these are legitimate concerns for you, it doesn't mean cashless is bad - it means the systems are bad. And they can be fixed, again, AU, NZ, and UK (and more, I'm sure) are proof. Haven't carried cash for 10 years and it doesn't occupy a single thought.

lisasays 3y ago
How is this different to cash? Of course there's no difference in regard to the risk of getting physically lost. I was referring risk of carrying a single value store (independent of type). I also have Apple pay on my phone and watch. Not sure how that's less cognitive overhead than a physical wallet, but as you like. From a business point of view, cash-only makes zero sense. Why would a business turn away people who want to give them money? Margins are thin. Apparently the overhead is significant for some merchants. Such that in my part of the planet, it's not uncommon for street merchants (and small shops) to only take card payments above a certain minimum amount. Oh, and some work under the table. Cash lets them do that. Meanwhile, the card-only places turn away customers all the time. If you're from a country where any of these are legitimate concerns for you, it doesn't mean cashless is bad - it means the systems are bad. Mmm - from first principles, and given that one system is orders of magnitude more complex (and subject to far many more points of failure) than the other - is may very well be an intrinsic liability of that system.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  Cash only places probably turn away more customers than card only places these days. People just like the convenience, and cash is on its way out.
  - lisasays 3y ago
    Whether cash is on it's way "out" (as opposed to contracting a bit and settling to a certain niche level) is -- as the article indicates -- far from an obvious, final matter. And in my view quite doubtful in fact. Either way - do as you like, and nice chatting.
  - tekknik 3y ago
    > People just like the convenience, and cash is on its way out. My favorite question that many of the people on this site love to ignore, what about natural disasters? Do you believe CC terminals still work when the rest of the infrastructure has failed? Cash is far from on the way out, you’re being naive.