4 ms·

All over my area, I am beginning to see discounts for paying with cash. Hopefully this is sufficient to discourage sufficient numbers from going fully cashless.

by chasil 3y ago

All over my area, I am beginning to see discounts for paying with cash. Hopefully this is sufficient to discourage sufficient numbers from going fully cashless. There are situations where cash cannot be used; hopefully this changes in a way that is safe.

NoboruWataya 3y ago
I haven't seen any discounts yet. I have started to see some shops with signs saying that cash is preferred if possible. However, I still see far more shops advertising that they don't take cash at all. It's interesting that different businesses take different views on this. Some dislike the fees charged by card processors, others dislike the hassle of dealing with cash.
- chasil 3y ago
  All my local restaurants are doing it, but not corporate chains.
- aleph_minus_one 3y ago
  > However, I still see far more shops advertising that they don't take cash at all. Openly call such shops something like "denunciation shops" since they only offer a kind of transaction that leaks (denounces) data to the involved banks.
donkeyd 3y ago
I recently got a 'discount' for paying my car maintenance in cash. I got cash right next to the garage just to pay in cash. Of course this discount isn't because the owner likes cash, it's because he can just grab the cash and not pay taxes, which is why I got a discount in the first place. The paying in cash and not being traced part is directly connected to a criminal act. Wonder why governments aren't liking cash transactions.
- chasil 3y ago
  There is also a fee from the credit providers, which I believe is 3% of the transaction. This fee is avoided with cash.
  - jrmg 3y ago
    Only if you’re keeping the cash and not banking it. Banks charge businesses handling fees for cash. [not to mention fees on the other end - a huge percentage on most ATM withdrawals].
  - donkeyd 3y ago
    In my country, pretty much everything is debit. A debit transaction costs maximum about €0,25 over here. This would've been about 0,1% of the total transaction. A bank transfer would've been free. Meanwhile, VAT would've been 21% and income tax probably close to 50%. So I doubt the transaction fee is relevant at all in my garage's consideration to offer me a 'discount'. This nearly doubles his net income and saves me 21% in VAT, just because it's off the books.
    - chasil 3y ago
      In the U.S., a separate credit card at a different institution is very wise. When using a debit card, holds placed for funds (i.e. hotel incidentals) impact real cash in your account. When using a credit card, these holds impact your credit line, not your actual funds. I avoid using my debit card whenever possible, because it protects my assets more securely.
      - donkeyd 3y ago
        Debit is the standard in my country for pretty much everything... Holds aren't actually common and even most hotels ask you to pay the room in advance for short stays. It's a very different world and something like credit card debt isn't as prevalent here.
        chasil 3y ago
        Disputing a charge on a credit card is also a very different experience from using debit. "In a credit card dispute, the credit card issuer may issue a chargeback, which means that the disputed funds are taken from your merchant account and returned to the cardholder. With debit card disputes, the disputed funds are typically frozen in the cardholder's account until the dispute is resolved. This means that you may experience a cash flow impact with credit card disputes, while debit card disputes may have a more immediate impact on the customer's access to their funds." https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/credit-card-dispute-vs-debit-card-dispute https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/credit-card-dispute-vs-debit-...
- Broken_Hippo 3y ago
  The paying in cash and not being traced part is directly connected to a criminal act. Wonder why governments aren't liking cash transactions. Well, sure, sometimes. But criminals definitely use other methods to mask transactions to one another. For example: It used to be somewhat common for a restaurant to steal workers tips if the customer paid the tip by card, and I'd be surprised if they paid taxes on the tips they stole. On the other hand: Do you want others to know how much your tipped each stripper? Privacy matters to a point. In general, you should have the same sort of privacy you can get when using the toilet: A closed door to keep the specific details to yourself, even though everyone knows in general the sorts of things that happen in there. A few exceptions apply - most folks will come to your aid if they think you need help in there, for example.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  > It's because he can just grab the cash and not pay taxes It won't help him much if he gets audited, though.

by chasil 3y ago

NoboruWataya 3y ago

I haven't seen any discounts yet. I have started to see some shops with signs saying that cash is preferred if possible. However, I still see far more shops advertising that they don't take cash at all. It's interesting that different businesses take different views on this. Some dislike the fees charged by card processors, others dislike the hassle of dealing with cash.

chasil 3y ago
All my local restaurants are doing it, but not corporate chains.
aleph_minus_one 3y ago
> However, I still see far more shops advertising that they don't take cash at all. Openly call such shops something like "denunciation shops" since they only offer a kind of transaction that leaks (denounces) data to the involved banks.

donkeyd 3y ago

I recently got a 'discount' for paying my car maintenance in cash. I got cash right next to the garage just to pay in cash. Of course this discount isn't because the owner likes cash, it's because he can just grab the cash and not pay taxes, which is why I got a discount in the first place. The paying in cash and not being traced part is directly connected to a criminal act. Wonder why governments aren't liking cash transactions.

chasil 3y ago
There is also a fee from the credit providers, which I believe is 3% of the transaction. This fee is avoided with cash.
- jrmg 3y ago
  Only if you’re keeping the cash and not banking it. Banks charge businesses handling fees for cash. [not to mention fees on the other end - a huge percentage on most ATM withdrawals].
- donkeyd 3y ago
  In my country, pretty much everything is debit. A debit transaction costs maximum about €0,25 over here. This would've been about 0,1% of the total transaction. A bank transfer would've been free. Meanwhile, VAT would've been 21% and income tax probably close to 50%. So I doubt the transaction fee is relevant at all in my garage's consideration to offer me a 'discount'. This nearly doubles his net income and saves me 21% in VAT, just because it's off the books.
  - chasil 3y ago
    In the U.S., a separate credit card at a different institution is very wise. When using a debit card, holds placed for funds (i.e. hotel incidentals) impact real cash in your account. When using a credit card, these holds impact your credit line, not your actual funds. I avoid using my debit card whenever possible, because it protects my assets more securely.
    - donkeyd 3y ago
      Debit is the standard in my country for pretty much everything... Holds aren't actually common and even most hotels ask you to pay the room in advance for short stays. It's a very different world and something like credit card debt isn't as prevalent here.
      - chasil 3y ago
        Disputing a charge on a credit card is also a very different experience from using debit. "In a credit card dispute, the credit card issuer may issue a chargeback, which means that the disputed funds are taken from your merchant account and returned to the cardholder. With debit card disputes, the disputed funds are typically frozen in the cardholder's account until the dispute is resolved. This means that you may experience a cash flow impact with credit card disputes, while debit card disputes may have a more immediate impact on the customer's access to their funds." https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/credit-card-dispute-vs-debit-card-dispute https://www.chargeflow.io/blog/credit-card-dispute-vs-debit-...
Broken_Hippo 3y ago
The paying in cash and not being traced part is directly connected to a criminal act. Wonder why governments aren't liking cash transactions. Well, sure, sometimes. But criminals definitely use other methods to mask transactions to one another. For example: It used to be somewhat common for a restaurant to steal workers tips if the customer paid the tip by card, and I'd be surprised if they paid taxes on the tips they stole. On the other hand: Do you want others to know how much your tipped each stripper? Privacy matters to a point. In general, you should have the same sort of privacy you can get when using the toilet: A closed door to keep the specific details to yourself, even though everyone knows in general the sorts of things that happen in there. A few exceptions apply - most folks will come to your aid if they think you need help in there, for example.
JohnFen 3y ago
> It's because he can just grab the cash and not pay taxes It won't help him much if he gets audited, though.