3 ms·

I went to Stockholm last week for a couple of days, worried that I didn't have any local currency. It turned out that nobody takes cash, so everything worked ou

I went to Stockholm last week for a couple of days, worried that I didn't have any local currency. It turned out that nobody takes cash, so everything worked out fine.

astrange 3y ago
Don't the public restrooms take coins there?
- _Tev 3y ago
  Public restrooms in Czechia often can take cards now. I imagine it works similarly in Sweden.
- chrisfinazzo 3y ago
  As an American, this concept still makes no sense to me. It's public infrastructure of a sort, don't real estate taxes in the surrounding area pay for upkeep and repairs? See also, subway stations in Japan, which IIRC operate under a similar model.
  - astrange 3y ago
    Transit is so good it replaces cars. That means users can afford to pay for it. Free transit is a terrible idea because e.g. it means tourists don't contribute and anyone who passes a tax cut will have defunded it without the actual users being able to help.
    - chrisfinazzo 3y ago
      How does this account for people who live paycheck to paycheck and don't have cars? This is literally how they get around - asking those who can pay the fare to subsidize them doesn't seem like that much to ask.
ghaff 3y ago
Europe varies a lot from largely cashless to you will probably need cash if you want to have a beer.
whimsicalism 3y ago
it's even more intense in China
- mym1990 3y ago
  What is more intense than nobody taking cash, punishment for even having it?
  - Too 3y ago
    Not even big cards like Visa or Mastercard work everywhere. Instead you need an app installed on your phone (alipay or wechat), where you transfer cash into the app in advance. All with Chinese as the only language. (From what i heard, there now is a tourist-version of alipay in English. Last time i tried it was mostly Chinese)
    - whimsicalism 3y ago
      honestly it was pretty intuitive even when navigating all in chinese
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    Your ability to make purchases turned off, with no other means to transact. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System
  - whimsicalism 3y ago
    as in it is very difficult to find anyone willing to transact in cash for any transaction whatsoever in most chinese cities

I went to Stockholm last week for a couple of days, worried that I didn't have any local currency. It turned out that nobody takes cash, so everything worked out fine.

astrange 3y ago

Don't the public restrooms take coins there?

_Tev 3y ago
Public restrooms in Czechia often can take cards now. I imagine it works similarly in Sweden.
chrisfinazzo 3y ago
As an American, this concept still makes no sense to me. It's public infrastructure of a sort, don't real estate taxes in the surrounding area pay for upkeep and repairs? See also, subway stations in Japan, which IIRC operate under a similar model.
- astrange 3y ago
  Transit is so good it replaces cars. That means users can afford to pay for it. Free transit is a terrible idea because e.g. it means tourists don't contribute and anyone who passes a tax cut will have defunded it without the actual users being able to help.
  - chrisfinazzo 3y ago
    How does this account for people who live paycheck to paycheck and don't have cars? This is literally how they get around - asking those who can pay the fare to subsidize them doesn't seem like that much to ask.

ghaff 3y ago

Europe varies a lot from largely cashless to you will probably need cash if you want to have a beer.

whimsicalism 3y ago

it's even more intense in China

mym1990 3y ago
What is more intense than nobody taking cash, punishment for even having it?
- Too 3y ago
  Not even big cards like Visa or Mastercard work everywhere. Instead you need an app installed on your phone (alipay or wechat), where you transfer cash into the app in advance. All with Chinese as the only language. (From what i heard, there now is a tourist-version of alipay in English. Last time i tried it was mostly Chinese)
  - whimsicalism 3y ago
    honestly it was pretty intuitive even when navigating all in chinese
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Your ability to make purchases turned off, with no other means to transact. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System
- whimsicalism 3y ago
  as in it is very difficult to find anyone willing to transact in cash for any transaction whatsoever in most chinese cities