Cash less society has it arrived?

[Happybunny]

With the growth of internet banking, and a PIN machines in nearly every shop, do people still use cash?

Just a quick question
When was the last time you paid cash for anything?
Just how much cash is in your wallet right now? (and no I'm not going to rob you, I'm a good bunny)

The last time I paid cash for anything was 18th December 2011.
At the present moment I've € 86 in cash in my wallet.

 

[acidfast7]

With the growth of internet banking, and a PIN machines in nearly every shop, do people still use cash?

Just a quick question
When was the last time you paid cash for anything?
Just how much cash is in your wallet right now? (and no I'm not going to rob you, I'm a good bunny)

The last time I paid cash for anything was 18th December 2011.
At the present moment I've € 86 in cash in my wallet.

Actually, in Germany, it's pretty much cash only. Most tourist places (huge shopping centers) take CC (Visa/MC/JCB) and most large other places take EC (kinda like a US debit card) card. But, I would say that most cafes/small shops are cash only (50-70% of my purchases). In fact, I watched someone deposit 150€ (1 green 100€ bill and 1 orange 50€) into a parking machine at Frankfurt airport and get 5 1€ coins back. It's not uncommon to need to come up with between 1 and 200€ on demand.

They're really conservative over here with cash only compared to anywhere else I've lived.

LOL

When I was in the states last week, people were irritated that I wanted to pay with cash, because it was "too slow" at the register.

2 x LOL

In Sweden, it was electronic only, even more than the US, and once I tried to put 35000 SEK (3200€/4500USD) in the bank in cash, and they wouldn't take it because "they didn't know where it came from."

3 x LOL

 

[Macman45]

It's true, last time I used cash was at Christmas....My wallet is empty, zip except the plastic. Food shopping? plastic, Amazon, plastic, Apple, plastic...And so it goes. I guess if you go out to nightclubs and stuff you'd need cash, but I hardly use it all now.

 

[macquariumguy]

I use plastic when it makes sense, but cash is better for everyday.

I don't have any desire to cost the merchants extra or unnecessarily enrich the credit card companies when it's trivially easy to avoid.

 

[iStudentUK]

I really want my bank to start offering contact cards. I hate having to find cash, and on small purchases even the PIN machines are unnecessarily annoying. Something like the option to set no PIN needed for purchases under £X up to £Y a day would be perfect. A few places insist on minimum amounts for cards, but that's quite unusual now.

I've been in London for 18 months now and the Oyster cards used for transport show me how good contact cards can be!

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Just a quick question
When was the last time you paid cash for anything?
Just how much cash is in your wallet right now? (and no I'm not going to rob you, I'm a good bunny)

I've currently got the princely sum of £7.50 in my pocket, and the last time I paid cash was earlier this morning when I bought a Kit Kat on the way into work. I would expect the next time I'll do so will be this dinnertime when I go to get a little sandwich or something.

I'll keep that Royal Mint going singlehandedly, me.

 

[BreakGuy]

Very rarely do I use cash. Everything I pay for is done using my plastic card.

I find it to be far safer, as I have two cards (one that I leave at home). This way if I lose my card, I can cancel it and use my other one until a replacement arrives.

If I'm carrying cash and I lose it, tough stuff. That's money I'm more than certain to never see again.

 

[Gav2k]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Vending machine at work and £20 in my wallet for the odd cafe stop up town. Other than that I use chip&pin

 

[firestarter]

Used cash yesterday at the shop. I usually get between £100 and £150, and top up my wallet when it gets below £50 (I like to have enough to get me a taxi across London if I need it for some reason).

I use credit cards quite a lot - and I actually have a contactless system on my credit card. Contactless is accepted quite widely in London, but I've only used it once.

I'm happy sticking with cash for smaller purchases. It's quicker than credit card, it's an anonymous transaction (why would I want to have every purchase I make logged?) and it doesn't cost the retailer. I don't want the retailer to loose 3% to Visa corp every time I buy a newspaper or drink.

 

[KnightWRX]

When was the last time you paid cash for anything?

15 minutes ago. I bought an Apple and a Banana from the downstairs cafe for the princely sum of 1.80$. Before that was yesterday around 16:15, I paid 11$ for some sweets for my hospitalized grand mother who doesn't like hospital food from her favorite bakery. Before that ? Around 11:35 yesterday, bought myself a grilled Salmon sandwich and a yogurt Parfait. Before that ? About 8:25 yesterday morning, 0.50$ for coffee at the coffee machine...

Holding up the entire line-up of customers so I can enter my PIN for such sums would have been a dreadful embarassement (I hate card payers in long cafe/machine line-ups, takes too long).

I always withdraw some cash on Monday to use. The amount I have on me is not really worth discussing.

 

[0098386]

With the growth of internet banking, and a PIN machines in nearly every shop, do people still use cash?

Just a quick question
When was the last time you paid cash for anything?
Just how much cash is in your wallet right now? (and no I'm not going to rob you, I'm a good bunny)

The last time I paid cash for anything was 18th December 2011.
At the present moment I've € 86 in cash in my wallet.

I paid cash two nights ago in a bar.
I have around £7 in my wallet.

I don't like to keep lots of cash, I like to whittle it down so it's just pennies. Then it all goes into a jar and every few years gets dropped off at the bank. Then the Milky Bars are on me.

I use my debit card almost all the time but a world without cash? I don't think I'd like that.

 

[maflynn]

Holding up the entire line-up of customers so I can enter my PIN for such sums would have been a dreadful embarassement (I hate card payers in long cafe/machine line-ups, takes too long).

I have found the opposite to be true. Using a debit card stream lines the process completely. I got to Panera Bread for lunch, and I can observe the line slow moving line is a result of someone paying cash, where as the debit/credit card transactions are done in a fraction of the time.

as for me and cash, I generally don't carry any with me, but there are places that are cash only so I need to be sure if I take the subway into work, that I have money to pay for parking (cash only).

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I pay cash almost always, I bought my computers since 2003 that way (Samsung X30, iBook G4, iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro) and many other items. As I have a problem with keeping track of my money, I found it to be the best solution, as I have better control over it.
As I also have some debt, and as some debt collectors are taking money out of my account at ridiculous times, I have the habit of emptying my account and transfer the rest of the money on the account to the companies I owe money too.
I have paid almost half of my debt that way, but I am still struggling a bit, as an ex-junkie I still have lots of traits of being one (ignoring and such, even though I experienced several times, that this is not the right way for me and also that if I do it right, that it feels okay and having lifted a burden from me).

As I currently reside in Germany, I can sympathise with people, who complain about the lack of being able to pay per card, as a French friend of mine almost always pays via card in France, and often finds it ridiculous, how Germany is such a backwater place in that regard.

And I also don't like, that my purchase history can be recorded via paying with a card.

 

[acidfast7]

I have found the opposite to be true. Using a debit card stream lines the process completely. I got to Panera Bread for lunch, and I can observe the line slow moving line is a result of someone paying cash, where as the debit/credit card transactions are done in a fraction of the time.

as for me and cash, I generally don't carry any with me, but there are places that are cash only so I need to be sure if I take the subway into work, that I have money to pay for parking (cash only).

over here (Europe), almost all (more than 90%) of card-based transactions require a PIN or a signature but no ID, therefore, cash is faster. IIRC, right before I left the states, small purchases, like 20 USD or so were automatic (without signature), but over here they're not, so cash is still faster.

 

[eawmp1]

I still use cash for anything under ~$10. Perhaps if the next round of phones utilize RFID's, the convenience will further bring about a truly cashless/cardless society.

 

[miles01110]

I pay with my credit card whenever possible. Cash makes no sense for anything over $50 or so these days, especially if your card gives you decent rewards.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Further to my earlier post, I've just got back from the shop and – as well as my dinner – I bought some toothpaste and a bottle of beer to quaff this evening. As such, the total sum of my goods was greater than the money I had in my pocket, so I paid by card.

For me, this experience has turned the whole thread completely on its head. I just don't know what to think any more.

 

[iStudentUK]

For me, this experience has turned the whole thread completely on its head. I just don't know what to think any more.

It's a crazy world out there, we'll help you through.

 

[acidfast7]

I do like the fact that the various € bills are in different sizes and colors. I can't stand the uniformity of the $. It's makes paying with cash, twice as slow. Although, I do hate € coins, as I don't have a coin pouch built in to my COACH wallet (gift, I would never buy anything for there)

 

[steve2112]

I get cash every week, and always keep cash in my wallet. I use it when eating lunch out at work, the vending machines at work, and minor stuff. In addition to the visible amount, I keep a hidden stash in my wallet. I also like buying stuff from places that often don't take plastic, such as flea markets and gun shows.

 

[velocityg4]

I make over half my purchases with cash. Larger purchases such as gas or groceries are usually by card because I usually carry $70 to $150 and don't want to wipe out my wallet in one visit.

My main reason for using cash. Is it makes you more conscious of how much money you are spending. I'm saving money at a more rapid rate.

Also I treat what is left over in my wallet at the end of the week like it was change. So at the end of the week it goes into an envelope like change goes into coin jars. Since I refill my wallet each week, I end up saving $30 to $80 per week and get to buy something really nice once or twice a year. This is beyond my normal bank savings.

 

[iStudentUK]

I do like the fact that the various € bills are in different sizes and colors. I can't stand the uniformity of the $.

I hated that in the US, glad it's not just me!

Our notes are different sizes and colours, and our coins are different shapes too. As a self-confessed nerd I loved learning recently that a 50p coin is a shape of constant width. Who says maths can't be fun?!

 

[malman89]

Holding up the entire line-up of customers so I can enter my PIN for such sums would have been a dreadful embarassement (I hate card payers in long cafe/machine line-ups, takes too long).

That's why I've started using my debit card and just hitting "Credit" whenever the machine prompts you. Much quicker since hardly anywhere makes you actually sign these days.

I don't know the last time I used cash. Few weeks ago? I only use cash in two settings - group dinners/lunches when splitting the bill on a bunch of cards is a pain and then if I go to the bar. I really don't want to open a tab. Either the bar may screw up, bars directly near me take your ID and credit card, and it's tempting to spend more than you should.

I remember when I was studying in Rome and it was the worst. You had to use cash almost anywhere, but we Americans get charged a fee (say $2) and/or a fee (2-3%) for every ATM withdrawal abroad, depending on your bank. So we would take a few hundred Euro out at once to limit the fees and just slowly spend it. Naturally it would come out in 50s and 20s, which nowhere in Rome liked to take. I would try to bring a 50 to a group meal out so once everyone paid their part, I'd take all the money off the table and replace it with a 50 People at grocery stores got annoyed even if you bought say 11,20 in stuff and gave them a 20. They wanted you to have 20,20 or 21,20 or something to easily break. Like open disgust/act like they won't take your money because they have to part with 1-2 EUR coins and change. I learned quickly those 1-2 EUR coins were the most important currency.

 

[rhett7660]

I pretty much use my ATM card for everything. Very rarely do I have cash on me.

 

[acidfast7]

I remember when I was studying in Rome and it was the worst. You had to use cash almost anywhere, but we Americans get charged a fee (say $2) and/or a fee (2-3%) for every ATM withdrawal abroad, depending on your bank. So we would take a few hundred Euro out at once to limit the fees and just slowly spend it. Naturally it would come out in 50s and 20s, which nowhere in Rome liked to take. I would try to bring a 50 to a group meal out so once everyone paid their part, I'd take all the money off the table and replace it with a 50 People at grocery stores got annoyed even if you bought say 11,20 in stuff and gave them a 20. They wanted you to have 20,20 or 21,20 or something to easily break. Like open disgust/act like they won't take your money because they have to part with 1-2 EUR coins and change. I learned quickly those 1-2 EUR coins were the most important currency.

Sure, I like that.

If my total is 3.10€, I'll pay 5.60€ (with a 5€ bill and 3 x 0.20€), so I can get 2 1€ and 1 0.50€ coins back. It actually makes a lot of sense because it gets rid of the smaller coins and no cashiers seem to have a problem with it.