Cashless society ?

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J4CKO

Original Poster:

41,567 posts

200 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Superflow said:
Frimley111R said:
My hairdressers/barbers is the same. The owner cringes when i come in and say 'Have you got a card machine yet??' They say it's too expensive but not as expensive as not having customers who only have cards. She's mad but she knows she'll have to give in soon. Small/old school business mentality.
Cash in hand:

That's why they don’t want a card machine.
My local Chinese is the same, I have suggested it but may as well have introduced string theory to the dog based on the reaction. Same to the Indian takeaway, went in a few times when they opened and the food was alright and the owner affable, but didnt take cards, he clocked me walking past and asked why he hadn't seen me in a while and I said its because you dont take cards. I was quite open, if we want an Indian and haven't got cash, usually fifty plus quid if all the kids are home then we order from the place that takes cards, he countered by suggested the newsagents over the road does cashback. They have now finally got a card machine.

The Chinese place though, no chance, I suspect (happy to be proven wrong) their business model is entirely based on cash and a set of books that could win the Booker prize for fiction, £8 for spare ribs, bones in some goop, costs maybe £1.50 to £2 to make, canned chicken in slop with a few bits of veg for £7/8, some boiled rice £2.50. She did say that the card charges were too high, so when you are selling at their kind of markup, you cant absorb the minimal charge that other places seem to do ? Never really hear of minimums now. Suspect that the cash being banked isnt a problem as all household stuff will be done with cash where possible, the kids they employ get paid cash in hand out of the till (one of mine worked there)









Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

261 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Typically the card charges are 1.5-2.0% on the likes of Izettle, etc. That's it. No other charge except the machine, a one off £40 to buy.

Old school Worldpay machines are the same, but with a monthly rental of no more than £25.

There is no fiscal legal reason for a successful business not to take cards.

ecsrobin

17,123 posts

165 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Tyre Smoke said:
Typically the card charges are 1.5-2.0% on the likes of Izettle, etc. That's it. No other charge except the machine, a one off £40 to buy.

Old school Worldpay machines are the same, but with a monthly rental of no more than £25.

There is no fiscal legal reason for a successful business not to take cards.
And the benefit for the business with the likes of izettle is real time takings via the app.

menousername

2,108 posts

142 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
alorotom said:
It’s total rubbish and fake news all this peddling that some people can’t get debit cards - anyone can. Revolut for example is a totally free, non credit checked, online / app managed service.

Don’t have access to the internet, no problem, there are shedloads of prepaid debit cards that you can top up at any number of pay points (the same as where you can pay your council tax, electric, gas, etc...)

It’s just excuses for not moving with the times.
But the pre-paid cards often charge high fees



technodup

7,584 posts

130 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
ecsrobin said:
Tyre Smoke said:
Typically the card charges are 1.5-2.0% on the likes of Izettle, etc. That's it. No other charge except the machine, a one off £40 to buy.

Old school Worldpay machines are the same, but with a monthly rental of no more than £25.

There is no fiscal legal reason for a successful business not to take cards.
And the benefit for the business with the likes of izettle is real time takings via the app.
I have an iZettle machine. Fees can easily be £40-50 or more on a single transaction, which is a bit of a sore one for running a card through a machine, and ultimately gets charged back to the customer.

Cash is king in my world. The only problem is you can't spend cash online, but I can live with that.



magooagain

9,988 posts

170 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
technodup said:
have an iZettle machine. Fees can easily be £40-50 or more on a single transaction, which is a bit of a sore one for running a card through a machine, and ultimately gets charged back to the customer.

Cash is king in my world. The only problem is you can't spend cash online, but I can live with that.
Can you go somewhere to get a top up debit card and top it up with cash? Then use it for online buying?

Seanseansean

171 posts

87 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
magooagain said:
Can you go somewhere to get a top up debit card and top it up with cash? Then use it for online buying?
You can buy a lot of vouchers from Tesco.
Amazon, ASOS, Netflix, Spotify ect.

magooagain

9,988 posts

170 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Seanseansean said:
magooagain said:
Can you go somewhere to get a top up debit card and top it up with cash? Then use it for online buying?
You can buy a lot of vouchers from Tesco.
Amazon, ASOS, Netflix, Spotify ect.
Thanks but where does the top up debit card originate from?

technodup

7,584 posts

130 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
magooagain said:
Can you go somewhere to get a top up debit card and top it up with cash? Then use it for online buying?
I'm sure I could, but I manage fine. I do use banks and cards but sometimes I prefer not to.

bloomen

6,897 posts

159 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
Those prepaid cards can be seriously cranky. I had one and it was rejected in quite a few places.

bigdog3

1,823 posts

180 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
bloomen said:
Those prepaid cards can be seriously cranky. I had one and it was rejected in quite a few places.

Why bother with a prepaid debit card ?

bad company

18,598 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th April 2019
quotequote all
bigdog3 said:
bloomen said:
Those prepaid cards can be seriously cranky. I had one and it was rejected in quite a few places.

Why bother with a prepaid debit card ?
I use a Revolut card instead of cash. It’s very convenient and excellent abroad with no forex fees and great exchange rates.

Kermit power

28,653 posts

213 months

Wednesday 17th April 2019
quotequote all
bad company said:
I use a Revolut card instead of cash. It’s very convenient and excellent abroad with no forex fees and great exchange rates.
Ooh! That looks good. Just ordered one for the holidays. smile

bigdog3

1,823 posts

180 months

Wednesday 17th April 2019
quotequote all
bad company said:
bigdog3 said:
bloomen said:
Those prepaid cards can be seriously cranky. I had one and it was rejected in quite a few places.

Why bother with a prepaid debit card ?
I use a Revolut card instead of cash. It’s very convenient and excellent abroad with no forex fees and great exchange rates.
I should explain my original question. The full version is: Why bother with a prepaid debit card rather than a regular bank debit card (or indeed credit card) ?

Suspect the answer is that banks will not authorise their cards to those with poor credit records whistle

p1doc

3,120 posts

184 months

Wednesday 17th April 2019
quotequote all
rog007 said:
Been to places twice in the last 2 weeks we’re it was cash only...because their card system was down.
exactly-same with local Chinese takeaway for me no card machine so cash or no takeaway, cashless can be the way forward but still need cash as back up for times like this

kambites

67,576 posts

221 months

Wednesday 17th April 2019
quotequote all
bigdog3 said:
I should explain my original question. The full version is: Why bother with a prepaid debit card rather than a regular bank debit card (or indeed credit card) ?

Suspect the answer is that banks will not authorise their cards to those with poor credit records whistle
A normal debit card doesn't need credit though?

bigdog3

1,823 posts

180 months

Wednesday 17th April 2019
quotequote all
p1doc said:
rog007 said:
Been to places twice in the last 2 weeks we’re it was cash only...because their card system was down.
exactly-same with local Chinese takeaway for me no card machine so cash or no takeaway, cashless can be the way forward but still need cash as back up for times like this
Petty cash is still needed for some minor purchases and back-up in case of problems. But if desired, that can be a very small proportion of your overall expenditure and that proportion is diminishing rapidly.

Robertj21a

16,477 posts

105 months

Wednesday 17th April 2019
quotequote all
p1doc said:
rog007 said:
Been to places twice in the last 2 weeks we’re it was cash only...because their card system was down.
exactly-same with local Chinese takeaway for me no card machine so cash or no takeaway, cashless can be the way forward but still need cash as back up for times like this
Or take your business elsewhere.

J4CKO

Original Poster:

41,567 posts

200 months

Wednesday 17th April 2019
quotequote all
In trouble with the missus now, she needed some cash for her PT session at the gym and I didnt leave the fifty quid I carry in my rucksack for emergencies.

PT needs to have a card machine, will prob take a bank transfer, but she doesnt do bank transfers to anyone else, doesn't have the little card reader so gets me to do it.

Like my mum and dad, both can use the internet but have never ordered anything so get me to do it, I dont mind but its so easy to do. So I order something, sometimes a fair amount and then get paid back in cash, her mum does the same so its easy to end up £300 down with a bile pile of notes you then invariably forget to use in favour of a card as otherwise I have to go to the bank to pay it in which is an hour out of my day to walk in, wait in the queue etc.

I think I am going to wean people off relying on me for transactions !

I am sure they think that because I work in IT its my kind of thing, not really, its just basic admin type stuff.



I saw someone on the DM on a similar thread advocating returning to paying everyone in cash like back in the fifties, I remember my dad coming home with cash, it worked up to the seventies and into the eighties but nowadays that would be a weird move. Comments like that do make you think about how the Brexit vote went for some, the world changes, you get left behind a bit and see a chance to perhaps go back to how things were, not after a debate of the whys and wherefores but I bet some voted based on that mindset.

It annoys me when people wilfully make a point of saying its all too complicated for them, like anything, we need to put some effort in to get the rewards, or even just to keep pace.

Cash is on the wane as that makes sense for most of the people most of the time.







bad company

18,598 posts

266 months

Wednesday 17th April 2019
quotequote all
bigdog3 said:
bad company said:
bigdog3 said:
bloomen said:
Those prepaid cards can be seriously cranky. I had one and it was rejected in quite a few places.

Why bother with a prepaid debit card ?
I use a Revolut card instead of cash. It’s very convenient and excellent abroad with no forex fees and great exchange rates.
I should explain my original question. The full version is: Why bother with a prepaid debit card rather than a regular bank debit card (or indeed credit card) ?
I’ll explain my answer. A regular bank debit card is very expensive to use abroad. Also the Revolut card gives you a really good breakdown of your spending on the app if that’s useful to you.

I use the Revolut for small purchases where I would previously have used cash.