What is it with young people and cash?

[anonymous-user]

Riley Blue said:

I've just set up my phone for cashless payments with my debit and primary credit card. If it wasn't for my habit of always carrying my driving licence and various membership cards I'd no longer have need for a wallet.

I have a photo of my passport and driving licence in a little folder in the photo gallery if I'm asked for ID it usually suffices.

Just out of interest what sort of Membership cards ?
All my loyalty cards/apps are on phone as it 'civil service sports club membership'.

I'm surprised the national Trust haven't worked out a way to do 'virtual membership cards' yet instead of their ecofriendly plastic style cards.

[RMDB9]

So everybody has now voiced their surprise about some people still carrying cash.

[Sahjahd]

Old git using cards for most purchases, but always keep a few hundred in my wallet for "cash deals" and tips for those who give a little extra service; a job well done with a smile, delivery bods who bring in heavy items when they could just dump them at the door etc.

[RMDB9]

Yes why not offer to pay the delivery bods with your fancy Masons handshake contactless Rainbow app.

[alorotom]

GetCarter said:

Local fetes, charity boxes, honesty boxes (etc) don't take cards. Also tips to waiters def go to waiters if it's cash.

So I keep some for said reasons.

Charity boxes have already evolved/changed to tap donations in lots of places ... plus it makes them safer and less vulnerable to theft.

[Evanivitch]

alorotom said:

GetCarter said:

Local fetes, charity boxes, honesty boxes (etc) don't take cards. Also tips to waiters def go to waiters if it's cash.

So I keep some for said reasons.

Charity boxes have already evolved/changed to tap donations in lots of places ... plus it makes them safer and less vulnerable to theft.

Local RNLI has a tap box.

[CanAm]

I last drew cash last November, so that I could buy a poppy. But the balance came in handy for a “cash only” haircut on the last day before the current lockdown, with the remainder waiting for the barbers to reopen.

But being old school (so old that I don’t spell it ‘skool’) I still feel uncomfortable using a card to buy a Penny Arrow bar.

[nicanary]

Bear in mind that if an item costs 50p and the mark-up is 100%, thus costing the retailer 25p, and his card reader /bank charge him 30p he's just lost 5p on the transaction.

[PH User]

CanAm said:

I last drew cash last November, so that I could buy a poppy. But the balance came in handy for a “cash only” haircut on the last day before the current lockdown, with the remainder waiting for the barbers to reopen.

But being old school (so old that I don’t spell it ‘skool’) I still feel uncomfortable using a card to buy a Penny Arrow bar.

I had to Google what a penny arrow bar was! Will your teeth still cope with them?

[CanAm]

PH User said:

I had to Google what a penny arrow bar was! Will your teeth still cope with them?

Still got most of my teeth and plenty of hair, though there are a few silver threads amongst the gold. Just popping down to Woolworths to stock up.

[craigjm]

nicanary said:

Bear in mind that if an item costs 50p and the mark-up is 100%, thus costing the retailer 25p, and his card reader /bank charge him 30p he's just lost 5p on the transaction.

Not necessarily. The costs to the retailer are not fixed and depend on volume so while that may be the case for the little corner shop its not the case for a big supermarket and many positions inbetween.

[Greg_D]

nicanary said:

Bear in mind that if an item costs 50p and the mark-up is 100%, thus costing the retailer 25p, and his card reader /bank charge him 30p he's just lost 5p on the transaction.

but that's not how it works, i've had a quote recently from barclays merchant services and it is a 3p authorisation fee and a variable fee of 0.44% (debit) and 1% (credit).

so for that 50p transaction, it would be 3.22p (yes, i'm aware that it's 12.8% of their profit, but on such small margins, any charge (including paying cash into the bank) is going to look horrendous.

on a £15 transaction, it would be 9.6p!!!

[cobra kid]

craigjm said:

Why carry cash at all? You don’t even really need your cards these days if you have your phone. Cash has been dying for the past 20 years and Covid has given it a terminal kick.

I can't pay our hairdresser by washing their pots.

[anonymous-user]

craigjm said:

nicanary said:

Bear in mind that if an item costs 50p and the mark-up is 100%, thus costing the retailer 25p, and his card reader /bank charge him 30p he's just lost 5p on the transaction.

Not necessarily. The costs to the retailer are not fixed and depend on volume so while that may be the case for the little corner shop its not the case for a big supermarket and many positions inbetween.

It is also worth bearing in mind that it isn't free for a business/retailer to pay cash into their bank. It now costs a small business around £1 for every £100 (1%) of cash they pay into a bank, plus they get charged a monthly fee for having an account that handles cash/cheques.

Banks insist on all cash being sorted, counted and labelled before being paid in, which also costs a retailer time and money.

A card reader with no monthly fees can be had with a fixed fee of 1.75% per transaction.

So yes, whilst it may still be slightly more expensive for a small business to accept card than cash, the cost gap between the two is a lot smaller than you think.

There is also the factor of how many sales are they missing out on because they don't accept cards?

[Greg_D]

Lord Marylebone said:

There is also the factor of how many sales are they missing out on because they don't accept cards?

indeed, people stop spending when they run out of cash... not so with a card.

[PH User]

cobra kid said:

craigjm said:

Why carry cash at all? You don’t even really need your cards these days if you have your phone. Cash has been dying for the past 20 years and Covid has given it a terminal kick.

I can't pay our hairdresser by washing their pots.

You can't pay a hairdresser anything at the moment ha ha. If you are going to her house then do a bank transfer, no washing pots needed then.

[Zoon]

pip t said:

If the phone's locked, the limit is as with contactless card. Some retailers impose limits, but that's their decision.

If the phones locked it doesn't work at all.

[cobra kid]

PH User said:

You can't pay a hairdresser anything at the moment ha ha. If you are going to her house then do a bank transfer, no washing pots needed then.

In two weeks time, I'll be getting my ginger mop cut. not sure they'll be happy if I turn up with no cash.

[PH User]

cobra kid said:

PH User said:

You can't pay a hairdresser anything at the moment ha ha. If you are going to her house then do a bank transfer, no washing pots needed then.

In two weeks time, I'll be getting my ginger mop cut. not sure they'll be happy if I turn up with no cash.

You won't need to turn up with cash if you do a bank transfer.

[Riley Blue]

speedyguy said:

Riley Blue said:

I've just set up my phone for cashless payments with my debit and primary credit card. If it wasn't for my habit of always carrying my driving licence and various membership cards I'd no longer have need for a wallet.

I have a photo of my passport and driving licence in a little folder in the photo gallery if I'm asked for ID it usually suffices.

Just out of interest what sort of Membership cards ?
All my loyalty cards/apps are on phone as it 'civil service sports club membership'.

I'm surprised the national Trust haven't worked out a way to do 'virtual membership cards' yet instead of their ecofriendly plastic style cards.

Just checked wallet: driving licence, CSMA memb card, council bus card (used twice), Britannia Rescue card, EHIC card (valid end 2023), HRCR memb card, Covid vaccination card, blood donor card (decades old) and two 'emergency' credit cards. Also printouts of car insurance certificates.

I carried ID and security passes during the 1960s so I was used to always having cards on me - old habits etc.

Edited by Riley Blue on Thursday 25th March 16:17