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Ask HN: To what extent have digital payments replaced cash in your country?

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Re: Ask HN: To what extent have digital payments replaced cash in your country?

#101

Post by nerdbert »

rishikeshs wrote: post #4

Here in India, UPI payments are quite popular. I live in New Delhi the capital and never withdraw cash in my day to day life. The only instance where I have to withdraw cash is when I have to pay rent as my landlord accepts only cash to evade taxes. Apart from these barring very few, at least in cities everything works on digital payments. Please note that card payments are not at all popular in India and UPI is the…

> Please note that cash payments are not at all popular in India

I was just in India, and while I didn't do very many of the transactions that a resident would, I used cash for almost everything (except for supermarkets where I paid with my non-Indian credit card).

It didn't feel at all difficult to get by with cash.

Re: Ask HN: To what extent have digital payments replaced cash in your country?

#103

Post by __d »

__d wrote: post #96

Australia here. Most places still accept cash, but approximately no-one uses it. Store staff almost always assume tap-to-pay, and have to cancel the transaction if you pull out cash. Bill payment is done with a pre-authorised debit transaction, credit cards, or using an Australia-only (I think?) system called BPay. Most utilities, etc, have a BPay number, and most (all?) bank apps and websites support BPay payments.…

Also, in Australia, the banks have started to withdraw their ATM networks.

Previously, all banks had a network of "first party" ATMs, and fee-free deals with other banks meant you could mostly withdraw from any bank-owned ATM free. There was a small group of non-banks ATMs that charge a $3 fee for a maximum $200 withdrawal.

Now the major banks have outsourced their ATM network to an armoured car company, removed most of their first-party ATMs, and the only bank-owned ATMs are now in branches. And there's not a lot of branches still around these days.

So actually getting cash is no longer as easy as it was.

Re: Ask HN: To what extent have digital payments replaced cash in your country?

#104

Post by zoenolan »

baz00 wrote: post #5

UK. I haven't used or carried cash here for about 3 years. Other than a really inconvenient time someone gave me some for one of my kids and I had to pay it in.

Another UK person here.

In London. You can do just fine with only a card. Quite a few coffee shops and lunch places only accept cards.

In Nottingham I've not seen a place that only accepts card. The Buses still accept cash

Re: Ask HN: To what extent have digital payments replaced cash in your country?

#105

Post by jcfrei »

TekMol wrote: post #14

I'm surprised so many here seem to be fine with paying by credit card. Isn't it causing you an uncomfortable feeling, that one company gets all the data about every single thing you buy? And via this also everywhere you go and when you go there? So you are a 100% "see through" person to Apple, Google and/or Visa?

Someone correct me on this but those companies only see the vendor and the amount - not specific items afaik. What I'd be more worried about are the rewards programs at the big retailers - that's the way to really analyze a persons behavior.

Re: Ask HN: To what extent have digital payments replaced cash in your country?

#107

Post by NotYourLawyer »

steets wrote: post #93
NotYourLawyer wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or what if you don’t have a bank account?

If you live in the US, not participating in the banking system and not having a bank account is not a thing that you can do, except for religious reasons. From the moment you're born, you're on half a dozen companies' radars for credit reporting and scoring purposes, and most of the major purchases that you need to make to survive require a bank account with a good balance and a good credit score.

> An estimated 4.5 percent of U.S. households (approximately 5.9 million) were “unbanked” in 2021, meaning that no one in the household had a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union.

https://www.fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey/index.html

Re: Ask HN: To what extent have digital payments replaced cash in your country?

#108

Post by Toutouxc »

chilling wrote: post #87
Toutouxc wrote: post #80

Czech Republic. Usually my girlfriend has ~$5 on her for stuff like lemonade stands or public bathrooms, and I'm the irresponsible one who hasn't carried cash since 2018. Some pubs, very small stores or small tourist attractions (climb a tower, see the inside of a church, etc) are still cash-only, especially in the rural parts of the country, but visiting or living in Prague (the capital) cashless is easy with zero i…

Can you finally pay for the metro tickets with card in those big, clumsy machines (not the one located at the central)?

I believe so (not entirely sure), but there’s a mobile app now and a new kind of machine where you just tap your card and out comes a pre-validated ticket that you can put in your pocket and ride. The regular ones that need to be validated are a trap for unsuspecting tourists.

Re: Ask HN: To what extent have digital payments replaced cash in your country?

#109

Post by renegat0x0 »

PartiallyTyped wrote: post #39

In Poland, there's still places that use cash, for obvious reasons, I am thinking of tattoo/piercing shops, small shops that function as courier hubs, etc. In general, I simply use a card (phone), and have used over the past N years in Poland, Denmark, and Cyprus.

In Poland I feel that most people use cashless payments nowdays. It may be also true that I live in a city in western parts. I think that the eastern part might rely more on cash.

Sometimes I struggle to pay with cash, if I have to. Cashiers cannot return change, or seem to be disgusted if they have to.

ATMs are getting less attractive. Are in less places, are old. I feel like everything goes to phone/NFC. I have a problem with that. I prefer card & ATM solution.

Re: Ask HN: To what extent have digital payments replaced cash in your country?

#110

Post by albert_e »

trustingtrust wrote: post #37
albert_e wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is true for the affluent class. smartphones are necessary to pay via UPI smartphones--bank accounts--aadhaar card in case of some low income workers, smartphones are not universal in case of some migrant workers (including those that come from neighboring countries in search of jobs) .. aadhaar or bank account may not be immediately available while digital payments are definitely becoming common cash is still ac…

Not true. I live in India and have traveled to smaller villages in the south and some in the north. People have started to avoid cash altogether because of few reasons. They do have UPI they just don’t like it cause they like cash. There is never any issue with UPI, it’s just an excuse. Cash creates a problem of giving change that end up dissatisfying the customer or the customer just leaves. Only after UPI people un…

>> There is never any issue with UPI, it’s just an excuse.

When we talk in absolutes like this, it sounds like technology worship.

I am not out here to denounce UPI or to say it is fraught with issues. Acknowledging limitations, edge cases, or the reality of some of the citizens for whom UPi is not the solution goes a long way in ensuring inclusive tech.

I am in the Silicon Valley of India and the monthly salaries I pay to household help are in cash. I would so prefer to switch to digital myself if they had that option. We can't simply deny the reality they live in because we love the new tech or the people that promote it.

The suggestion is to assume that there are people who cannot use UPI and other shiny new tech, and make accommodations for them to lead their lives, rather than push for all digital and exclude some people.

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