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More businesses are not accepting cash

wsj.com

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Re: More businesses are not accepting cash

#61

Post by throwaway98121 »

zhte415 wrote: post #10
throwaway98121 wrote: post #3

Unrelated but husband and I stopped at an Indian grocery store to pick up some items for a chicken tikka masala recipe we found on YouTube. They insisted we pay cash, even though they had a machine to swipe a card. We don’t carry cash and assumed their card machine was broken. As we apologized and started leaving, they suddenly agreed to accept a credit card. Presumably the transaction costs per swipe are high, altho…

I'm curious why you don't carry cash?

I don’t carry cash because it’s inconvenient. By using a credit card, I don’t need to manage individual dollar bills or change. My wallet is a small card holder that fits unobtrusively in my front pocket.

I have a couple different cards. I use an AMEX cash back card for groceries and general shopping, Amazon, etc. I get 6% cash back up to $600 a year.

For travel and hotels, I have a Chase card that gives me bonus miles, paid for my TSA pre, and some other perks.

I pay off all cards in full each month. There’s never any interest. In return, I don’t have to manage cash and I get cash back and travel points.

There’s literally no downside for me. Paying with cash for things I put on these cards means I’d be leaving money on the table.

Also, I budget through mint. All my spending automatically appears and gets categorized since my cards are linked to my account. There’s never a question of where the money went.

Re: More businesses are not accepting cash

#62

Post by throwaway98121 »

dba7dba wrote: post #9
throwaway98121 wrote: post #3

Unrelated but husband and I stopped at an Indian grocery store to pick up some items for a chicken tikka masala recipe we found on YouTube. They insisted we pay cash, even though they had a machine to swipe a card. We don’t carry cash and assumed their card machine was broken. As we apologized and started leaving, they suddenly agreed to accept a credit card. Presumably the transaction costs per swipe are high, altho…

Considering the tax loopholes and deals the super rich get, I actually have no problem with the small mom/pop shops doing what they can to get a break on the fees.

I don’t share your views. There are legitimate services we need tax payer money to fund. Tax loopholes for the super rich are a problem that should be solved, but in my opinion, that doesn’t mean we should just cancel taxation or turn a blind eye to tax evasion.

We should solve the problem with tax loopholes and enforce the system for all.

Mom and pop businesses or small business are very foundational to our economy. Even though individually they’re small, large scale tax evasion would be death by a thousand cuts.

Re: More businesses are not accepting cash

#63

Post by wastholm »

bicubic wrote: post #47
jdietrich wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I would see this practice immediately banned. That's just covering up for a bigger problem. If you've got a lot of people without bank accounts, just make it easier to open a bank account. Here in the UK, you can open an account in minutes on your mobile phone with any photo ID, even if you're not a UK resident. Banks are required by the banking code to offer fee-free accounts regardless of credit history and to acc…

The problem isn't about how difficult it may be to open an account. The problem is that banks become gatekeepers for the ability to exchange legal tender for goods and services. I could write an entire essay on the problems this causes if cashless business becomes wideapread. But a few highlights include: * A positive feedback loop will form due to less cash being accepted => less cash circulating => less reason for…

> * A positive feedback loop will form due to less cash being accepted => less cash circulating => less reason for businesses to accept cash

This is already happening in Sweden: most people find card or mobile payments more convenient and therefore carry little or no cash with them; more and more shops go cashless; and the cycle continues. New coins and bills were introduced a year or two ago and I still hear people complain that they haven't learned to tell them apart yet because cash is so rarely used.

Re: More businesses are not accepting cash

#66

Post by teeray »

flexer2 wrote: post #6
throwaway98121 wrote: post #3

Unrelated but husband and I stopped at an Indian grocery store to pick up some items for a chicken tikka masala recipe we found on YouTube. They insisted we pay cash, even though they had a machine to swipe a card. We don’t carry cash and assumed their card machine was broken. As we apologized and started leaving, they suddenly agreed to accept a credit card. Presumably the transaction costs per swipe are high, altho…

I had a cab driver do this to me once, in 2016 or so. He dropped me off at the destination and told me it’d be $20 or whatever, cash only. I didn’t have cash on me, and said all I had was a card. He demanded that I prove I had no cash. Being a little dumbstruck and just wanting to get away from him I showed my empty wallet and he begrudgingly pulled out a phone with a square reader on it. Left a very sour taste in my…

Lifehack: offer to call the cab company on speakerphone and pay with a credit card over the phone. This usually causes the in-cab CC readers to start working again.

Re: More businesses are not accepting cash

#67

Post by gaius »

eigenvector wrote: post #38
TheChaplain wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The transaction costs are unfortunately not negligible for small vendors, they don't have the power to negotiate like Walmart et al.

Cash has transaction costs too, and those are already built into business pricing: 1. Time spent by staff counting and reconciling cash after close of business or at the end of a shift 2. Time spent on bank runs or on an armoured car service that picks up your cash and deposits it at the bank 3. Banks actually charge businesses cash-handling fees for both providing and receiving large quantities of coins 4. Safes and…

I don't know why this is downvoted, anyone who has ever worked in retail knows it's true.

Re: More businesses are not accepting cash

#68

Post by EastSmith »

acommentator wrote: post #27

A real nightmare occurs when a large number of businesses don't accept cash. As this process proceeds, people who are unbanked or can't get a credit care are now not only locked out of the financial system, but also the monetary system! It hugely centralizes the management of the entire consumer economy in the hands of a few bankers who have no responsibility to the electorate - and there's no escape valve. I would s…

Why do you need credit card? In EU everyone has debit cards. You pay with your money not with credit.

Re: More businesses are not accepting cash

#69

Post by jzchang »

bussiere wrote: post #54
jzchang wrote: post #20

This is anecdotal: here in Shanghai it's not uncommon that vendors(specifically street-side small vendors) will turn down customers paying with cash payments. Those that do unwillingly sigh and look for change. Vendors all assume immediately they're going to scan your QR code or you will scan theirs. Even taxis have their QR Codes printed out on their dashboard somewhere. Subway systems and buses all use QR codes. Re…

Do you have any link on the carrefour facial recognition please ?

Here's a article(note that's in Chinese)

http://www.sohu.com/a/232337523_610300

Next time I have the opportunity I'll take a picture of it as well, and post it here

Re: More businesses are not accepting cash

#70

Post by jzchang »

rmason wrote: post #39
jzchang wrote: post #20

This is anecdotal: here in Shanghai it's not uncommon that vendors(specifically street-side small vendors) will turn down customers paying with cash payments. Those that do unwillingly sigh and look for change. Vendors all assume immediately they're going to scan your QR code or you will scan theirs. Even taxis have their QR Codes printed out on their dashboard somewhere. Subway systems and buses all use QR codes. Re…

Is it possible for a foreign traveler to just download the software to his phone assuming there's an English version? Or must you open a Chinese bank account first? If that's the case there's a pretty huge opportunity for someone!

There's a english verison, but as soon as you open any web portal for advanced settings it switches to Chinese. (think account management, etc...)

I believe it's possible to open a bank account in China, aside from this I tell my friends to give me cash and I send them a 'red pocket'/transfer money to their wechat balance

Would definitely be a interesting opportunity helping expats integrate easily into the system

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