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Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

prospectmagazine.co.uk

481–490 of 498 posts

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#481
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in a bank and cash handling is a major headache in terms of internal control, logistics, reconciliation and AML. It's a large extra cost. It is much cheaper for the bank and customers to use cards, but where I live the banks own a payment network that does not involve visa and mastercard so the cost is much lower and there is no rent seeking so card use have no fees. We also have an app for sending "cash" for…

The issue is, whilst I’m sure that cards are cheaper overall, they present a serious burden for people who can’t use them: unbanked people for various reasons, older people, children etc.

Older people/Children are not a problem. I've seen both using digital payments for a long time.

Unbanked people is more concerning, as unbanked people include political enemies of the state. The centralisation of power that digital payments allow is concerning.

The other thing which isn't mentioned in this comment chain is that a reason credit is cheaper is that your transaction data is harvested.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#482
post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If million people lose $1, nobody cares. If one guy loses 1 million he might cut costs that will affect others. If people like Musk lose wealth because of sinking stock prices, his workers don't have suddenly more buying power.

Something seems to have gone badly wrong in your choice of example - that didn't even involve any money.

It's money just not cash.

Most money is book money and the burning of 1 million doesn't change the purchasing of the people because cash isn't linked to a finite resource like gold.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Of course”. Thanks for responding — can you clarify this interest benefit you are talking about?

You are able to buy now, but not pay until 30 days later, paying no interest unless paid in full. Which means YOU earn interest on your money during that period...

Oh duh! Pardon my ignorance; that makes perfect sense, I guess my mind was elsewhere

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#484

> [On] 23rd August 1994, the chaotic music duo and performance artists Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty burned £1m of notes behind a boathouse on the Scottish island of Jura. They are not alone in attempting to reduce money’s power… They literally increased the purchasing power of each remaining pound by doing so.

There’s a documentary called “ watch the K foundation burn a million quid” well worth watching.

Agreed because it's a very human docu. It's more about the human experiences of burning 1mil rather than prompting the act - which remains very controversial.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#485

The current trend is to move from cash to electronic money controlled by the banks. Previously the money deposited to a bank account was the clients money that the bank just kept. Now it's the banks money that can be frozen by any reason and it's the client's responsibility to prove his innocence. Next step is a blockchain-based crypto, controlled only by a single structure, such as Fed. Total control directly by the…

I once had this discussion with an economics person and pointed out that if my country moves to a card-only society, then I would move to using USD notes instead.

I'm sure I won't be the only one accepting USD notes as payment.

So really either all countries go card only or people just move to other currencies, at least for certain transactions.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No way a US bank charged you that amount unless you made the purchase in an esoteric fashion.

It was not a purchase, it was a money transfer. They converted it to EUR for me at really bad rates. It was not an explicit fee.

Ok well we are talking about something else entirely -- credit card purchases with an FX cross.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#487

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't like to bring your valuables with you, so you bring cash instead of a PIN-protected debit card?

I'd rather loose 10 bucks than letting them take my debit card. PIN is not required until a certain amount.

You buy $10 of groceries at a time?

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#488
post #468
post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put it other way 10 years ago we had Python 3.4, Rust and Windows 8.1 :) What I'm saying is Norway at the time was pretty much where Denmark is now. Even 20 years ago you could go by pretty much cashless except one way bus tickets in certain cities. That said I doubt Denmark has any lower level of social trust than Norway so it's unlikely the cause. As the locals then explained credit card transaction fees were held…

Not sure what you mean with “national clearance network”. With regards to CC fees, there have been none for (DanKort) cardholders since 2005. I haven’t had a non-DanKort rejected since 2016 or 2017, and the only times that I pay for card fees is when I use the CCs issued to my companies. Yet somehow, you still can’t buy tickets on the bus with a CC, only cash or apps.

Yeah I imagine apps have filled the niche that for whatever reason was unserviceable by credit cards.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#489
Fees on digital payments by merchants should be banned, if we are going into a digital era without cash and an expectation that everyone pays digitaly then they should come along with us and be more accommodating or atleast more realistic if they want our business, even if it is just a small cup of coffee the convenience of tap and scan is far superior to dragging your feet to a machine in the middle of the night looking over your shoulder always expecting the worst.

Re: Physical cash is dying–and you don't need to be a conspiracist to worry

#490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate the break down. I'll clear it up, cashless is annoying because instead of being able to walk outside with a couple of bills, I have to bring my whole phone or wallet with me because some vendors just don't accept cash. Sometimes I even prefer paying with cash because it helps the vendor avoid the fees they have to pay for each digital transaction. It's got nothing to do with remembering.

> instead of being able to walk outside with a couple of bills, I have to bring my whole phone or wallet That still doesn't make any sense. Firstly, 99% of people carry their phone with them pretty much everywhere so you're already a special snowflake. Secondly, instead of "a couple of bills" you have to carry... a single card. Wow. So much hassle. > Sometimes I even prefer paying with cash because it helps the vendo…

> Secondly, instead of "a couple of bills" you have to carry... a single card. Wow. So much hassle.

In case I’d get robbed, I would only loose a couple of bucks vs losing my debit card (which does not require PIN until a limit). I live in a bas neighborhood, so walking outside when it’s dark side is not fun. So having no valuables on me feels good.

> Yeah I have more sympathy with this but my feeling is vendors prefer cashless even with the fees - at least debit card fees (~0.5%), maybe not credit card fees - because cash isn't free.

I have the totally opposite experience, most small shop owners I’ve spoken to have often asked me if I had cash instead of card, some would even give better deals and include free fries If I had cash in me, it’s on that level and one if the reasons why I often prefer cash now. I actually had a discussion regarding this with my local barbershop and he told me how much he hates people who pay with cars because of those fees he has to pay.

I had no idea about CBDC, had to look it up. It’s an interesting concept.

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