Going cashless

[davidc4430]

the true cost of your empty wallet

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-23/going-cashless-true-cost-empty-wallet/9895280

[zanadoo_56]

Now that I can't get to the shops I do most of my shopping online and pay the bills online but I keep cash handy for paying the mowing guy, tradies for small handyman jobs, getting my medicine delivered from the local chemist....and ordering a home delivered meal when PayPal or whatever card payment the restaurant is using plays up.

Also if family and friends visit and someone decides to go out and buy a meal for us all, I can make a contribution.

[ooak3]

we pay all our bills on line because it's easier , but we like to pay cash as much as possable for whatever we can 

i have a feeling that not paying cash for anything has a lot to do with why a lot of people now live beyond there means 

 and not handing actual money over makes it feel like your not spending

[not_for_sale2025]

Money is not quite invisible yet. I have to carry cash for when I regularly visit a couple of local small businesses to make purchases. They are mainly shops run by non-Australian people and only accept cash - not sure why! Also, I need to carry coins for the drink/snack machines at my workplace. I don't know about anybody else, but I find it a nuisance when I have to use a card to buy a $1.50 soft drink. I hope they don't convert everything to card only.

[zanadoo_56]

Credit cards are the killer from what I've seen on TV.

As far as the deadly plastic is concerned I have a debit card and that's it.

If I cant afford it I don't buy it.  If I want something bad enough I will save up for it.

[imastawka]

My daughter sold at 2 Melbourne weekend markets over Summer.

If she hadn't bought a card reading machine, her sales would've been almost non-existant

How can you visit a weekend market with no cash?

I go to the Salvos stores and they have tap and go as well.

I went into a shop yesterday and was surprised their machine was not tap and go.

The lady said all the young ones are having trouble remembering their pins. 

Tap and go....even to withdraw at an atm.  They just wave their phones around and it's done.

[not_for_sale2025]

My only concern is that in order to keep up, we must have the hardware and the software. I must admit I still use a swipe card and have to enter a pin. I become frustrated when the swipe doesn't work and it takes a number of attempts and wipings of the card before it does work. But that is my choice.

In order to tap and go, one has to own and have a phone on their person, don't they - I'm not sure! I am suspicious of technological improvements that require us to own something to use the technology. Look what has happened to computers, they have become virtually disposable because they become incompatible with the updated software required to run them, even when they are working perfectly.

I may be old fashioned, but I would prefer to retain the right to make a choice, not be manipulated to conform - it so frequently requires us to own, yet again something else.

[johcaschro]

It was a very interesting article, David however I think it failed to mention one very important societal "cost".

The real cost of a totally cashless society is Universal Surveillance of the citizens.

All purchases recorded and logged. Buying profiles established. More and more directly targeted advertisements clogging up our screens and having businesses cold call us on the phone because they have purchased our data; that data which we freely surrender when we buy.

Our purchase locations all being electronically  logged too, it's a short step to establishing a movement/location profile of the buyer . . . for all of their purchases, all of the time, forever.

The true cost is going to be our freedom to remain anonymous . . . which is why I always use cash, where possible for all of my purchases.

[imastawka]

You don't need a smart phone for tap and go.

If your  bank card has a chip, like this one,

then you just tap the card and you have paid.  It will give                                                                  you a receipt.

Also, if it has the chip, then you can insert it

instead of swiping - it does the same thing.  You still have to put in your PIN.

If you prefer to swipe and it won't register, then rub the card on your hair - it works 9/10 times - seriously.  Dunno why.

[johcaschro]

That's because the card reader has scanned your DNA profile and identified you as the legit card owner. 😉

Spoiler

well, maybe not yet, but possibly sooner rather than later?