The Cashless Society Is Here......

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

We had a real bad ice storm here several years back. The power was out, and the cell phone towers were also froze up for several days with no service.

The stores who could get people to them, and Mom and Pops, were open on a limited basis with poor lighting.

Your plastic and your phone wouldn't work.

Cash only.

I think during any emergency situation there are a lot of "I don't use cash" people going without toilet paper.

Given the aforementioned, in addition to the major screw-up at our bank about 20 years ago that completely froze our assets, disabled all our credit cards, and had our checks bouncing from here to Timbuktu (seems the Brooklyn DA's office was looking for a deadbeat with the same last name, and decided to adopt a "shotgun" approach and shut down any of our bank's customers with the same last name), we've adopted a survivalist mode as well: keep sufficient cash (and toilet paper) on hand to ride out an extended emergency, receive our pensions by check rather than direct deposit, pay off our credit cards in full every month, and not take on any additional extended debt other than our existing mortgage (and we're looking to get rid of that as quickly as possible)...

That said, I firmly believe a cashless society will come to pass - not if, but when and how; although it will undoubtedly take a perfect storm of environmental, economic, and sociopolitical factors to bring it into being, the requisite hack-proof (for now) technology - facial recognition, retinal scanning/iris recognition, microchip implants (as people have been using to track lost pets, and as one company was using for limited employee ID purposes a couple years ago), et al. - already exists. Let's just say that, for reasons numerous and sundry, I'm not a fan - in addition to which I think Messrs. Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, et al. happen to look positively splendid in green...

[robj144]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I think it's funny that the more a person barrows the better their credit score is. But a person that pays off their one credit card every month and doesn't have any loans because they pay everything in full on account of them having the money has a lower score.

I pay my balance off every month and have zero debt. I've had no debt except for student loans, which I paid off 10 years early, and a mortgage my entire life.

[patrickgm60]

Originally Posted by robj144

Smart phone apps are linked to CCs. I have a smart watch and use it to pay whenever there's a Google Pay available.

Actually, many (most?) are either tied to a bank account or have the option for CC or BA. Apple Pay, I'm told, charges a fee for the CC use, but not for BA use.

The ones I asked about in China act as a direct withdrawal (or deposit) from your bank account. Wechat is extremely popular there. Similar to Skype, with ability to transfer funds between users.

Either way, I agree with OP's premise; cash (and checks) are on the way out.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by patrickgm60

Actually, many (most?) are either tied to a bank account or have the option for CC or BA. Apple Pay, I'm told, charges a fee for the CC use, but not for BA use.

The ones I asked about in China act as a direct withdrawal (or deposit) from your bank account. Wechat is extremely popular there. Similar to Skype, with ability to transfer funds between users.

Either way, I agree with OP's premise; cash (and checks) are on the way out.

Hmm... Google Pay is linked to two of my credit cards.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

We had a real bad ice storm here several years back. The power was out, and the cell phone towers were also froze up for several days with no service.

The stores who could get people to them, and Mom and Pops, were open on a limited basis with poor lighting.

Your plastic and your phone wouldn't work.

Cash only.

I think during any emergency situation there are a lot of "I don't use cash" people going without toilet paper.

Of course that can happen, but I think most people with common sense know this too. I always use a CC, but I have $100's in a safe in my place in case I need cash in an emergency.

[Murphy Slaw]

Originally Posted by RedJoker

This gave me a chuckle. Right after these two lines are links to your YouTube and SoundCloud. I know that's not what you meant, though.

Yea, I didn't mean I was anonymous, obviously I'm a World famous singer/songwriter/musician.

I just meant I use cash when I want my purchases to be anonymous.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

Yea, I didn't mean I was anonymous, obviously I'm a World famous singer/songwriter/musician.

I just meant I use cash when I want my purchases to be anonymous.

These days there are not many retailers without a camera aimed at the cash registers and parking lot.

It seems like places where some probably want to be anonymous are very much not. When I look at a local TV station's reporting local incidents it seems like crime incidents at places like liquor stores, adult stores, bars, dance places, hotels and pawn shops have screen shots from their security cameras.

The LP systems where I work see about every inch but inside the lavatories and executive spaces. Neighboring retailers have that. Two of our grocery stores are at large malls. When something goes on the businesses, malls and police piece together a whole lot of video really fast.

[Basalt Beach]

Originally Posted by Nyghthawk

I never let anyone auto-debit my bank account. If that credit card company gets hacked the hackers will have your account information including routing numbers. Consumer protection, yeah right. I'll trust a CC company with protecting me when a certain mythical place freezes over.

Originally Posted by Nyghthawk

Card rewards...LOL.

We cut up our debit cards and advised our issuer we wanted them discontinued. We did it years ago for some of the reasons which are explained quite well by this former criminal, turned FBI agent. At the 43:15 mark he provides the reasons not to own a debit card and instead, to use a credit card.

Card rewards yes, we receive approximately $275 to $525 a year back from Discover and the card costs us nothing to own. We have never carried a balance. YMMV




As for the OP's post, yes, we use Apple Pay whenever we can. We began using the App to pay using our phones at Starbucks when it first was available. No issues with either, and we set up email alerts when they are used.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by patrickgm60

Actually, many (most?) are either tied to a bank account or have the option for CC or BA. Apple Pay, I'm told, charges a fee for the CC use, but not for BA use.

The ones I asked about in China act as a direct withdrawal (or deposit) from your bank account. Wechat is extremely popular there. Similar to Skype, with ability to transfer funds between users.

Either way, I agree with OP's premise; cash (and checks) are on the way out.

I don't know what "I'm told" means here but I catch a whole lot of nonsense around the contactless payment options that are very popular. Apple and Google (Alphabet) have very straight forward information and great help whether that's for you as the consumer or for a merchant.

A simple or high level understanding is the fees are much like what people are used to when using debit or credit cards. If you're buying your groceries or some pants at a clothing store it behaves like using your credit card. If you are transferring money or paying an associate debit vs credit card determines the fees. In general merchants eat the credit card fees.

After fees, your transaction is with the PIN pad at your lane in the store, not some radio that is elsewhere. Regardless of paying a fee or not, Apple Pay doesn't transmit your credit card number. Apple has better privacy policy than many firms.

I shake my head when some I know won't use Apple Pay with privacy as the reason but do things like use their cards with little merchants that don't pay proper attention to security or they'll do things with forums and social media that are very much not private and very easy to be misinterpreted.

[Dr. Spivey]

I use cash for most day to day purchases. I use a credit card for travel or larger purchases. I don't normally carry the credit card. I always have my debit card, but rarely use it in stores. I use PayPal sometimes for online purchases.

I always have a pocket knife. I wear a normal watch with hands that rotate.

[Bikewer]

I’ve gotten to the point where I almost resent people using cash.

The “check yourself out lane” at the grocery store, for instance. You’re usually standing there with just a few items, while someone is trying to feed bills int the machine... Which almost always rejects at least one....

Or the senior-citizens who insist not only on paying with cash, but with fishing the exact change out of their purse or wallet.

When I was living in the city some years ago, you’d get the old “South Side Dutch” folks who would never even get out the wallet or open the purse till the total had been shown. Then, for the men, they would fish out a wallet which had been wrapped with numerous rubber bands... To thwart pick-pockets.
(there hasn’t been a pickpocket around here for 50 years).
Then, after painfully extracting the necessary bills, they’d fish out a change-purse which had likewise been treated....
All the while you’re standing there watching your container of ice cream slowly melt....

[MikeBmusic]

In general merchants eat the credit card fees.

Not really, they mark up the price of their goods to compensate. So everyone pays more.

[Mr. Jelly]

I remember a time when men would jiggle the change in their pocket as the walked around a shop. This was to show that they had money to spend and they were somebody. Back then you could buy stuff with change and there wasn't such a thing as a minimum wage.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

Not really, they mark up the price of their goods to compensate. So everyone pays more.

True, but my point was addressing people thinking there is an obvious or explicit extra fee or cost to use contactless payment with most merchants. Our stores get noticeable amounts of people who think using the same credit card accounts with their wrist watch or phone is always going to cost them more.

In addition to better security, I say do contactless payment to help the lines move faster.

[Murphy Slaw]

Originally Posted by imwjl

These days there are not many retailers without a camera aimed at the cash registers and parking lot.

True.

However...

For example, and I quit drinking nearly a decade ago.

Let's say I was a heavy drinker. Every day. A lot per day. And used credit cards for these purchases.

Or a cigarette smoker. Or buy a lot of rolling papers. Or dirty magazines.

The data is being stored just like those Stores with the discount card. They track your purchases for a MULTITUDE of reasons. They SELL the data to a MULTITUDE.

I have heard of this data popping up in the weirdest places lately. It can change your Insurance rates, credit score and more.

If you walk in and pay cash none of that information is created in the first place.

Just sayin'...