Cashless society

[JimmyBean42]

My bank's limit is $400. How often do you need more than $400 cash in a day?

Every time I go to Vegas . Or WDW b/c I like to pay cash to curtail my spending. Clearly never works!

 

[barkley]

We bought a new HVAC system last year, and our choices were to pay cash, check, or a year's no-interest financing through Trane. They wouldn't take credit cards for a job over $2K. (So, ironically, we took the no-interest financing and made the payments via credit card. We got travel points, the contractor got their bonus from Trane, and everyone was happy except the finance company, because we actually did pay it off before any interest kicked in.)

we had our hvac/heat pump replaced a month ago i was VERY surprised that there was no upfee for a credit card. i initialy asked (like i always do) if they preferred check or debit card and was told 'cash, check, debit or credit card-we don't do cash discounts or upcharges for cards'. same thing when we replaced our whole house generator a few months ago with a different company. given that choice i went for credit card b/c i can just pay it the day after it posts (so no fees/interest) and earn cash back rewards.

It's true that pumps won't work without electricity nowadays, but most stations in hurricane-prone areas now are required to have transfer switches installed that allow them to run the pumps via generator. It's a good idea at any station, really.

the issue we ran into here (wind storms/power outages due to wildfires and big snow events) was the generators that buisnesses set up would operate some aspects (like the pumps) but we were having issues with internet and wireless communications so their readers could'nt process plastic. for a while during one of the longer outages you would see signage in front of some gas stations and grocery stores that read 'sorry, only cash transactions until further notice).

For those of you who use debit cards for everything, how do you manage to balance your check book?? It has to be a pain to record every transaction in your check registry.

that's why i use a single specific credit card for everything i would use a debit card for. it's with my credit union so i can easily transfer from my checking acount once or twice per month and pay the balance in full so my checkbook registry shows just 2 entries vs. 30 or 40. i also did this b/c my son's debit card was stolen at one point and i learned quickly how much less cumbersome and time consuming dealing with a credit card dispute is vs. a debit card dispute. i also learned at that time if you have overdraft protection a theif can drain your debit card account along with the linked overdraft account(s). with a credit card a dispute means you don't pay or incur interest charges while they investigate and resolve the fraud, with a debit card your bank accounts remain at that low/negative balance for the duration of the investigation and resolution (and if you have no other financial resources as was the case with my son-you can be up a creek).

Debit card transactions update in real time. I haven’t balanced a check book in at least 20+ or more years.

i DO balance my checkbook once a month-reason being is financial institutions can and do make mistakes. i've found errors in postings, duplicated postings, hiccups in the system's computations. it takes me maybe 20 minutes a month but over the years i've caught enough errors with different financial institutions that have added up to a handful of hundreds of dollars i've had credited back to me.

 

[JimmyBean42]

A lot of places at the Jersey shore are cash only. Of course one of the owners of a major pizza spot in Ocean City, NJ did jail time for not reported all his income for several years. And of course his place was cash only for the longest time.
I can go either way. Plenty of stadiums are cashless now, which I'm fine with. And other places on vacations are cash only. Also fine with that. I do work in IT security so it does concern me all the places that go completely cashless b/c many are careless with our data.

 

[barkley]

I just paid my property taxes. They FINALLY have stopped charging $5 to pay by e-check. They used to get a paper check because that was the only fee free option. Credit and debit card payments include a 2.29% surcharge to cover what the bank charges to process the payment. Government doesn't have to absorb the cost of doing business apparently.

just mailed off the check for ours yesterday. if i had paid by debit or credit it was a 2.65% fee. only 45 cents for an e-check but i prefer to get my bank statement with the image of my old school check vs. just seeing the term ACH and the amount on my statement.

 

[loves to dive]

I'm fine with cashless over a certain amount. I won't put anything $5.00 or less on my CC, just a pain to keep track of. I only use my debit card to get cash out of the bank, I don't use it to buy anything. I always have at least $20 cash on me, just in case.

As far as gas pumps and no electricity. My in-laws live in a small town in south Georgia. They got hit pretty hard with the last hurricane and are still out of power, they live out in the country but even the small town still doesn't have power. There are two gas stations that are open, one the Wal-Mart one and another small one. Wal-Mart has power. Even the government is shut down, still. The gas stations only allow you to get a certain amount of gas and you have to stand in line for Wal-Mart and they are only allowing a certain amount of people in at a time.

 

[Brian Noble]

Not often. But the few I can think about is certain vacations we take cash, buying a used car cash, paying a handyman, paying our mechanic that doesn’t work at a shop.

The vacation you can plan for. The used car can easily (and arguably more conveniently) be paid by cashiers' check. Presumably the others would take a check unless they are doing everything off the books, in which case...well you do you.

 

[Brian Noble]

Every time I go to Vegas

Well, look at it this way. The daily ATM limit is the upper bound on the day's losses!

 

[Brian Noble]

Ugh, I hate being That Guy with multiple posts, but there was another thing I forgot.

I am sometimes a "counter" at my home group recovery meeting. Suggested donation is $2, those currently in treatment do not chip in, and it is possible to pay electronically. We still have a pile of bills at the end of the meeting. Counting it, getting it deposited, etc. is a pain, plus you need two people doing it to reduce the chances of someone pocketing some cash, etc. etc. etc.

I completely understand why some businesses want to do away with it. It's a little less clear why a bank would do that, but it is probably not because lots of people are clamoring to get cash. I am still a little surprised, because my local branch often has people cashing checks, withdrawing money, etc. and I'm usually there mid-morning on a Saturday to do the recovery deposit.

 

[mjkacmom]

They don’t use debit?
Etransfer and debit has almost totally replaced cheques in Canada.

Businesses with maybe the exception of private contractors would not take cheques here. Cheques are archaic.

Literally wrote a check yesterday to our mechanic, don’t want to pay credit card fees. I don’t even have a debit card, just an atm card, but I doubt the mechanic takes debit, pretty old old school.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

The vacation you can plan for. The used car can easily (and arguably more conveniently) be paid by cashiers' check. Presumably the others would take a check unless they are doing everything off the books, in which case...well you do you.

We sometimes visit family in Central America and I’m not swiping my card there. Straight cash.

Yup we do things “off the books at times.” My mechanic doesn’t work out of a shop and doesn’t take checks. Works for us. And we bought my son’s used car off of an older man who wanted cash. No big deal. Some people like having cash.

Like OP I’ve never heard of a cashless bank branch. I was really just curious as to what people do with cashless banks if someone needs cash that’s higher than their ATM limit.

What I am seeing is more businesses and people not taking checks anymore. Cash, debit or credit only.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

My hairdresser actually stopped taking checks and credit cards. She said too many people were bouncing checks and the credit card fees were insane. She said even with charging the 3% the fees were eating into her profit.

Now she only takes cash, debit card, Venmo or Zelle.

I’ve been with her for over 20 years so I just roll with it.

 

[Brian Noble]

Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure my barber shop is cash only. Then again, it's no where near the daily ATM limit.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure my barber shop is cash only. Then again, it's no where near the daily ATM limit.

My SO’s barber only takes Venmo, Zelle or cash app and you schedule your appointments through an app. Times are changing. lol

 

[CdnCarrie]

Literally wrote a check yesterday to our mechanic, don’t want to pay credit card fees. I don’t even have a debit card, just an atm card, but I doubt the mechanic takes debit, pretty old old school.

Doubt you could find a garage in town that would accept a personal cheque unless you were a personal friend of the owner. No one charges credit card fees here.
ATM card = debit card. One and the same here.

 

[AnnaS]

I never use my debit card. CC better/safer.

I still write a few checks each month. I write checks to my grandchildren for their birthdays and Christmas. Sometimes for Valentine's Day, Easter and Halloween (if no time to get to bank to give cash for these last three holidays).

I reconcile my checking each month. Old school. Rather have paper bill/statement in front of me. The few bills that are on-line - I never look at unless I see my balance is off a dollar or so. I have caught mistakes in the past (mostly TMobile years ago). They are not giving us much choice anymore - if they do, they charge a fee for paper statement.

 

[ford family]

Doubt you could find a garage in town that would accept a personal cheque unless you were a personal friend of the owner. No one charges credit card fees here.
ATM card = debit card. One and the same here.

In the UK it is illegal for a business to pass on credit or debit card fees.

We've written one cheque in the last ten years or so and our bank phoned us to see if it was genuine!

ford family

 

[emmybee]

I can only think of my mom and how hard it would be if the bank no longer had tellers to help her. She doesn't have an ATM card because she simply doesn't have the capability to remember a pin or know how to properly use anything electronic. I did get her a credit card with the tap feature which was a lot easier for her to learn how to use...eventually. She still likes to have a little cash, though, and she'll go to the bank herself. They'll allow the withdrawals because she swipes her ID, and even then, it can take a few tries. Perhaps my mom is among the last of the old guard, but it's instances like this where I realize that there are barriers for some to these marvels of modern society that not everyone appreciates.

 

[Brian Noble]

In the UK it is illegal for a business to pass on credit or debit card fees.

Presumably it is not illegal to just charge everyone more by raising prices---and that's almost certainly what is happening if many customers use cards. Furthermore, those who use cash will end up subsidizing those who use cards, as the latter often provide some small incentive for their use.

 

[barkley]

Presumably it is not illegal to just charge everyone more by raising prices---and that's almost certainly what is happening if many customers use cards. Furthermore, those who use cash will end up subsidizing those who use cards, as the latter often provide some small incentive for their use.

we've received invoices from some vendors that indicate a 'discounted price' for paying by check or cash (equivilent to about what merchants pay to run the plastic).

 

[Brian Noble]

I was mentioning that in the context of the UK, where such things are reportedly not allowed. It is totally allowed in the US. Many gas stations around me do this.