UKC

Very interested in your views on this.

Whose interests do you really think a cashless society serve?

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

How do I get those nice Irish lads to tarmac my drive without a bundle of tenners!

In reply to cander:

I believe that they are quite partial to potatoes.

In reply to The Lemming:


And dick of the day post goes to The Lemming

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

It certainly serves the banks interests. They make a percentage on every card transaction made.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

Won't happen in the UK until there is a change minimum transaction fees, or legislation related to it.

In reply to summo:

Agreed, they can only charge now because it's seen as some king of additional payment service to offer customers. If we went completely cashless then it would be the default payment method so I guess the whole payment system for debit cards would have to be funded differently, either paid for in someway by the government to operate the system or brought in house and made public.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

In Iceland I was told "only tourists and dealers use cash now...". This raises a number of concerns about the cashless society in my mind.

In reply to afghanidan:

So the dealers only sell to tourists

In reply to afghanidan:


We went to Iceland last summer for a week. We didn't use cash once and I couldn't even tell you what it looked like there. From hiring a car, buying internal flights, right down to a 50p coffee from a vending machine and my wife using a pay-for loo in the middle of nowhere there was absolutely no need for cash of any kind.

I travel to Hungary a lot for business and colleagues there told me that the government tracks cash withdrawals from machines so that they can reconcile these with your tax returns.

I probably only use cash in about 5% of my daily transactions. Buying bread in the bakery, or at the market are the main ones - a few coins for tips at meals maybe - even cabs are tipped electronically with Hailo for instance.

In reply to Lord_ash2000:


the government won't pay, the consumer will pay, either directly or indirectly.

Sweden, has no public facing card transaction fees etc.. businesses aren't allowed to have a card fee or minimum transaction. So you can pay for anything, no matter how small by card. But, there is still cash, especially tourist & seasonal places, many of which only deal in cash. I imagine most business simply charge a very slight amount more for goods, as the banking fees are just a business expense to cover. Most banks charge an annual fee for your card though, roughly £20.

Some banks have gone almost cashless, others still handle it over the counter. Each is finding their own niche and consumers have moved around to the ones that suit them. The use of cheques or their equiv. is very rare indeed, you either pay upfront, or 28 days invoicing & then pay online for most things.

There is no coin below the equiv of 10p though. Everything is rounded up or down. Price in the shops might show smaller denominations, but at the till it's the rounding of the total value of all goods that dictates the price you pay. The situation in the Uk where people pay for fuel by cash and are trying to click to nearest penny is pretty pointless when you consider the value of the money involved, just to avoid a pocket full of shrapnel.

I have no idea why the UK doesn't scrap the 1,2 and 5p coins, near worthless individually.

In reply to yorkshireman:

in Sweden if you have a turnover through your tills of more than roughly £40k a year, then your till is live linked to the tax authorities. They don't track who buys what, but the business's tax declaration needs to match what's travelled through the till.

In reply to Frank4short:

And why am I a dick?

In reply to The Lemming:

Because you need telling why!

In reply to yesbutnobutyesbut:


Yes I do!

Why was I singled out for my comment yet the poster above me was not?

In reply to afghanidan:


Well don't shop at Iceland then.

Jeez!

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

Until I can go into my local corner shop newsagents and buy my morning paper or a pint of milk with contactless then cashless wan't happen. Maybe in 10 years it'll be a conversation worth having though.

In reply to The Lemming:

Why was I singled out for my comment yet the poster above me was not?

Maybe Frank4short has got a chip on his shoulder?

In reply to Indy:
You can't?

Card payments aren't contactless in Norway but they are the norm. I haven't used cash for a long time

In reply to The Lemming:

You surely aren't that stupid. Because you suggested that Irish are happy to be paid in potatoes. That's a joke that was current 170 odd years ago, when the Irish were dying from lack of potatoes.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

Been normal in New Zealand since the late 80s I think. Surprised it has taken so long to get something even remotely close here in the UK, especially as London considers itself the home of banking.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I can't remember which Irish comedian it was who said only in Ireland could people starve because there was no spuds when they're surrounded by the sea.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

It is inevitable that it will happen one day but I think that day is a long way away.
Was it last year that the natwest system fell over and no one could use their cards?
Mobile phone payment is okay until you drop your phone or it goes flat.

On the other hand I recently discovered touch payments and it's great but I always have £40 or so in my wallet just in case.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:


Being somebody who was born on the island of Ireland, I do KNOW that fact.

Even so, I don't think I should have been singled out for ridicule. My joke was about potatoes while the contributor above me gets off Scott free for their comments.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

"Sorry, got no cash mate, only cards", is a very handy excuse.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

Just fine till your bank decides its time for a negative interest rate...

In reply to FactorXXX:



Frank had a chip on his shoulder 10 years ago - he ain't mellowed.

wally

In reply to The Ice Doctor:



Anyone whose life would be made easier. It would suit me but I can't see it working in GB anytime soon. Getting a population our size to adapt to this would take quite a time.......

In reply to cander:


Who will then fly tip the spoil , and let the local taxpayers pick up the cleanup bill.
Sounds like a cashless society might be a tidier one.

In reply to The Ice Doctor:

If Britain goes for the Brexit there will be no need for cash or cards, there will be no, sun, no flowers, no bees, no breeze , we will all be eating bread and cheese.

It's true.