underbank
Established Member
They're "good" because they are often the only place you can get currency locally, not "good" because of their rates.
-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Cash machines withdrawal?
- Thread starter Springs Branch
- Start date
- Status
They're "good" because they are often the only place you can get currency locally, not "good" because of their rates.
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
Busaholic
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 7 Jun 2014
- Messages
- 14,085
Yes, already pointed out. Re Trading Standards - in my limited experience in my own area, forget it, although they're much more likely to get involved against a small shop than against a 'corporate' which would appear to be too much trouble.
riceuten
Member
- Joined
- 23 May 2018
- Messages
- 522
So, on that basis, we don't extend the march of technology ?
Peter Mugridge
Veteran Member
Yes, an actual Manager.
underbank
Established Member
No, of course not, but it is never wise to have all your eggs in one basket. It's so easy to keep a bit of cash, so why wouldn't you for your own protection?
py_megapixel
Established Member
I don't think there's anything wrong with charging extra for card payments, given that card acceptance is not compulsory as far as I know, and for many businesses the costs are prohibitive.
. Card spend limits are still fairly commonplace in many small takeaways, convenience stores and the like, and so are magazine subscriptions which cost less on a Direct Debit than with a one-time payment, which is effectively the same thing (charging more for payment methods which are less convenient for the business)
At low turnover rates card acceptance is expensive, especially for "customer not present" transactions although new players are bringing down prices for physical card acceptance.
I am a magazine editor and the direct debit processor that we use charges less than half the rate of our card processor. I can give a discount for using a DD and still be a few pennies per sub better off that for a car transaction with the bonus for me that I have that sub until the customer actually cancels rather than having to persuade them to renew every year.
riceuten
Member
- Joined
- 23 May 2018
- Messages
- 522
I do! But so many comments I hear from users are people who just like the idea of having a bank or an ATM, which doesn't unfortunately pay the bills.
If a business doesn't want the expense of accepting cards then that's up to them. They get to trade that off against people who don't want to use cash any more.
But charging extra for card payments was a bit off anyway, as people have mentioned business have costs for handling cash, so why were cards picked out for the extra charge? Also it's a bit cheeky to say advertise something is £5 but it becomes £5.50 at the checkout which is what effectively happens with the surcharge.
But hopefully this is now a moot point, it's been illegal across the EU for 18 months so businesses should have adjusted to life without surcharging.
underbank
Established Member
Lots of smaller businesses have no or minimal costs for handling cash. If they have an in-store cash machine, they can put their notes into it, with no charges to pay. Or they can use a bank with a free cash deposit facility with the Post Office. Or they can pay out their cash as wages to staff or to pay supplier bills.
Obviously if you're a Tesco branch handling thousands every day, then yes, there is clearly a cost of handling/banking it. But a lot of small owner-managed businesses just arrange their affairs to minimise/zeroise the cost.
cactustwirly
Established Member
Getting currency in cash is always a rip off.
It's best to withdraw from an ATM once you're there, using a cash card
riceuten
Member
- Joined
- 23 May 2018
- Messages
- 522
I will give you an example of people's shortsightedness with regard to this. I used to work for a District Council in Cambridgeshire, and we used to allow payments of council tax, fees and charges and penalties in cash, by cheque or by card. We had a cash collection come round and collect the money on a daily basis and the fees to do this often would exceed the actual cash and cheques collected. As our grant from central government had been slashed, we had to make some hard choices and one of these was to withdraw cash payments at our office.
We had a months long campaign to reinstate this, even though we'd arranged with the local post office for people to pay the same council tax, fees and charges and penalties in cash at the post office without a fee. It was ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. Couldn't we think of the pensioners, who couldn't cope with cards and PINs ? Er, yes, that's why we made the arrangement with the post office. Indeed, people previously would withdraw the money from the post office and walk it down to the District Council - now they could pay the same, fee free, at the PO. No matter, it was still ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. No doubt the same pensioners would have whinged if their Council tax increased to pay for this facility...
We had a months long campaign to reinstate this, even though we'd arranged with the local post office for people to pay the same council tax, fees and charges and penalties in cash at the post office without a fee. It was ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. Couldn't we think of the pensioners, who couldn't cope with cards and PINs ? Er, yes, that's why we made the arrangement with the post office. Indeed, people previously would withdraw the money from the post office and walk it down to the District Council - now they could pay the same, fee free, at the PO. No matter, it was still ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. No doubt the same pensioners would have whinged if their Council tax increased to pay for this facility...
It isn’t, as most banks will charge you a foreign cash advance fee and/or commission.
The best thing to do is to get a commission fee free credit card (Halifax is the one usually recommended, others are available), and pay for everything by card. Failing that, use travelmoneymax.com which will find you the best cash exchange rates here.
Never ever buy at the airport / ferry terminal / St Pancras!
cactustwirly
Established Member
I use a cash card, that doesn't charge you for foreign purchases and ATM withdrawals
Not many of those around, but fair enough.
MidlandsChap
Member
- Joined
- 15 Apr 2018
- Messages
- 194
Was away the other weekend. Popped into a local shop to buy a couple of drinks and some snacks. Very low prices and I wondered why, became apparant as I got my card out to pay "sorry, cash only". Despite having cash in my pocket I left the goods at the till and walked to Boots down the road.
Last edited:
underbank
Established Member
Bit of a big assumption that they're tax evaders just because they don't accept cards!
MidlandsChap
Member
- Joined
- 15 Apr 2018
- Messages
- 194
would not surprise me due to the low prices.
Last edited:
The capabilities of online banking are hardly hot news and nothing to do with cash vs CC; I've been using it for the last 25 years. You know, if you get cash from an ATM it also shows up instantly.
What using cash does not show is where the individual transactions went : that has an upside and a downside, for example I might not necessarily want Mrs L to see what I spent on a new camera lens. Cash has the advantage of untraceablility and that does not mean that therefore you are doing illegal things, like the anti-cash people claim.
I have just taken cash in settlement of a large invoice - if you want to call me a tax dodger please include your address so my solicitor can get in touch.
Busaholic
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 7 Jun 2014
- Messages
- 14,085
I seem to remember Lidl only accepted cash or cheques (!) when they first opened, and for many years, then accepted debit cards but not credit cards. The reason they gave was the same as they gave for employing very few staff compared to the Big 4/5 : keeping costs down. No small shop could charge lowest prices and take card payments.
There is a difference - the local shop may or may not have been avoiding tax* but sell their goods cheaply; Boots (from the article) appeared to successfully have avoided paying the tax due but still charge top whack. I went in there the other day - prices about double what discounters charge. Places like them are the reason I like paying cash - I could see the colour of the notes they were expecting me to pay.
Thanks for the link - a reminder to avoid Boots!
* - it could be they can't be bothered getting a card machine/ are confused by them/ think they might be defrauded etc.
This isnt always, if at all true - the businesses that have these cash machines get them filled by the provider and they have no access to them whatsoever.
Busaholic
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 7 Jun 2014
- Messages
- 14,085
Undeniably true.
Well no it isnt because my local shop gets filled up with 5k by the provider so unless you can provide proof that what you say is true( contrary to anecdotal evidence) then you are wrong
M&S didn't take credit cards (other than their storecard) until very late - possibly not even until this century, but certainly not before the 90s.
pdq
Member
- Joined
- 7 Oct 2010
- Messages
- 803
It's been mentioned earlier about the potential problems paying for goods without cash if networks are down or there's a power cut. Are the old card imprint machines still available to use in these circumstances or are these totally consigned to history now?
underbank
Established Member
Dispensers provided by the "note machine" firm, usually at Spar shops, garages, etc, are filled by the shop themselves - I've a few clients who have them and it's where they "bank" most of their larger notes - they have access to the cash drawer to fill them up as needed.
Here's your proof!
From their website - https://www.notemachine.com/atms-for-retail/the-right-atm-for-you/self-fill-atm
"Our Self Fill ATMs are ideal for small but busy shops and retailers. They work just like a fully managed machine with all the same benefits. The only difference is that the ATM is filled by you.
You’ll receive all of the same cash machine equipment, software, service and round-the-clock technical support of our fully managed solution. Plus, there’s the potential for savings on your banking costs by banking your store takings in the ATM."
Last edited:
- Status