It's been obvious from the banks' and businesses' keenness of card over cash, especially for frequent low sums, that 90% of the convenience for cardholders is being paid for by a massive increase in transactions that is increasing personal debt.
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Is the use of cash dying out?
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Phil56
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During Storm Desmond, the entire Lancaster, Morecambe and Carnforth area was blacked out for several days. For the first couple of days, before they brought on-street generators, literally nothing was open, no shops, no ATMs. The mobile phone network was down for most of the first day, as were several local telephone exchanges (so no landline either). A few of the smallest food shops opened for a few hours but struggled without tills - it was really only the smallest owner managed ones that opened for a few hours as the owners were doing the serving so could remember prices and use calculators. Petrol station forecourt shops were closed because without power, the petrol pumps couldn't be used. The "big" supermarkets were open only to give away their fresh/frozen food before it defrosted/dechilled. It was VERY difficult to find a shop or an ATM for the first few days without driving the next unaffected towns half an hour away!
The Guardian story is a non-story. It speaks to one person in Wigan re her spending (she runs a YouTube channel), and one person who has a sideline in selling "cash stuffing materials". They requote the post office story, and a 2020 Warwick Business School survey, which clearly has nothing to do with inflation causing a return to cash, predating the current inflationary period.
raafif
Member
Cash is certainly declining - I & friends only carry a few coins for parking meters & most of those are slated for conversion to paying via your smartphone.
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I had a moment of vindication one day last week at my local baker/coffee shop. The card reader had failed, and cashless customers were being turned away, but my blue bread voucher ensured that I still had a fresh loaf for lunch.
Contactless payments do have their limitations, something the banks and those in favour of a cashless society seem a little reluctant to acknowledge.
Yes, cashless payments have their limitations, but so does cash. What happens when you have a £20 note and want to buy something for £3 but there's only £15 left in the till? Or, as happened to my ex when she first moved to the UK and had a wallet full of £50 notes that almost nobody was willing to accept?
Both methods have their strengths and weaknesses but, on balance, the ease of use of electronic payments outweighs the drawbacks.
Cambus731
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in decline yes. Dying out. Absolutely no way
Yes it is, I know of shops which which will not take cash, card only, there is online banking, try finding a Bank which will allow you to open an Account in a Branch. There are sizeable towns without a single Bank the public may visit, and the Manager, nowadays a Financial Product Salesman.
From the Bank of England website there are £82 bn of banknotes in circulation.
A reminder, if you have notes hoarded away, check for the presence of the old non-polymer notes, they are withdrawn at the end of September 2022 and cease to be legal tender, and should be surrendered to a Bank for exchange.
From the Bank of England website there are £82 bn of banknotes in circulation.
A reminder, if you have notes hoarded away, check for the presence of the old non-polymer notes, they are withdrawn at the end of September 2022 and cease to be legal tender, and should be surrendered to a Bank for exchange.
We went in a cafe near the beach in Scarborough this morning. Payment options were either cash or bank transfer. The cafe does not have a card machine. The lady in front of us in the queue was making a BACS payment on her phone. We paid cash.
I wonder why not, card machines cost next to nothing these days. They're probably missing out on custom.
I think due to their location they don’t have a reliable phone line and mobile reception is patchy. Plenty of customers today - there is no other option nearby.
It is dying out.
this morning I was in a cafe in a village nowhere in particular, card only. Yesterday, in a pub in north London, card only. This afternoon in B&Q St Albans. Card only. Cash is now irrelevant for a substantial proportion of the population and businesses.
Fair enough. They would have lost my custom if I was there - I rarely (if ever) have any cash on me these days.
'Dying out' means that something will stop existing completely. That seems unlikely in the forseeable future. Greatly reduced use, certainly.
If there was an easier way for me to get £5 notes, I’d use cash more. For me, £5 is the easiest note to use for pubs and cafes etc. Especially when some places get annoyed if you give them a big note.
However, I honestly think I’ve used cash only about once in the UK since Covid hit.
I used cash a lot in Germany and Bosnia over the summer, Germany of course still surprisingly being more of a cash country (I made the mistake of asking to pay for drinks with my card in a kniepe!).
I also went to Belgium and Luxembourg where I didn’t use cash once, and just used my Monzo card with ease.
However, I honestly think I’ve used cash only about once in the UK since Covid hit.
I used cash a lot in Germany and Bosnia over the summer, Germany of course still surprisingly being more of a cash country (I made the mistake of asking to pay for drinks with my card in a kniepe!).
I also went to Belgium and Luxembourg where I didn’t use cash once, and just used my Monzo card with ease.
DerekC
Established Member
I went to the chippy in a village in West Dorset the other day and was surprised to find it cash only - and apparently always that way. Fortunately my emergency £20 note was available! On the other hand the curry van which comes on Mondays takes only cards!
I only ever seem to use cash in cafes and barbers for some reason.
I spent some time trying to look that up. Did you mean kneipe ?
Yet you stated that
If the customers can get a signal that is good enough, why can't they?
Not all networks are equal in terms of coverage and availability.
shredder1
Established Member
Yep, thats pretty much right, Ive just returned from Norway and Sweden which are essentially cashless countries, very few ticket offices are now open and all reservations are done on line. At 71 I must admit I struggled making bookings, but apparently it wasnt just me, many Swedes I spoke too also have difficulties using the Swedish app and website, Throughout the week I did find ticket offices at Malmo and Stockholm, none at Gothenburg, and even those were only open for limited periods. I was using a mobile Interrail pass, but I guess Im a card zealot at heart, in that I mainly pay by card and rarely use cash, or at least that is unless I can find a ticket office that is open for me to pay by card. Surprisingly many guards also thought it wasnt a very good system and it had been applied too soon for the general travelling public.
That depends on the interpretation of the word “foreseeable”
What are you buying in a pub with £5? Crisps?
johncrossley
Established Member
Banknotes have always been problematic, especially £10 or above, because so many people don't want to give change, or don't have it. I only carry banknotes for use in an emergency, otherwise they are not used. Coins are needed far more, because of vending machines and for paying in shops that don't accept cards below a certain value. My local launderette has machines which require £8 in coins. These really ought to be converted to contactless. Unfortunately, you can only get banknotes out of cash machines, meaning you have to make a cash transaction to get coins as change, or go into a post office and withdraw coins directly.
Bantamzen
Established Member
I know Scarborough can sometimes feel like a trip back to the 1980's, but they must surely have a reliable phone line? After all, how would they confirm that bank transfer payments had been successfully completed?
Yes that’s what I meant! I wanted to show off my German but I have failed
It shows how long a go I was using cash thenWhat are you buying in a pub with £5? Crisps?
Although in Kent I’ve recently paid £3.80 for a golden ale, and about £4 for a Belgian lager called Bavo. So, it is still possible, just about.Of course most places are about £5 now. But when using cash, I find it easy to use a £5 note with some coins, rather than a larger note.
Well that might cover the coverage aspect, but availability can vary in some areas even when the best for normal coverage is in use.
DelW
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One of my local pubs has a regular ale at £1.49 a pint and guests all at £2.19, so you'd get two or even three pints for a fiver and still get some change.What are you buying in a pub with £5? Crisps?
(Yes, it is a Wetherspoons, and although the £1.49 beer isn't one I'd choose, the guest beers are usually excellent).
i had a bet with myself that it wouldn’t be long before someone mentioned the W place
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