Why don't people carry cash?

[johntea]

This morning was interesting as someone sat near me got hit with a UPFN as their card was declined and apparently had no cash to pay for the £3.00 ticket.

It may just be me but I would always ensure I had £5 - £20 on me in case of situations like this!

A situation I can imagine in my head is 'I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere, my card is getting declined, how do I pay for the bus to town to visit my bank or top up my mobile phone to ring my bank?'

Now the passenger has to go through the hassle of dealing with the UPFN. It did seem a genuine error rather than a fare dodger before anyone suggests that as the answer!

 

[yorksrob]

The problem I find with cash is that if I have it on me I have an unfortunate tendancy to spend it !

 

[pemma]

I normally carry £10-£20 in cash but put any transaction over a few pounds on a card where possible.

However, if you only made sure you had £5 then I suppose if your card got declined twice in the same day and you didn't go to the cash point between the 2 instances then you could easily find yourself with no cash the second time.

 

[scarby]

New generation brought up with "cashless society" (well not just the younger generation, many older people have also embraced it).

In my experience it hasn't got a complete stranglehold in the UK - yet - but in some European countries it's become acceptable to just use a card for anything and everything, and absolutely all retailers are expected to cater for this.

 

[Techniquest]

I'm just lazy most of the time to be honest, so my bank statements are always rather long

 

[fowler9]

I prefer cash myself. Less faffing around, except when you get stuck behind the person at the cash point who spends that long you start to wonder if they are reprogramming it.

 

[Lrd]

I do tend to always have cash on me and use it to pay for most things but will pay on card for things over roughly £20. If I were to have a contactless card then I'm sure I would use less cash.

 

[Tracky]

I use cash for any and all payments up to around £100.

I am very unusual...

 

[richw]

I haven't had any cash for probably 4 weeks since I last used it up I have had no reason to get any more!

 

[ATW Alex 101]

It's card where I can for me, less faffing around with card IMO, except when the card is declined due to an error with the machine.

 

[fowler9]

It's card where I can for me, less faffing around with card IMO, except when the card is declined due to an error with the machine.

Ha ha, I guess its all personal preference. I always seem to find card payments take longer. Well it normally seems to take the person in front of me in the queue longer.

 

[bb21]

Paying all purchases with card is fair enough, but not having direct access to any emergency funds (ie. in your wallet) is plain stupidity imo.

Before anyone says it, there may not be a cashpoint nearby where you can conveniently get access to the so-called emergency cash as the banks put it.

 

[Liam]

Try to use cash where I can, I can keep track of it better. I even bought a £12,500 car in cash .

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Paying all purchases with card is fair enough, but not having direct access to any emergency funds (ie. in your wallet) is plain stupidity imo.

Before anyone says it, there may not be a cashpoint nearby where you can conveniently get access to the so-called emergency cash as the banks put it.

A fiver is always in my wallet, I would never go anywhere without some cash . That fiver's been in my wallet for about 4 years :roll:.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Pretty pathetic when some city-ite at the local chip shop near the station offered plastic for his tray of chips and coleslaw (!) and got shirty when it was not accepted. I could have bought it for him - but thought his attitude was "undeserving" - £2 or so.

I enjoyed my cash paid late supper after a work meeting .....

 

[RJ]

I have Rail Travel Vouchers and National Transport Tokens sitting in my bag for any such emergencies.

 

[OuterDistant]

My mum was an estate agent when I was in my early teens and whenever she talked about a "cash buyer", I had visions of someone turning up at their branch with a wheelbarrow full of tenners!

 

[bb21]

I have Rail Travel Vouchers and National Transport Tokens sitting in my bag for any such emergencies.

I would like to see the shopkeeper's face at the local newsagent when you hand him an RTV and tell him to keep the change.

 

[Qwerty133]

Pretty pathetic when some city-ite at the local chip shop near the station offered plastic for his tray of chips and coleslaw (!) and got shirty when it was not accepted. I could have bought it for him - but thought his attitude was "undeserving" - £2 or so.

I enjoyed my cash paid late supper after a work meeting .....

My sister has bought a Freddo on card before at our local Tesco.
A branch of Mcdonalds in Liverpool has loads of self serve machines that only take card.

 

[6Gman]

I have Rail Travel Vouchers and National Transport Tokens sitting in my bag for any such emergencies.

No Postal Orders RJ?

 

[maniacmartin]

I pay by card wherever I can*, unless I'm in a major hurry.
I carry some emergency funds (banknotes), but spend any coinage change ASAP at a Tesco self service till as part payment, then pay the balance by card.

Cash always ends up with coinage which is cumbersome to carry. Cards mean airmiles, itemised bank statements, being more likely to get a receipt, building up a credit report, as well as the safety of not carrying cash around. The airmiles make it worth paying for other peoples' purchases and getting the cash off them

The downside of course is its way too easy to spend on a card.

 

[Class172]

I have a £5 note folded into my train pass wallet for if the need arises for any reason. At the end of the year I usually end up cracking it open for food, though this year I had to do this prematurely in order to buy a poppy.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

I have a £5 note folded into my train pass wallet for if the need arises for any reason. At the end of the year I usually end up cracking it open for food, though this year I had to do this prematurely in order to buy a poppy.

hock: Fiver for a poppy!?

 

[Class172]

hock: Fiver for a poppy!?

No, not that much - I never have any change on me so; so that I didn't give £5 then ask for most of it back, I bought some food beforehand, so I had change.

 

[curly42]

Cash only - don't have any cards at all.

 

[34D]

I used to be 90% card, but now I'm 90% cash

 

[Mojo]

I always carry a small amount of notes and coins in my wallet but the majority of my transactions are made on card, because I get reward points or cashback, so it works out cheaper than paying with cash.

 

[jon0844]

I always try and carry some cash, and some coins, but invariably I'll spend one or the other and then end up with only my cards.

I am certainly concerned that this leaves me open to problems if I can't use my card, but it still happens!

 

[chris89]

Always got cash on me, lowest normally about £5. Always got change as my bus gets incredibly fussy over any note. (£5,10) Never would try with a £20

Just find it easier to use on stuff less then £40 etc.

Chris

 

[RJ]

No Postal Orders RJ?

Nah not any more . I got rid of the £2.30 Postal Order I had when I realised for real that it wasn't one of the regulated methods of payment on the railways. I think a week before it expired, I sent it to East Midlands Trains, along with a cheque or another P.O. for £7.70 as payment for a Subject Access Request.