People Opposed to Contacless Payments - Why?

[Typhoon]

The advertisers are paying to display banners to people who've already bought it, sometimes even bought their own product. Just booked a cruise through MSC, today, there are MSC banners on virtually all fora and other websites I've been using - completely pointless as I won't be buying another. Same the other day, I bought a new DSLR camera from Amazon - for a few days, there were nothing but Amazon camera banner ads. You'd think they'd design cookies that could flag up when an item had been bought so they don't display advs to people who've made the purchase and concentrate advs on those who havn't.

They don't seem to be able (or willing) to distinguish between items you might want to repeat buy and 'one off's. I was sent a question by Amazon on behalf of a customer about a map I had purchased a few years ago which I answered in some detail. I then get flooded with invitations to buy that map again. How did I answer the questions without having the map in front of me? I now have a disincentive to be helpful.

If I had bought the map with cash, no such worries!

 

[Modron]

I'm not opposed to them, per se, but the chance of fraud (as mentioned earlier) is somewhat of a cause for concern.

Also (and I might get some flack for this) I don't think that disabled people should be 'encouraged' to have them if they don't wish to have them. A friend of mine has a disability and worries a lot about money, he keeps getting letters from his bank to have a contactless card and he is worried that he won't be able to access his account unless he gives in and has one. He does scare easily, but his bank have done little to allay these fears and they do insist on sending him letter after letter...

 

[Lucan]

Cash transactions tend to cost retailers more than debit/credit card payments.... This is due to security requirements transporting the cash, staff costs involved in counting the coins/notes etc.

Maybe cash tends to cost more for larger businesses, but not smaller ones according to the manageress of a second-hand bookshop I was in recently. She was giving the customer in front of me a real earful after he offered to pay for a £4 book with a credit card. I'm pretty sure she would not use a G4S armoured van to transport the takings, nor need to spend much time counting notes at the end of the day.

The point is that cash is better for many smaller transactions, and that even though total cash volume is only marginal compared with plastic these days, banks still begrudge not getting a slice of it - greed works like that. But this is getting off-topic, which was contactless plastic versus chip and PIN plastic, not cash.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Maybe cash tends to cost more for larger businesses, but not smaller ones according to the manageress of a second-hand bookshop I was in recently. She was giving the customer in front of me a real earful after he offered to pay for a £4 book with a credit card. I'm pretty sure she would not use a G4S armoured van to transport the takings, nor need to spend much time counting notes at the end of the day.

TBH I'd walk out without the book and tell her I was going to purchase from Amazon instead. There is something about small businesses having this kind of arrogance then whining about people purchasing from chains. Here's an idea - if I'm the customer, let me use the method of payment I wish to use. And as a customer you do not give me an "earful", ever, or you will immediately and permanently lose my business and I will spread the word far and wide about your rudeness.

It's just like greengroceries and bakers that open Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm and maybe Saturday morning and wonder why I dont shop there.

It wouldn't hurt her to say "I'm sorry, but because of costs we have a minimum payment of £10 on cards, but you can find a cash machine over the road", which would be the way to retain the business. But far too many small business owners think that everything should be on their terms - sorry, that's not how it works.

 

[Modron]

Had the same experience at a Garden Centre near Church Village once:

I ordered a Coffee and some Welsh Cakes, but I had forgotten to bring money with me (having been 'jumped' at an ATM years ago, I don't like to carry money around with me) and asked if I could use a card.

The girl behind the counter went full blown nuclear on me, so I just replied firmly 'forget it, this will be the last time I come here.'

If they had said 'we can't accept card transactions here under £x, but there is a cash point up the road', that wouldn't have been a problem.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Had the same experience at a Garden Centre near Church Village once:

I ordered a Coffee and some Welsh Cakes, but I had forgotten to bring money with me (having been 'jumped' at an ATM years ago, I don't like to carry money around with me) and asked if I could use a card.

The girl behind the counter went full blown nuclear on me, so I just replied firmly 'forget it, this will be the last time I come here.'

If they had said 'we can't accept card transactions here under £x, but there is a cash point up the road', that wouldn't have been a problem.

Precisely this. With the one exception of the customer having been rude first (by which I mean sworn, insulting or raised their voice; making an unreasonable request is not being rude and the request should simply be politely declined with a polite explanation of why it is unreasonable and what alternatives might be possible that might also satisfy the customer[1]), there is no excuse, ever for a business proprietor or member of staff to be rude to a customer, and any business whose staff are rude deserves for their business to fail.

Unfortunately, it does seem to be small businesses who predominantly are rude to customers. In particular, the likes of cafes and coffee shops who are then bothered when the customer goes to Costalottabucks instead.

[1] Such as explaining that they can't accept card due to the cost but where the nearest cash machine is, and offering to keep the product ready for the customer on their return.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

It isn't an overall case of being opposed but more a case of being denied the choice not to - which is what many of the advocates of such forms of payment espouse (i.e. this will spell the end of cash). Switch off the power supply for a while and see how knackered card payments become. Cash will always be required as a fallback option.