Surprised that some people pay for everything by card

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I don't know if you're being ironic or not, but the amount of people I see who carry large wads of cash with them has always baffled me.

Have you ever measured the combined thickness of 10 x £20 notes when they are dispensed? I suppose what you describe as "large wads of cash" and what I describe as "just loose change" for describing exactly the same amount of money is something that will just have to settle to disagree upon. I was most certainly not being ironic and I have never had any trouble in having cash accepted at places such as Hoopers at Wilmslow and at many other such places that we so frequent. These days, £200 is no great amount of money at all.

 

[Tom B]

Have you ever measured the combined thickness of 10 x £20 notes when they are dispensed? I suppose what you describe as "large wads of cash" and what I describe as "just loose change" for describing exactly the same amount of money is something that will just have to settle to disagree upon. I was most certainly not being ironic and I have never had any trouble in having cash accepted at places such as Hoopers at Wilmslow and at many other such places that we so frequent. These days, £200 is no great amount of money at all.

Perhaps not, but it's still not the sort of money most people would carry on their person on a normal day. Unless they were, say, a builder making a lot of payments for supplies or something along those lines.

 

[Failed Unit]

Have you ever measured the combined thickness of 10 x £20 notes when they are dispensed? I suppose what you describe as "large wads of cash" and what I describe as "just loose change" for describing exactly the same amount of money is something that will just have to settle to disagree upon. I was most certainly not being ironic and I have never had any trouble in having cash accepted at places such as Hoopers at Wilmslow and at many other such places that we so frequent. These days, £200 is no great amount of money at all.

A Wad of cash does seem to hit the parts that other methords don't reach when buying a big ticket item such as a car. I have always got a bigger discount on cars when you can hit them with crisp £10 notes even over cheques. ( although I suspect the clearing time will be a factor here as well)

 

[Metrailway]

I primarily use cash. I prefer it over card.

I don't understand why more places can't take cards! It won't be long until all the major supermarkets take contactless payments, not sure if it's just the massive transactions you can get going through them that stops them doing so currently. Contactless is a million times quicker than chip and pin, although admittedly at least 75% of the time when I go to do so in my regular Costa outlets it doesn't like it and insists on entering a pin. Same for my local Spoons, although that's more like 40% of the time.

My bold

Because it costs more for business to take a payment by card than it does by cash.

If you are paying by debit card, the cost is around 9p to large businesses per transaction. For independent retailers, the debit card cost is around 20p per transaction which wipes out nearly all of their profit margin.

Credit cards are usually even more expensive.

Compare this to cash, where banking, transportation, security and other costs are usually far less than the 9p debit card charges.

Businesses who get large numbers of low value transactions (i.e your grocers, pubs, book stores etc) would generally prefer you to pay by cash.

A Wad of cash does seem to hit the parts that other methords don't reach when buying a big ticket item such as a car. I have always got a bigger discount on cars when you can hit them with crisp £10 notes even over cheques. ( although I suspect the clearing time will be a factor here as well)

If it is a significant discount, it is likely that the cash misses the books and they are dodging VAT & Corporation Tax.

 

[muz379]

Have you ever measured the combined thickness of 10 x £20 notes when they are dispensed? I suppose what you describe as "large wads of cash" and what I describe as "just loose change" for describing exactly the same amount of money is something that will just have to settle to disagree upon. I was most certainly not being ironic and I have never had any trouble in having cash accepted at places such as Hoopers at Wilmslow and at many other such places that we so frequent. These days, £200 is no great amount of money at all.

Surely £200 not being a great amount of money is really subjective and depends massively on someones earnings and or wealth .

I personally dont think that £200 is a lot of money in the grand scheme of things , but on the flip side its not an amount of money I would want to loose which is why I wont carry that much money unless its for a specific purpose . The most cash I probably regularly carry is about £40

 

[Techniquest]

Interesting point, hadn't considered that. I also note the point previously made about it being a card issue with my Costa visits, shall be asking about it on Tuesday when I need to go to the bank!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
As for a wad of £20 notes not being a lot of money,well it's around a third of my average, non-seasonal pay so to me it is a lot of money!

 

[Hadders]

From a retailers point of view a debit card transaction usually costs a fixed fee to process. A credit card transaction is usually a % of the total.

Cash appears to be cheaper but to get a true like for like comparison you have to consider the cost of processing the cash, ie:

The labour involved in counting and reconciling it in the store
The cost of having it collected by a cash in transit company
The cost of getting change delivered to the store
The cost of cash shortages and forged notes (this can be a significant amount for multiple retailers).

So accepting cash isn't free, I'd say on balance that card payments cost less for retailers.

 

[Tom B]

Indeed - remember businesses have to pay for their banking! Also there's a lower risk of staff fraud. Reconciling a till with card transactions is presumably easy as you marry up the figure on the till to the figure on the card machine! I know my local express supermarket won't take cash at manned tills after 10pm as they cash them up then and just take card payments (cash users being directed to those vile self service machines) which presumably takes seconds to reconcile at the end of the night.

 

[Metrailway]

From a retailers point of view a debit card transaction usually costs a fixed fee to process. A credit card transaction is usually a % of the total.

Cash appears to be cheaper but to get a true like for like comparison you have to consider the cost of processing the cash, ie:

The labour involved in counting and reconciling it in the store
The cost of having it collected by a cash in transit company
The cost of getting change delivered to the store
The cost of cash shortages and forged notes (this can be a significant amount for multiple retailers).

So accepting cash isn't free, I'd say on balance that card payments cost less for retailers.

Indeed - remember businesses have to pay for their banking! Also there's a lower risk of staff fraud. Reconciling a till with card transactions is presumably easy as you marry up the figure on the till to the figure on the card machine!

You guys better tell that to the BRC, the representative for large retailers in Britain, who in most of their literature tend to contrast the low transaction costs of cash (which includes all the costs above) with the high transaction costs of card.

I currently work with small businesses, and many of them moan about the high merchant charges they incur.

 

[DaleCooper]

An anecdote to justify my views on this:

A couple of months ago I was in Hobbycraft where they had a sign saying they were unable to process card payments, not problem for me of course but everyone else had to go across the road to a cash machine.

I must admit I am a card person and rarely have more that £10 on me. I wonder which the gaurd prefers. More cards = lighter pockets and less risk of assult.

Regarding the risk of being mugged, I would think a mobile phone or tablet is more of a target than a few quid in your pocket.

Just thought of a few more reasons for carrying cash (or not, depending on your point of view) - charity collections, poppy day, or a whip round at work because someone's leaving. I also carry cash for car parks because I don't want to faff around paying by phone, which isn't always available anyway. Then of course there's bus fares, as not everyone has a smartcard, and supermarket trolleys.

 

[PermitToTravel]

Had £1.50 in cash earlier...

 

[northwichcat]

I will use my card for even the small transactions because I benefit from reward points which are given to me by my card issuer for every £1 I spend. And yes I have used it to buy a single item from the pound shop!

I have a credit card which offers me 2,500 points per annum plus 1 point for every £1 I spend on it. 2,000 points can be traded in for a £10 voucher. Since getting it I put most spending on my credit card. The main exception being any flights/hotels where there is a surcharge for paying by credit card.

I find occasions when I'm at the till with a choice of paying for a small transaction like £2.30 with a £10 note or by card. Sometimes shops don't like you paying for small transactions with £10 note, especially if they are low/out of £5 notes
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Perhaps not, but it's still not the sort of money most people would carry on their person on a normal day. Unless they were, say, a builder making a lot of payments for supplies or something along those lines.

I saw my most surprising transaction last year in Rome. An American tourist bought a few slices of pizza for a few Euros, to pay he pulled out a 100 Euro note!

I got a 50 Euro note when exchanging money and all the rest were 5s, 10s and 20s. I thought it would be best to save the 50 for paying the hotel for my meals and city tax when I left, which would be the largest transaction I would make while there.

Obviously Americans think differently to me!

 

[Kite159]

Had £1.50 in cash earlier... View attachment 21752

5p is good, 1p is better.

I once had a tesco price promise voucher which was 1p less than what I was buying (a newspaper I recall), only had a £10 note in my wallet at the time, so putting the remaining penny on my credit card. Saves breaking a note for such a small amount.

As Hadders said, cash costs more to process for some retailers than card, due to the costs involved in dealing and banking said cash.

 

[jon0844]

I pay by cash purely because I can never remember my PIN. It's kind of embarrassing really.

It's 1234. Same as mine.

 

[ainsworth74]

It's 1234. Same as mine.

Hello this is your bank. We're concerned that your card may have become compromised. If you could just provide us with the long number on the front of the card, the three digits on the back and the expiration date and confirm your full name for us we'll just double check that this hasn't happened.

 

[northwichcat]

One day when I was in the bank someone at the next window was asked to insert their card in the machine. The cashier then said "Can you enter your PIN." They replied "No. It's on a sticker on the card and I can't see it now I've put it in the machine." :roll:

 

[Starmill]

I dislike carrying change, so if purchasing onboard I will offer the conductor either the lowest suitable note I have or a card payment. They usually choose the note, but if they're low on change there's the option there.

 

[DaleCooper]

With all these people relying on card payments it's a good job the banks' computer systems never go down.

 

[Techniquest]

Oh they do! Barclays' lot went down a few months ago for a couple of hours, really screwed over a lot of people that morning!

Natwest have the same thing happen occasionally too, which also has a tendancy to really mess people up!

Thankfully it doesn't last long but when it happens it's a nightmare to deal with.

 

[PermitToTravel]

Just need to keep accounts with a few different banks

 

[DaleCooper]

Oh they do! Barclays' lot went down a few months ago for a couple of hours, really screwed over a lot of people that morning!

Natwest have the same thing happen occasionally too, which also has a tendancy to really mess people up!

Thankfully it doesn't last long but when it happens it's a nightmare to deal with.

Yes, I was being sarcastic.

 

[Techniquest]

Didn't notice the sarcasm earlier, although in my defence I was very tired!

 

[RJ]

I will use my card for even the small transactions because I benefit from reward points which are given to me by my card issuer for every £1 I spend. And yes I have used it to buy a single item from the pound shop!

Same here, everything goes on the card for this reason. For places that don't accept Amex, I use Visa/Mastercards card which I bought with Amex, circumventing any activation fees. I'll keep doing so until they shut all the loopholes for churning/manufactured spending

 

[Crossover]

I personally tend to pay small values with cash and larger items by card. I always like to keep a bit of cash on me regardless (not withstanding the lunch places at work are most definitely cash only anyway) just in case there was an issue. Of course we all know that the banks aren't infallible when it comes to keeping these things working, and I have in the past had my card randomly decline when buying tickets at a ticket office (normally works) and paid by cash - card worked fine later in the day.

I also tend to keep track of card spend, so it saves me collecting a wad of receipts for card expenditure, especially ones for "silly" amounts

A Wad of cash does seem to hit the parts that other methords don't reach when buying a big ticket item such as a car. I have always got a bigger discount on cars when you can hit them with crisp £10 notes even over cheques. ( although I suspect the clearing time will be a factor here as well)

I have come across a couple of places recently that would no longer accept cash over £1,000 or Bankers Drafts at all as payment for a vehicle - had to be BACS, CHAPS or Debit Card

 

[Busaholic]

I personally tend to pay small values with cash and larger items by card. I always like to keep a bit of cash on me regardless (not withstanding the lunch places at work are most definitely cash only anyway) just in case there was an issue. Of course we all know that the banks aren't infallible when it comes to keeping these things working, and I have in the past had my card randomly decline when buying tickets at a ticket office (normally works) and paid by cash - card worked fine later in the day.

I also tend to keep track of card spend, so it saves me collecting a wad of receipts for card expenditure, especially ones for "silly" amounts



I have come across a couple of places recently that would no longer accept cash over £1,000 or Bankers Drafts at all as payment for a vehicle - had to be BACS, CHAPS or Debit Card

When I bought my last car three years ago, from a reputable dealer where I'd bought a previous car, a notice made it clear that no cash transaction over £2,000 could be accepted from anyone due to anti- money laundering regulations.

 

[Crossover]

When I bought my last car three years ago, from a reputable dealer where I'd bought a previous car, a notice made it clear that no cash transaction over £2,000 could be accepted from anyone due to anti- money laundering regulations.

The most recent one I came across was more recent, again a reputable dealer, and aside from money laundering, also cited staff safety, after someone got assaulted whilst taking the money to the bank (on the latter, I have heard of company's who have, even many years ago, randomised the times and of the people who do the bank runs to try and prevent such issues

 

[PermitToTravel]

Or, like large businesses, hire a security firm to do that for them - it's mostly security theatre and flashiness, but they're insured for that sort of thing.

 

[monsento]

with the deals i get on my card im tempted to shunt as much through my card as poss, in about 129 years ill have a free flight, its a little better than that, credit, debit etc, i only keep my oyster as a backup now! contactless the future is alive today!

 

[WestCoast]

I used to use my cards all the time in the UK (contactless and the rewards points were great!), but Germany still lies in the transaction dark ages and most prefer cash. Many shops only take "EC-cards" or "V-Pay" which are like basic debit cards attached to a current account you find in continental countries. Sometimes they'll only take credit cards (onboard trains!). You often have to pay a small monthly fee for your bank account and you can only withdraw cash from your bank or a partner of your bank, without paying a fee. Manual bank transfers you have to set-up are very common for online transactions. The concept of paying by card in a restaurant, bar, kiosk or taxi is somewhat alien. Contactless and cashback? Rare. It's a pain to carry cash, but I realise what I'm spending and I feel that's why it's so.

In Sweden they use their cards and contactless cards for everything though!

 

[RJ]

with the deals i get on my card im tempted to shunt as much through my card as poss, in about 129 years ill have a free flight, its a little better than that, credit, debit etc, i only keep my oyster as a backup now! contactless the future is alive today!

To get free flights, the idea is that you take advantage of bonus points offers when they come up. Points based rewards on non-Amex cards don't tend to be worth the time, unless you can rinse and repeat without triggering any anti-laundering traps.