Scottl
Diamond
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2013
- Location
- Eastern Massachusetts, USA
There is much talk of the benefits of a cashless society. Currently in the U.S. people use a mix of cash, debit cards, credit cards, and cell phone apps. I personally do not (yet) use the last category but understand its appeal.
In more and more municipal parking there are no more parking meters but instead signs with numbers that are used either with an app or a parking kiosk. With the app you can enter the numbers while sitting in your car and the cost will be deducted. It's usually a bit of a walk to the kiosk where you also enter the numbers but they accept cards and cash. No question which is more convenient for users.
Many of us still pay by different methods depending on situation but that may not always be an option. I saw on a news piece that several high end restaurants are no longer accepting cash. That may be fine for them but other businesses think differently. A local coffee shop has a $10 minimum to use a card. There is a sign stating this at the counter. Many of the self-serve gas stations charge a few cents more to use a card. This is because of the fees they must pay the card companies.
I have mixed feeling about this. Apps and cards are more convenient but many lower income people use cash because the prepaid cards cost money to reload and they haven't enough money to have a bank account. IMO the recent disaster in Puerto Rico is a warning about totally eliminating cash. Not only were the networks taken out but power loss was so widespread that almost no one could process credit cards. People had to pay cash and in the places where ATMs still worked there were huge waiting lines and often the cash ran out before everyone was served.
I'm curious how others feel about this and which payment methods you prefer/use and whether you would be comfortable with TOTALLY eliminating cash.
In more and more municipal parking there are no more parking meters but instead signs with numbers that are used either with an app or a parking kiosk. With the app you can enter the numbers while sitting in your car and the cost will be deducted. It's usually a bit of a walk to the kiosk where you also enter the numbers but they accept cards and cash. No question which is more convenient for users.
Many of us still pay by different methods depending on situation but that may not always be an option. I saw on a news piece that several high end restaurants are no longer accepting cash. That may be fine for them but other businesses think differently. A local coffee shop has a $10 minimum to use a card. There is a sign stating this at the counter. Many of the self-serve gas stations charge a few cents more to use a card. This is because of the fees they must pay the card companies.
I have mixed feeling about this. Apps and cards are more convenient but many lower income people use cash because the prepaid cards cost money to reload and they haven't enough money to have a bank account. IMO the recent disaster in Puerto Rico is a warning about totally eliminating cash. Not only were the networks taken out but power loss was so widespread that almost no one could process credit cards. People had to pay cash and in the places where ATMs still worked there were huge waiting lines and often the cash ran out before everyone was served.
I'm curious how others feel about this and which payment methods you prefer/use and whether you would be comfortable with TOTALLY eliminating cash.