How often do you use cash as opposed to some digital option (debit/credit card)?

Discussion in 'Business & Economics' started by Seattle, Feb 24, 2021.

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How often do you use cash as opposed to some digital form (debit/credit card)?

  1. I use cash all of the time

    9.1%
  2. I use cash most of the time

    18.2%
  3. I use cash only about 20% of the time

    18.2%
  4. I rarely use cash

    54.5%
  5. I never use cash

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Seattle Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,857
    Bitcoin is in the news a lot these days, which is a privately issued source of value. Now Central Banks are looking into offering a digital currency. For many, I suspect, we are already living in a largely cashless society.

    I have a few paper bills in my wallet but they have probably been there a year or more without being used. I think the last time I used any paper money was at a fast food drive-thru, maybe a year or so ago.

    My debit card is mainly what I use along with the occasional use of a credit card to be paid off online at the end of the month. I rarely use stamps or checks for anything either. I do everything online.

    Not having to deal with a pocket full of change is what finally drove me to just quit using physical money as I recall.

    How about you? How often do you use paper money or coins?
     
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  3. exchemist Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,454
    In the UK, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has driven much cash out of use in everyday transactions. Touchless swiping of credit or debit cards has become dominant, due to being obviously less likely to spread disease than handling cash. Before the epidemic would say I was using a card about 60% of the time, but now it is over 90%. I don't actually think I need cash at all, except for the market stall where I sometimes buy greengroceries, to keep a pound coin in my wallet for unlocking the supermarket trolley - and to pay my cleaning lady, who prefers cash for reasons we need not go into.

    But I am not clear why you mention digital currencies in this context.
     
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  5. Sarkus Hippomonstrosesquippedalo phobe Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    10,359
    I use Debit card almost exclusively. And contrary to what I thought when it first arrived, now almost exclusively contactless (unless the limit prevents) thanks to the pandemic.

    Even our sports team has switched from paying match-fees in cash to paying online, which is a hassle for the club Treasurer (me) trying to reconcile as the money drips into the account, rather than all collected on the day. (But hey, we're playing sports!!

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  7. Jeeves Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,089
    I use cash about twice a week, to buy eggs at a local farm. I get cash only for that purpose and only from the deposit on beer cans and wine bottles. Everywhere else, I tap my points credit card (paid off promptly every month; have never paid interest) or debit card; a few bills are paid by cheque, most accounts on line.
    I've never had occasion to hide my assets or make clandestine transactions of any kind.
    B(efore) C(ovid), I used cash at farmer's markets, craft fairs, book sales, convenience and thrift stores. I hope to do so again, AC.
     
  8. billvon Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    21,635
    To give to beggars and to pay for parking at the local trailhead - those are the only two ways I use cash these days. (I also have some in a safe, just in case we have to evacuate and need to take money with us, or the power goes out in the area.)
     
  9. Seattle Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,857
    Digital currencies offered by a country's Central Bank is similar in context to the cashless society we seem to be in. It's not blockchain technology of course.
     
  10. exchemist Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,454
    OK, but the - presumably not digital- currencies we have today work perfectly well on cards and internet banks transfers, don't they? How would a digital currency be different and in what respects would they be better?
     
  11. Sarkus Hippomonstrosesquippedalo phobe Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    10,359
    You'd save on the cost of the mints.

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  12. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    9,253
    Rarely use cash...cash app or Apple pay, depending on where it's accepted.
     
  13. Seattle Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,857
    I didn't personally say they would or wouldn't be better. I was just stating the facts that the Central Banks are looking into it as a result of the popularity of Bitcoin in part.

    I'm not an expert on this matter. It does have the potential to lower costs for the system as a whole which would pass though to everyone. It can clear transactions almost instantaneously, unlike the present system. It's more transparent. From the governments point of view it's harder for illegal transactions to occur and therefore it's better for tax collecting.
     
  14. exchemist Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,454
    OK. After a bit of hunting around I came across this paper from the Bank of England that goes into it a bit: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/m...hash=DFAD18646A77C00772AF1C5B18E63E71F68E4593

    In Box 1 of this paper there is a summary of the 3 kinds of money in a modern economy: (1) banknotes, guaranteed by the central bank, (2) bank deposits, guaranteed up to a set value by the bank concerned, and (3) central bank reserves. It looks as if people using credit or debit cards, or making payments by bank transfer, are using (2), bank deposits.

    The paper goes on to look at the possible ways a digital currency could work, but it is far from clear to me what practical difference (aside from the risk of losing bank deposits in a major bank failure) it would make to people like myself, for the card and bank transfer payments we use in daily life.
     
  15. Jeeves Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    5,089
    Another consideration is load on the electric grid and satellite capability. All those banks of servers in super-secure, climate-controlled, dust-free bunkers are using a god-awful amount of energy. I realize much of their bandwidth is used on sending videos of people's lunches, pratfalls, cats and genitalia to one another, but currency transfers also account for quite a lot.
     
  16. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    It depends on what i'm buying, and from whom.
    Imho credit card companies are such whores that they'll sell your information to almost anybody.

    If I wish to keep some of my transactions private, i use cash
    and
    some people offer a cash discount
    and some people prefer cash
    over the years, many of my helpers have preferred to be paid with cash
    during those times, I mostly use cash(probably about 90% of my expenditures)
     
  17. Seattle Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,857
    I'll read the paper. It's 57 pages so I'll get back to you on the details after I've read it. It may turn out that digital currency wouldn't make any difference to you in your life.

    I noticed that the paper started out stating that this paper would be about retail digital currency and not its use in speeding up financial clearing from trades (which would be another use of it).

    That would be a good thing to accomplish however (trade clearing). I just moved a fairly large sum of cash from a brokerage account to my local checking account. I made the request yesterday and received confirmation but nothing happened online. Today I checked that account and it shows those funds gone from my records (as it should).

    When I check my bank account online it doesn't show that it has arrived there. The system has up to two days to do this. It's a weird feeling however to see a large chuck of one account missing but no change to the destination account.

    With digital currency this would happen almost instantaneously. Even without digital currency a system could be designed so that there isn't this kind of delay. If the transfer was via wire instead of electronic funds transfer it could happen much faster although there would still be a clearing period even after it showed that it had arrived.

    There is a lot of room for improvement in the system in this regard.

    Regarding all the other "features" of digital currency, I'm interested in learning because I haven't really followed it all that carefully up till now. I'll read the paper you linked to.
     
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  18. Seattle Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,857
    I read though the paper. It's kind of vague (and boring). I think their main concern is that something like Bitcoin could compete with the pound and interfere with monetary policy and stability so they want to get it on it to prevent that, depending on how it's implemented it could reduce the role of private/commercial banks and reduce the risks for consumers by dealing directly with the central bank with digital transactions that don't involve the "middleman" and that inherent risk.

    Other than that I guess we have to wait and see what digital currency form they decide on.
     
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  19. exchemist Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,454
    Thanks for saving me the trouble. I only read the first bit to find out what they meant by digital currency.

    It seems very technical and not something that would affect the consumer much, though I suppose it would eliminate the risk of bank deposits >£85k going up in a puff of smoke if there were to be a bank failure. And no doubt it would speed some transactions up, as you indicate.
     
  20. RainbowSingularity Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    7,447
    global banking networks caught with their pants down & their lips firmly kissing the asses of politicians asleep at the wheel playing "hide at home/work from home.vote from home. dont change your vote games.

    now what ?
    bitcoin wars ?
    banking channel wars ?

    old world stuck in the past arrogance & ignorance with too much power

    now what ?

    hopeless as kisser head up own ass policy cranks talking "cant change things" nonsense ?
    just to line their own nests & power systems ?

    too late too little !

    what will they do ? go to war against crypto instead of evolving & thinking ahead ?

    what a mockery of those who are supposed to be leading industry
     
  21. Saint Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    4,752
    In Malaysia we have,
    1) Cash 70%
    2) e-wallet 10%
    3) Credit/debit card 20%
     
  22. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,077
    No idea but I did read, in Bali, my electronic version NT News newspaper, one supermarket chain in the southern part of the country has ceased its CARD ONLY payment

    Seems like a lot of cash was being spent elsewhere

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  23. RainbowSingularity Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    7,447
    people probably using stolen cards stolen off tourists
    ten moving the money
    so they were probably laundering through it
    with the help of someone inside the news paper.

    instead of investigating they would have simply closed it & bribed someone to shut up.

    that's my guess

    occam's razor
    or some variant pedo org money launderer
    or maybe someone like interpol or some other org
    asked them why their subscription list happened to contain 90% of a child bride service being run by someone

    thats the nasty cold hard reality of the big bad world

    probably visa or mastercard asked them why more than 10% of all their Credit card transactions had stolen card attempts on them or such like
    so they simply closed down Credit card payments to avoid being investigated
    and they might be hosting some type of tourist land buying organization so use cash money hand t hand subscription to validate real land buyers from over seas as a side cash business

    as you can see there is lots of potential reasons
    my guess is stolen tourist Credit cards turning up on it too much which would mean the local police would get investigated
    and that would be enough to make a change of policy
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2021
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