going cashless

[Smallsteps]

I was watching Tv and saw on a news program the Tampa Bay Rays stadium will be now cashless.
There are more and more situations like buying drinks etc on airlines and other examples.
Now I have nothing against this in general but am fascinated by ALL the reasoning. …...Most say to cut transaction time I guess so employees don't have to make change etc.
honestly if a card or other payment method has a issue it very time consuming.

My only thought is the Real motivator may be to hire those who simply can't make change or perhaps worried about sticky fingers etc.
Not exactly a PC answer if asked why a place is going cashless.
Now i wonder about the reality.... many debt reduction plans suggest only carrying the cash needed to stop people from over spending it.

[disneysteve]

I had a thread a while ago asking "Who doesn't carry cash?" and I was shocked by how many people here do not. The reality is that a great many people no longer carry cash on them routinely. Everything is paid for with debit or credit, Apple Pay, or other electronic means. Money is exchanged between individuals with Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal. Stores and restaurants often don't' even have cash registers anymore. They have an iPad with a card scanner attached. We were in Virginia last year and passed a restaurant that had a sign on the door that they do not accept cash. I looked at their website and they explained how much money and time it saves them no longer having to deal with cash. I'll see if I can find that info again. It was pretty interesting.

Not surprisingly, Visa has pushed for this to be a thing. https://thepointsguy.com/2017/07/vis...s-restaurants/

[disneysteve]

http://fortune.com/2017/09/14/sweetgreen-cashless/

This is the place we saw in Virginia, Sweetgreen. This is just one of many articles you can find if you do a quick search on cashless restaurants.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

But then when places only take cash you remember.

[disneysteve]

But then when places only take cash you remember.

I always carry cash but I rarely use it. I just believe in being prepared for everything.

[scfr]

This makes me kind of sad, because it will make life harder or less enjoyable for people who, for whatever reason, either shouldn't or can't use anything but cash. My brother, who has an intellectual disability, has not been able to successfully use anything but an all-cash, allowance-type system. When I treated him to a sporting event a few years ago, he was so proud to treat me to a beer. If he hadn't been able to use cash, he wouldn't have been able to do that, or he would have had to ask me to pay and then give me the cash, which would have taken the magic out of pulling out his wallet to pay for that overpriced brew with his own money.

[disneysteve]

This makes me kind of sad, because it will make life harder or less enjoyable for people who, for whatever reason, either shouldn't or can't use anything but cash.

There are a number of articles suggesting that businesses going cashless is elitist and keeps out certain customers who may be seen as less desirable like lower income folks who are "unbanked" and don't have debit or credit cards. It may also keep out young people who may not have bank accounts and cards yet. Why shouldn't a 16-year-old be able to go into a restaurant with a few friends and have lunch?

Personally, I'm fine with places going cashless as we use a credit card everywhere we can, but I can see where it would be an issue for others.

[Smallsteps]

I rarely have cash so this would not impact me but as was mentioned before there are people whom have issues with tracking their spending when using cards etc.

I had a close friend who once told me she does not have any credit card. because she had trouble not overspending. I can see the freedom for business to not have to count and track cash and deposits as well. I remember the reverse when I had to check if places took cards, but I do think this is excluding a lot of people .

[disneysteve]

I see both sides for sure but ultimately if you are going to limit yourself to cash only in 2019, you need to accept that there will be things you just can’t do. Try renting a car with cash, for example. A number of restaurants like Panera let you do mobile ordering and just walk in and pick up your order, but you need to pay on the app. No cash involved. No cashier involved because you pay on the app.

[corn18]

I've had the same $60 in my wallet for about 6 months now. With an unlimited 2.5% cash back credit on everything, we make more money using the credit card.

[Like2Plan]

I remember when we used to pay for our groceries using a check. Then, we received an offer from a credit card with an incentive to use it for groceries. We used to get funny looks for using a CC for groceries when we started using it, but it is pretty common now. It took very little to alter our behavior (getting an incentive to use the plastic), but that has been our favored payment method ever since.
The funny thing is there is a generation that has grown up using plastic and using cash is alien to them. But, there are still some places that insist on cash and that exception can be a real PITA if you don't have cash available. I'm trying to think of the last time we had to use cash--it might have been VinnieVanGoGo's in Savannah, GA https://www.vinnievangogo.com/

[Fishindude77]

I prefer to using cash vs a card and use it for most of my day to day spending. We use cards for gas, mail orders and large retail purchases, but everything else; dining, groceries, and incidental daily purchases are cash. Always carry several hundred dollars cash and keep a good stash in a secure location at home. It's not uncommon for the mom & pop restaurants around here to be cash only, no cards.

[msomnipotent]

I have been using cash a lot more this past year. I'm tired of having my info stolen because stores can't protect it. If they can't be bothered to take a few extra seconds to count change, I really don't think that they would be bothered to do much to protect your credit card info, either. That would save them a lot of time, too.

I was surprised how many places only took cash in New Orleans. It was kind of refreshing.

[disneysteve]

I have been using cash a lot more this past year. I'm tired of having my info stolen because stores can't protect it. If they can't be bothered to take a few extra seconds to count change, I really don't think that they would be bothered to do much to protect your credit card info, either.

Probably the single largest data breach was Experian, which affected nearly every American with a credit record. Yes, there have been breaches at Target and Starwood Hotels and other places, but not using your card really doesn't greatly reduce your risk. We had a Chase Visa account breached for a card that we never used and didn't even carry with us. The card never left the house. Still, some hacker somewhere managed to get the account info and made fraudulent charges. If you have a credit card, you're at risk whether you use that card or not.

[disneysteve]

I was surprised how many places only took cash in New Orleans.

That's really surprising being a big tourist town.