The end of cash?

[MBV]

I remember people stuffing a fiver into the bus coin slot as they had no change and looking pissed off.

When did buses stop giving change? 20 yrs ago?

 

[Winot]

That reminds me of the many times I was caught out by busses in Bristol due not having small enough change. Could be a nightmare at times especially during peak travel time.

Much faster boarding now.

 

[marty21]

I remember people stuffing a fiver into the bus coin slot as they had no change and looking pissed off.

When did buses stop giving change? 20 yrs ago?

I don't think I've ever used cash on a London bus - and I've been using them since 1989 - it has been , travel card- oyster-contactless

 

[BristolEcho]

I remember people stuffing a fiver into the bus coin slot as they had no change and looking pissed off.

When did buses stop giving change? 20 yrs ago?

We've only had card payments in Bristol for the last 4 years I think.

 

[Serge Forward]

i have always found it weird how in the UK the 50 quid note has never taken off as a normal thing, seeing one is rare, i don't think i've ever used one, perhaps seen them a dozen times in my entire life. but in Europe using a €50 note is totally normal, it's often the standard note given by ATMs (which often don't have €20 notes, and NEVER have tens or fives) - and in the US it's similar, using a $50 or even $100 note is not a big deal, happens quite regularly. i wonder why that is.

I gather there's quite a lot of snide £50s in circulation.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

i have always found it weird how in the UK the 50 quid note has never taken off as a normal thing, seeing one is rare, i don't think i've ever used one, perhaps seen them a dozen times in my entire life. but in Europe using a €50 note is totally normal, it's often the standard note given by ATMs (which often don't have €20 notes, and NEVER have tens or fives) - and in the US it's similar, using a $50 or even $100 note is not a big deal, happens quite regularly. i wonder why that is.

When I left a job in 2013, my colleagues had a whip round and on my last day presented me with some chocolates and a £50 note! That's the only time I've ever possessed one. I got it changed though, as lots of places wouldn't accept it.

 

[Chz]

I don't think I've ever used cash on a London bus - and I've been using them since 1989 - it has been , travel card- oyster-contactless

London buses stopped taking cash at all in 2014, but they did stop giving change, IIRC, at some point before then.

 

[DotCommunist]

I got on the bus with a 20 the other day and rcieved an 18 quid change voucher. Annoying.

 

[liquidindian]

I used to work as a teller for the Royal Bank and even then only rarely saw the £100 note they apparently still issue.

I would not want to try and spend one down here.

 

[ska invita]

Was in a Mcdonalds today, card only and only scab tills!!

 

[Winot]

I don't think I've ever used cash on a London bus - and I've been using them since 1989 - it has been , travel card- oyster-contactless

You could also (pre-Oyster) buy books of coupons for cashless journeys.

 

[xenon]

I don't think I've ever used cash on a London bus - and I've been using them since 1989 - it has been , travel card- oyster-contactless

I did win getting the bus to school, early 90s. Well if the conductor on the 137 remembered to collect. Then quite sometime later, they started putting the machines in at bus stops. But I’ve had a bus pass from the mid 90s onwards. A disability perk. Which is great works everywhere well within metropolitan areas.

 

[liquidindian]

Was in a Mcdonalds today, card only and only scab tills!!

God I wish that was the way when I worked there. Nothing worse than a customer striding confidently up to the till, and staring up at the menu. "Ummmmmm....I'll haaaaaaave......"

 

[ska invita]

God I wish that was the way when I worked there. Nothing worse than a customer striding confidently up to the till, and staring up at the menu. "Ummmmmm....I'll haaaaaaave......"

yes the logic is sound - and thats why this is coming for so many businesses

 

[DotCommunist]

God I wish that was the way when I worked there.

if it was you wouldn't have worked there on account of being replaced by the machine.

 

[ska invita]

if it was you wouldn't have worked there on account of being replaced by the machine.

tbf theres still jobs round the back heating up food and shouting out order numbers and a bit of tidying

 

[liquidindian]

if it was you wouldn't have worked there on account of being replaced by the machine.

It's fully automated?

 

[moochedit]

Was in a Mcdonalds today, card only and only scab tills!!

the mackie dees near me has scab tills that are card only but you can still go up to the counter and pay cash if you want. Or if you have a car you can use the drive through where you can pay cash or card. Not seen a branch that is 100% card only.

 

[8ball]

I remember people stuffing a fiver into the bus coin slot as they had no change and looking pissed off.

When did buses stop giving change? 20 yrs ago?

In London, I guess.

 

[Flavour]

this has been the norm in Japan for ages, having a sort of vending machine at the front of an eatery where you place your order and pay in advance (probs also with cash an option, being Japan) and then you just hand the ticket to the guy who makes the food. no waiters. i saw this all over the place in the sort of lower end casual eateries.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I like cash for a couple of reasons:

• It's easy to budget your money when you're looking directly at it. You can get a few envelopes and put the needed cash in each one and label it.
• Its non-trackable for the most part. You can pay a laborer under the counter and you're both happy. You because you got the job done cheaper and the jobber happy because they don't have to pay tax on it. Cash makes all kinds of under the table transactions easier, which is why we're all being shifted away from it.
• Using cashless payments can get difficult. I pay some of my bills online and my gas bill made me jump through hoops to set up an account and promptly locked me out of it. I'm still trying to get into it to pay the bills a couple months later.

I guess I'm getting old. I miss the old days of elegant department stores that had little banks in them that would happily cash your check. Then, going to the tearoom and getting something cheap and filling, served by ladies in pink uniforms.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Everything being electronic has its downsides, certainly, but can you explain this?

Some older people just can't cope with computers and smartphones and have no desire to learn. My mother is 87 and couldn't cope with paying her bills now. I do it for her. She uses cash for groceries and incidentals.

 

[weltweit]

I like cash.

I like to have some notes and coins in my wallet. Gives me options!

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

We don’t disagree with these points, and many in the UK agree: 36% believe that a cashless society would reduce crime.

Or, to put it another way, two thirds of the public aren't daft enough to fall for this argument.

As for lost tax revenues from undeclared cash payments, again the vast majority of taxdodging is done 'legitimately' and out in the open with no cash involved.

Prostitution services regularly take payment by card. They just label their business as something else.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I wonder if there was all this fuss when we moved to bank notes. Or from barter....

A lot of people still use barter, me included.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

And by making sure that cash is increasingly inconvenient.

One thing that anti-civ people point out is that technology starts out being optional, until its mandatory.

 

[moochedit]

this has been the norm in Japan for ages, having a sort of vending machine at the front of an eatery where you place your order and pay in advance (probs also with cash an option, being Japan) and then you just hand the ticket to the guy who makes the food. no waiters. i saw this all over the place in the sort of lower end casual eateries.

The mackie dees scab tills are touch screens with card readers. You place your order and get a receipt with your order no. No need to give receipt to staff they call your number when it is ready. Or you have option of selecting table delivery.

 

[Flavour]

The mackie dees scab tills are touch screens with card readers. You place your order and get a receipt with your order no. No need to give receipt to staff they call your number when it is ready. Or you have option of selecting table delivery.

this innovation of having the order number sent directly to staff in kitchen has probably been implemented elsewhere tbf

 

[8ball]

A lot of people still use barter, me included.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

???