Encouraging Card Payments

[Canary42]

Since Covid I've become almost exclusively a Card payer.

When I paid for my newspaper by card this morning at WHS, I got a special offer on the receipt stating that anyone paying by MasterCard at WHS between 15th August and 11th September would generate a meal for a child through the World Food Programme. What a nice idea, so why would I bother with cash.

[MrsCheese]

The government are pushing for a cashless society, you might think yeah that’s a good idea but think on, read about chinas social credit system because that is where cashless is heading. When it’s gone it’s gone.

[emmie]

I find i am using cash less, but there are times when one does need a coin or two. Especially when out and about and get caught short, public loos don't take credit cards as far as i am aware.

[bobbinwales]

I never carry cash apart from paying my barber and if I remember to bring it for a tip if I go out for a meal out
What on earth chinese social credits has to with this Mrs mcheese I don't know but some people like to shoehorn politics or conspiracy theory into anything

[Smowball]

Last time I was in a newsagent I queued up to buy a couple of things & pay by card. The guy in front of me bought a lottery ticket & Ive not bought one for years, so thought I would as well. When it got to my turn I handed over my things to pay, & had my card ready to zap, & I then said oh and a lucky lip please. The cashier said sorry you can’t pay for lottery tickets by card - only cash. So I said oh leave it then as I didn’t have any cash on me. But I never knew that.

[Peter Pedant]

read about chinas social credit system
yeah where?

anyone remember EFTPOS ( 1980s) electronic fund transfer at point of sale ? - a charge of at least 25p so that cash didnt change hands

didnt take off ( rather obviously - I mean who designed such a load of - - - )

[barry1010]

Smow, according to this you can buy lottery tickets and scratch cards from a shop with a credit or debit card https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-and-players/guide/gambling-using-a-credit-card

[Peter Pedant]

yeah
I thought it might be gambling on credit ( not allowed)
but not surprisingly the casino find a way around....

[Canary42]

Bye bye cash.

https://uk.yahoo.com/finance/news/cash-just-five-years-left-050000760.html

[jno]

https://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4?r=US&IR=T

not particularly cash-related but scary anyway.

[barry1010]

A few years ago a woman slipped on something that had been spilt in Tesco, if I remember rightly she broke her hip. She sued Tesco for negligence.
She had been a Tesco customer for many years and always used her Clubcard.
As a defence, Tesco showed the court that going on the information they had gleaned from their Clubcard records, this lady spent an average of £x on alcohol every week and was possibly drunk at the time of the accident.
The court threw this evidence out.

Does anyone else remember that?

[jno]

I don't remember that, barry, but what a ludicrous defence - she had liquor in the house so she was drunk. Whole planets could fall into the black hole of that non sequitur.

[Old_Geezer]

Because it makes sense to "bother" with cash. Both in terms of privacy of what you choose to spend on, and for noting in real time what you are spending.

If WHS really wanted to "generate" a meal for a child through the World Food Programme nothing is stopping them. Clearly that is not their real motivation.

These sort of things are simple manipulation of citizens to do willingly what the company wants them to do. It's exactly the sort of thing to avoid at all costs, before society changes for the worse once again, with little chance of going back to sanity.

These things accumulate like a ratchet, one change is followed by the next until you get where you never intended, disappointed yet unable to reverse.

[choux]

I was waiting in a long queue to pay for my hospital parking ticket on Friday. It took a while for the queue to clear. When the chap 2 in front of me went to pay he fed his ticket into the machine, then fiddled with his smart watch and bent down to show the watch face to the appropriate screen, twice. He straightened up and waited and waited. He repeated his actions and again straightened up. I could feel a smile coming under my face mask. Eventually he got a receipt and his ticket back from the pay station.

The other man in front of me went up and swiped his bank card and waited. He then swiped his card again and, eventually, got his ticket back.

I went up, fed in the ticket and paid the correct cash and got my ticket immediately.. Sorted! Big smile under my mask by then.

[jno]

you were lucky, choux. A while back the next council put in new meters that didn't take credit cards or cash, only phone payments; I didn't have a phone. So I couldn't drive there, I had to go by train taking 60 minutes each way instead of 20 and adding to the borough's pollution.

They've now put in new meters that take credit cards, but still not cash. And it would be cheaper if I had a phone, so they're trying to encourage phone payments, not card ones.

[choux]

Says it all, jno. I took OH yesterday to a photo booth to get the obligatory mug shots for a blue badge. It has changed from the cash payment type to a contactless card one, with a touch screen. We got to the payment screen and I swiped my card. The next screen told me to remove my card - it was already back in my purse. Despite trying to advance or reverse the screen the message stayed there for about 4 minutes. Suddenly the screen moved on, thank the Lord. What a silly system.

[choux]

Canary, you had good reason to be happy to pay by card, well done. I have given 2 examples why I am happier paying cash.

[ducksie]

I like having the choice, cash or card but i don't like cheques, now, they are something I would happily say goodbye to. I was paid recently with a cheque, the runaround i had to do to cash it or have it endorsed to spend it was not worth the wait I had for it (Money won in competition)

[Redhelen72]

I use my card 98% of the time , the only time I can’t is the egg man and the fish man.

[barry1010]

I much prefer paying with card/contactless for my parking - no faffing about making sure I've got enough change; no losing out because the blerdy machine doesn't give change; no rushing back to the car or fretting because I can buy more time wherever I happen to be.

[ducksie]

Barry, having read what choux witnessed the other day in a pay for parking queue, I think cash worked better - her post made me smile

RH, we used to have an egg man call to the house, and the rabbit man (my Mam told us he was selling chicken haha ) pity we don't get that kind of trader anymore