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The Cashless Society? It's Already Coming
HughPickens.com writes Damon Darlin writes in the NYT that Apple pay is revolutionary but not for the reason you think. It isn't going to replace the credit card but it's going to replace the wallet — the actual physical thing crammed with cards, cash, photos and receipts. According to Darlin, when you are out shopping, it's the wallet, not the credit card, that is the annoyance. It's bulky. It can be forgotten, or lost. "I've learned while traipsing about buying stuff with my ApplePay that I can whittle down wallet items that I need to carry to three": A single credit card, for places that have not embraced, but soon will, some form of smartphone payment; a driver's license; and about $20 in cash. Analysts at Forrester Research estimate that over the next five years, US mobile payments will grow to $142 billion, from $3.7 billion this year. "If I were to make a bet, I'd say that 10 years from now the most popular answer from young shoppers about how they make small payments would be: thumbprint. And you'll get a dull shrug when you ask what a wallet is."
> earned while traipsing about buying stuff with my ApplePay that I can whittle down wallet items that I need to carry to three": A single credit card, for places that have not embraced, but soon will, some form of smartphone payment; a driver's license; and about $20 in cash.
Okay... so why is ApplePay required to get down to those 3 items? Surely he can do with just the 3 and no apple pay....
Without a smartphone, it seems that you'd get by with a single credit card, a driver's license; and about $20 in cash.
Where are you going to keep your condoms?
oh yeah... Slashdot, I remember now
I choose to use cash because most of my transactions are one where I do not wish to enter into a relationship with the other party.
Since I don't know how they will use my information, where there will upload it, what third party services they use and since nearly all do not have these answers when I ask, the only way for me to OPT OUT is cash.
I've been 98% cashless since the early 90s and never have more than a few dollars on me at any given time.. I put everything on a credit card and write one check a month to pay for everything. And now I don't even have to write a check, I just go online and make a payment straight out of my bank account to the credit card company. And, because I pay everything off every month it costs me nothing, and, since I'm using a 'cash back' credit card, I get a check for $50 every few months. It's not much but it's free money that I didn't have before. I'm sure the credit card company hates people like me, but fuck'em.
The credit card company loves people like you who evangelize the idea of using your credit card for everything and then paying it off immediately and then earning cashback on it.
Why? Because most of the people you reach with your message will fail to do so correctly, and ultimately will owe the credit card company fees. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
It's just too tempting for most people to say, "Well, this ONE month, I'll pay it late and then get that JetSki I've had my eyes on."
We still have large amounts of grocery stores that still have min purchase $10 EFT due to high transaction charges.
I smell BS lies there from the shop owner being super stingy.
You'd likely be smelling your own statement then.
Merchant fees are killers for small businesses. Even at a minimum $10 per transaction a business is likely losing money on every EFTPOS purchase made.
I used to run a small business, it was not unusual for my EFTPOS costs would dwarf my staff costs. I used to sell computer hardware, so the MSF (Merchant Service Fees) were less of the transaction total costs compared to a cafe but they still hurt. Customers who paid cash or debit were brilliant (and got discounts because of it). MSF's have become a lot better since I was running my business, but they're still big enough to kill a small business.
Heres what a merchant pays:
- Monthly fees (services).
- Monthly fees (terminal).
- Per transaction fees (for debit, usually between $0.20 and $0.50).
- Per transaction fees (for credit, 1-6% depending on bank and card).
- Annual fees (yep, they charge monthly and annual fees).
So ignoring the monthly and annual fees, if you bought a $4 coffee on your credit card, $0.50 at least disappears to the bank, that's pretty much all the profit gone from the sale (and I bet you wonder why things cost so much in Australia).
People who try to force small businesses to accept cards without allowing a surcharge or minimum purchase are killing small businesses in Australia. However one of my favourite cafe's has a solution to people like you. The menu price for a coffee is $4.50 but the "secret" cash price is $4.00, it's a win-win for me and the business.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.