Can people exist without physical Currency? Will this change?

[Pepper]

Does it really matter if an item costs $29.95 in currency or $29.95 via card? Can things happen with electronic transactions? Yes. But what happens if your mattress is stuffed with your life savings in cash, and the house burns down. There are still some transactions that require cash, like buying crack, paying prostitutes, or income tax evasion, etc.
I've been cashless for 20+ years, and if I paid in cash all those years, it wouldn't have benefited me at all. I've saved the cost of stamps and checks.

My bagel store charges $7. for seven bagels. Baker's half dozen. I need my smaller bills for AccessARide, so have been using my CC for which they charge me approx. $7.50, to cover their cost of doing business. Other local merchants do this too, charging the fee they would owe Visa, whatever.

Actually, that never used to be legal in NYState as far as I remember.

Jerry Springer was busted giving a prostitute either a CC or check, forgot which. Was he Mayor of Cincinnati at the time? Don't remember. Think so.

 

[hollydolly]

Since Corona exist several critical influencers on the net. Especially these ones and critics of the German migration politics get their bank accounts cancelled. Even journalists.

The last examples are "Auf1.tv" in Austria and "Kontrafunk" in Germany.

The first one provides daily news at 6 p.m. (Monday to Friday). Their Austrian bank account was terminated, since that time they have a new one in Hungary.

The German "Kontrafunk" is broadcasting the whole day. Only some days ago they also got their bank account cancelled and had to look for another one.

Or Boris Reitschuster, a renowned German journalist, who worked for the magazine "Focus" some years ago. He was a member of the German "Federal Press Conference". He was cast out there, got his bank account terminated and even received death threats. He got away to Montenegro and continues his work from this country.

The banks don't justify their decisions, they just do it.

Perhaps you get it if I do a transfer to the USA. You have the First Amendmend, which guarantees the freedom of speech. Now imagine that journalists like Joe Rogan, Alex Jones or Tucker Carlson (you may like them or not) who criticize the government get their bank accounts cancelled. Exactly this happens in both countries I mentioned.

...and the same here one of our politicians.. Nigel Farage had his Bank account closed when the Eite bank Coutes..didn't agree with his politics...

Nigel Farage Coutts bank scandal - Wikipedia

 

[hollydolly]

Don't get me wrong I use cards just as uch as the next person, however I also use cash wherever possible..I think it's important...

I just don't think that the choice should be removed by the powers that rule us... because as it's already been stated , once they own your money they own your life...

 

[MACKTEXAS]

unfortunately rather than take their custom to the corner shops.. most people ordered online..of course using plastic...

Yes, unfortunate for disappearing corner shops.

 

[Sunny]

I think cash will die a natural death. It's already pretty much happened with coins. How often do you use a penny?

 

[dilettante]

It happens bit by bit. Even paper money was once fully redeemable in gold or in silver upon demand. Take it to a bank and walk out with high value coins. Then even that ended.

The issue with pennies, and soon nickels, is the devaluation of fiat currencies. The metal itself becomes more valuable than the currency value. That's why US pennies went from copper to zinc around 1982.

 

[Nathan]

Paper and coin currency are a burden, credit cards are thin, easy to use. Plus you aren't exposed to the germ load the currency carries.

 

[gruntlabor]

I pay at larger stores by credit card, and get redeemable dollar credits on my MasterCard, but some local restaurants have a 3% surcharge when paying by credit card, and a few local businesses do not accept credit cards at all.

Yes, some don't take credit cards, some won't take a check. Safest to keep all options open and carry all three.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I’m not sure that we are getting our money’s worth to keep a few bucks in our pocket when most of our money is already stored electronically in banks and brokerage houses.

“The 2024 currency operating budget is $1.104 billion. ”

How much does it cost to produce currency and coin?

 

[hollydolly]

Ebay uk..has stopped allowing buyers to pay cash on collection.... now if a buyer is going to come to your home for an item that might be too heavy to post for example.they have to pay digitally into Ebay first....

 

[Jules]

Canada got rid of the penny a dozen years ago. Now I wish they’d get rid of the nickels and dimes. I give the dimes to DH. The lottery seller didn’t want to accept his dimes for a $1 lottery ticket. He made him. If you bring a lot of coin to the bank, you’re expected to roll it. They then crack it open and count it.

 

[Jules]

In a recent American discussion people were complaining about not being able to cash a $100 bill. Too many counterfeits.

 

[Jules]

Their Austrian bank account was terminated,

George, by terminated do you mean closed and they were given their money back? Or all their money was taken from them.

 

[chic]

.I know one person who went off grid to live more freely without the government interfering and you might be surprised how many accept cash in his world which I don't understand. Electronic everything is a trap we all fell into willingly.

 

[dilettante]

In more extreme cases you can find people "bartering" using things like Constitutional ("junk") silver coins at 90% and 40% silver content. Dimes, quarters, halves, dollars minted before silver was eliminated from coinage. There are also things like fine gold CombiBar products that can be snapped off into 1 gram rectangular bits for use.

 

[AnnieA]

Given the wealth gaps across racial and ethnic groups in the US, cashless won't work in the US without some sort of UBI. Demographics in my part of the Deep South are primary black and white with a distant third Hispanic population. At self checkouts here, there are only a few cash machines, most are card only. The majority of people using cash machines are POC which would make going cashless incredibly racist.

More about US unbanked and impoverished.

 

[hollydolly]

In a recent American discussion people were complaining about not being able to cash a $100 bill. Too many counterfeits.

same here..it's incredibly difficult to try and cash a £50 note in this last couple of years...prior to that no problem

 

[Oldeagle66]

I will always carry cash. I know a few out of the way places that only accept cash. Plus it has saved me several times when broke down, lost and other emergencies. Like during the massive power failure in the Midwest and East Coast several years ago. Although the power was out, the store I went to let people buy with cash. I had no problem getting anything while others who only had plastic were out of luck. I learned long ago to keep a bit of everything.

 

[AnnieA]

I will always carry cash. I know a few out of the way places that only accept cash. Plus it has saved me several times when broke down, lost and other emergencies. Like during the massive power failure in the Midwest and East Coast several years ago. Although the power was out, the store I went to let people buy with cash. I had no problem getting anything while others who only had plastic were out of luck. I learned long ago to keep a bit of everything.

Same here for electrical outages (small bills) along with attempting to remember not to let my gas tank go below half.

 

[Oldeagle66]

Yes, unfortunate for disappearing corner shops.

The guys that hangout out side the corner stores and gas stations begging for money don't like it, however I always carry cash and sometimes help them out. A dollar here and there isn't a big deal.

 

[dilettante]

I have yet to see a food retailer that doesn't have everything plastered with "We Take EBT Cards" placards, and I suspect that fast food joints have taken them for quite a while.

 

[Twostep]

...and the same here one of our politicians.. Nigel Farage had his Bank account closed when the Eite bank Coutes..didn't agree with his politics...

Nigel Farage Coutts bank scandal - Wikipedia

If you read the Wiki story his accounts did not satisfy the requirements of being a commercial client; apparently a mortgage was removed. Every bank reserves the right to refuse a client. AML can be tricky and apparently Coutes saw a conflict.

Grass may be legal in many US states. I do not know of one bank which does not refuse this source of income by clients.

 

[Twostep]

George, by terminated do you mean closed and they were given their money back? Or all their money was taken from them.

I pulled the termination letter and General Operating Agreement for Volksbank Prina. Written termination of contract with a 60 day lead as per agreed upon terms. Kontrafunk is begging for donations all over the net.

 

[officerripley]

Plus you aren't exposed to the germ load the currency carries.

There was even a science fiction book back in the 80s wherein a biochemist who'd decided to try to wipe out the human race nearly accomplished it by putting a deadly virus on paper currency.

 

[Trade]

**There's over a hundred injuns out there, Festus.**

Reminds me of my favorite Injun joke.

"The Lone Ranger and Tonto are riding across the plains when they see a group of Indians in full war paint galloping toward them, tomahawks at the ready. The Lone Ranger reins in his horse Silver and says to his faithful companion, “Well, Tonto old friend, looks like we're in big trouble! ” Tonto replies, “What do you mean ‘we,’ white man?”