I hate to tell the experts here but Cash is NOT dead at retail
jonruns
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I own an ATM company which manages over 1000 ATMs across the country which in total do close to a half million cash withdrawals per month.
On a monthly basis those total withdrawals are 100% flat year to year for the past three years.
The anecdotal evidence presented by some is absolutely true: higher end hospitality locations (hotels, restaurants) are more credit card friendly than ever before and many even discourage the use of cash.
However there remains a significant percentage of the population (I'd estimate 1/3) which does not have access to credit, and another group which uses only cash because they do not like personal debt or are hiding income which continues to drive cash transactions.
In addition, there are still some purchases which are required by law to be made in cash (casino gambling and lottery tickets) and some retail sectors which cannot get access to merchant processing (retail marijuana shops).
The continued increase of merchant processing fees (now 3%) also continues to convince some retailers to put minimums on credit card usage or eliminate altogether.
Personally I'm not worried about the future of cash in the United States.
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there is also a likelihood that a certain percentage of small businesses are cash only or discourage the use of CC's. I frequent a few.
There is no doubt that there is less cash use than there used to be.
People who are cash based represent a certain socioeconomic subgroup which largely remains stable. But everyone else, including millennials who are highly digital have migrated to digital payments. Cash and checks are decreasing in use because they are clumsy relative to CCs or digital.
And, frankly, if you are not using a cashback CC for everything possible, you are nuts.
Here are the facts:
The U.S. used over $2.3 trillion in cash in 2015.
Cash share in the U.S. in 2016 accounted for 12.6 percent of the nation’s GDP.
PYMNTS forecasts that U.S. cash share will represent 11.2 percent of the country’s GDP by 2021.
Pot shops here (CA) take plastic.
If I had my way... I'd put the card customers in back with the dumpster and wait on the cash payers who actually KNOW how to make payment.
I'd also send anyone who futzed around with their card (or argued that it COULDN'T be declined
) to the back of the line.
At my local coin shop it is cash only. He will take a check if he knows you well, but no CC's.
I don't take CC at the store either, checks from folks I know.
Also, I have several (most) I have to pay in cash when they bring stuff in to sell for several reasons, they don't have an account at any bank, they are hiding funds, or want non reportable funds, etc. More importantly for some, as they walk out the door, they are calling there dope guy (nowaday precrip meds) for a quick fix.
Last year, I had some guys come in and sell some stuff and when down in the parking lot and shot up heroine, I told them to leave but they were out cold dazed, so I just let the police handle it.
I work in the payroll business in Utah and I can tell you that the Hispanic work force lives, functions and exists almost exclusively in cash. After payrolls on Thurs. or Friday, hundreds and hundreds of workers drive right to the bank and cash out their payroll check.
CC fees can eat up 1% - 4% per transaction. I can't understand what retail establishment wouldn't welcome cash.
Try going back to 2005 or 1995
You have that strata of people who have no digital presence and/or no banking presence. They are hardcore and hard to move.
I have felt like doing that too after overspending on coins at the local coin shop.
Cash and credit. As long as the bills are paid and the credit is paid off before interest accrues then it is all good. 💵💳
https://consumercredit.com/financial-education/infographics/infographic-cash-vs-card
@jonruns - In your post I believe you meant to say that your 1,000 ATM’s average half a million dollars cash withdrawals per month PER MACHINE. Otherwise, each machine only has about $17 withdrawn per day, on average. 😂 LOL
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I use credit cards for just about every single purchase I make (and pay them off in full every month). About the only thing I pay for on a regular basis with cash are haircuts (my barber doesn't take credit cards).
For the convenience factor alone, I can't understand why people wouldn't prefer to use a credit card over cash. Take filling up your car with gas. All the stations around here make you pre-pay if you're using cash. So, I guess you pull up to the pump, walk inside, wait in line, guesstimate how much gas your car will need, walk back out, then pump it (I'm guessing inevitably not filling it 100% full). Seems a lot easier to just skip going in all together and just swipe at the pump and fill it all the way up, regardless of what the exact amount is.
More than the convenience though are the perks. For most purchases, you can get at least 3% back in the way of rewards. If you're savvy about it, you can get much, much more and take advantage of some very lucrative sign-up bonuses. We get at least $100 back a month on average in rewards just for paying with plastic (which seems like a no-brainer decision to me).
That being said, if there is a discount for cash, I'll certainly take it and pay with cash assuming the discount is greater than the rewards I'll get from using plastic.
@winesteven ----@jonruns - In your post I believe you meant to say that your 1,000 ATM’s average half a million dollars cash withdrawals per month PER MACHINE. Otherwise, each machine only has about $17 withdrawn per day, on average. 😂 LOL
I believe he said "1,000 machines do 500,000 withdrawals per month. That's 500 per machine or 16.7 withdrawals per machine on average per day. He didn't mention a dollar amount.
I'm having a hard time believing that each ATM machine does $17,000 a day?!
Cash isn’t going anywhere, we can’t even get rid of the cent or the half that’s not even used in commerce. The arguments for getting rid of the cent go away with credit cards or electronic transfers, yet we still mint billions of them a year.
Now you're even more confused than @winesteven.
They just recently started taking ATM cards. Not sure about CC. I’m so confused
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Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Not that I have any personal experience here, mind you. But what I have read is that because marijuana is still illegal federally, CA shops can't process purchases that involve bank transactions. Hence the big cash problem.
Maybe I've missed something. I prefer single malt so I could be mistaken.
Lance.
I use cash for fast food purchases, 7-11 purchases, and small amount transactions, cc's for gas like one poster mentioned, Costco purchases and big ticket items. I like using cash because you get change in coins and you never know what you will find in a handful of change....
Agreed, casinos, lottery tickets, coin dealers, and marijuana shops require cash. There's a common thread there but I can't quite put my finger on it.
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Anything under $200, I use cash.
I knew it would happen.
Lose cash? Big deal.
Lose card? Huge deal.
Cash is for people; cards are for banks.
WORD!
The debate rages on ... cash or plastic.....I am really surprised at the focus this issue seems to have here. I use both... Cheers, RickO
So what % of your average payments do you use cash?
Mortgage?
Car payment?
Insurance?
Medical bills?
Utilities?
Most of mine are paid auto debit from the bank, no check, no cash. My cash is less than 5% of my monthlies.
For average stuff, grocery store, gas station, etc. it is all credit card that I pay off each month, get the rebate, and don't walk around with a wallet stuffed with bills.
I disagree with:
Lose cash? Big deal.
Lose card? Huge deal.
To me, lose cash, 100% loss
Lose card, minor inconvenience, make an 800 phone call, a replacement is there the next day, old card is dead, and any charges made by nefarious bad person are voided.
You do know WHY you get "rewards" for using the E-Z track cards don't you?
Selling your information makes them MUCH more. It's very valuable to be able to track everything you do when you use your card.
The big money isn't for the names and history of people who pay their balance every month like you do.
The really valuable names are those who buy cheap stuff often.
Plus it's a fairly safe gamble that most people will be like most Americans and not have the smarts to pay their bills on time.
Me. I like only ME knowing what I do.
1000 machines doing 500,000 withdrawals per month means that each machine averages 500 withdrawals per month or about 17 per day. I think he got it right.
I can't believe how many of you suckers are smoking weed! No wonder nobody can do math!
Just read another report on how Washington State is going to get hit by a 9.0ish earthquake in the next 50 years. I've found that when the power's out, people tend to take only cash. Hope all you "cashless society" people are not that shortsighted and have at least a little for emergencies.
This is NONSENSE.
I lose $200 cash, I'm out $200.
I lose a credit card, i'm out NOTHING. I have fraud protection and a simple phone call freezes the card.
Yeah, right. Like there's not a camera in every store and on every road in America.
You are on a browser right now that is probably stealing your data. I presume you don't have any registry sets, don't buy coins at auction, don't have bank accounts, don't send emails, don't have accounts with phone/internet/TV companies...
Oh....golly... SORRY SORRY SORRY.... Mea maxima culpa.
Don't kid yourself, cash won't help much. During the great Northeast power outage about 17 years ago, all the stores closed down because without the computers nobody could figure out what to charge people and how to make change.
LOL. Sorry, that might have come out a little more strident than I meant it.
NOW you tell me. I've already taken the hemlock.
This thread is about weed. Don't hijack the thread with hemlock.
If the state and Fed Guvmints had their way it would be mostly cashless I expect. If a place takes CCs I'll use them whenever possible since the CC fee is probably figured into the price whenever possible. I hate prepay for gasoline, but can understand why it's necessary. Oftimes if you use Visa or MC any overpay is automatically refunded. I NEVER pay at the pump; ALWAYS inside.
Last year, I had some guys come in and sell some stuff and when down in the parking lot and shot up heroine,
Washington weed shops only take coin, not cc. But the guys at the coin shop probably do take weed.
Either way a heroine is a girl like Nell, that Dudley do Right saves, so please do not shoot her up or you will be in big trouble..
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Self-employed people who get paid in cash use cash all the time on purchases.
I’ve yet to walk into a casino where credit cards are an acceptable form of payment. I don’t know any U.S. bookmakers who accept credit cards. If you want to open up an overseas gambling account it’s increasingly more difficult to use a credit card.
Most users of CC's are people without the funds to pay cash. Why would someone use a credit card which charges you interest at a store(which more and more) charge you an additional fee to use credit. It's a no win system to use credit. I realize there are very few who use their card then immediately pay it off, thus no charges. Cash is the only way to go.
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When times get tough ... cash is king.
How often do you ask for [and get] a discount for paying with cash? FWIW I have neither a debit nor an ATM card.
I pay with cash whenever possible. It discourages the person at the register from asking for your phone number so they can market to you.
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This morning I stopped for breakfast and they were only able to take cash. The machine was down. I always carry cash.
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Technology is great... until it stops working.
Always need a backup.
I've never been marketed after giving a phone number. I expect most people can't/don't think fast enough on their feet to give a false number.
I still have a landline and give that number out for all the advertiser/marketers. Similarly, my junk email address does the same.
I’ll get a certain deal on a transaction and then do not have to worry about junk phone/emails.
I always carry cash and credit cards but usually use my credit cards to get the 2% rewards or rebate.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire