Cash is being phased out over the next five years. I don't think people realise exactly what that means to have no cash at all. All transactions will go through a bank account. Banks are closing branches. Everything will be online. Small businesses will have to be geared up to accept cards. Those that do not will go out of business. That is what the Government wants to happen. Crush small businesses, move everything over to internet shopping, get things delivered.
What about those who are not on the internet. How do they pay the person who comes to clean their house, or tend to their garden. How do mums pay for babysitters when they need to go out. How can you give kids pocket money to spend on sweeties in the local shop. There are still a thousand ways where paying with cash is preferable.
The alternative is bartering. Skill swap. I will dig your garden if you will pick my kids up from school. I will do your washing if you take my dog for a walk. An hourly rate for swapping skills could be established which would be beneficial to both parties.
When cash ceases to exist, everyone will be at the mercy of those who are rich. They will call the shots. They will decide what you can spend your digital currency on. They will block any transactions which they deem to be unnecessary, for whatever reason.
"We have five to 10 years to fix digital payments before cash becomes unworkable, and need to start planning how to get the new system working for all."
"Millions of older people rely on cash for everyday spending and to pay carers, cleaners and those who shop on their behalf, and many others need cash for other reasons - for example, local traders, for whom cash is often core to their operation.
Yet just last month the Post Office handled over £800million in personal cash withdrawals, the most since records began five years ago.
Article in the Daily Express.
To stop this landslide you may wish to consider changing your spending habits. If you don't use cash, it will disappear.
Catch ya later. Enjoy your Bank Holiday Monday. ilona
EDIT
To all those who find it amusing that I don't do internet banking and I try and pay for as much as I can with cash, plus those who are happy to pay with a card or phone, here's a horror story for you. Charlotte Morgan had all her belongings stolen from her locker in a gym she is a member of. She recalls in detail the chain of events which resulted in her losing over £5000. They hacked into her account and went on a spending spree. She is now embroiled in a dispute with her bank, Santander, who refuses to accept that their system is at fault. Read about the chain of events since the theft, and how she is coping with it. Cyber crime is happening all the time. Criminals are using sophisticated equipment to rob their victims. Be vigilant.
Personally, I prefer cash where possible as it is so much easier to keep track of spending that way. Having to physically hand over money brings home how much I am spending - just swiping a card is not the same.
ReplyDeleteI am also fully aware of the extent that we would be at the State's mercy once we are forced to go digital, a prospect that horrifies me after our treatment over the past couple of years.
Hello Will. I see you have grasped the current situation and can see where it is leading. After all the lies that the Government have peddled, I will never trust them again.
DeleteMy apologies for not publishing your previous comment on the 'Looking back' post. I had to resort to a careful selection process, as it all went tits up when my Awaiting Moderation box exploded with rude and nasty people. Your comment did not come into that category by the way.
Thanks for the update.
DeleteI have sorted the comments out for that post. Yours is published, and the crap has been dumped.
DeleteHi there Ilona hope your enjoying the weekend I clean elderly people's houses for a living.if there was no cash money some of these lovley elderly clients would have to try to pay us cleaners by bank transfer using a smart phone or laptop which many of these people don't have or want.also our privacy would go as with every penny we have in a bank account they will find a way to check and controll us even more.i really quite like money and coins it helps me budget and save better.jodorset🌈🌈
ReplyDeleteHello Jo. Can you come and clean my house please. I will pay you handsomely, with cash.
DeleteI see youngster waft their card or phone over the machine in shops, and wonder how they can keep track of it all. I was in WH Smiths the other day, and a lad bought a drink and some chocolate. The card/iphone gives them the impression that that can have whatever they like. No discipline at all. We are raising a generation of entitled kids who have no thoughts about how they are going to pay for everything. I suspect a lot of them will die after spending their whole life in debt.
I use cash for things. Last week I went somewhere where there were 8 tills for card payments and just one till handling cash sales and returns. So if someone comes with a complicated return you can be waiting a long time. I think this is part of the plan. Inconvenience people into paying by card. I don't care I just wait. I'm not in a hurry. A lady came up to me that was manning the self checkouts that go wrong often enough to require a team of people on hand to rectify things. She said could you consider paying by card? I said no thanks I am happy to wait! Cheers, Karen
ReplyDeleteI would have done the same thing. I am the customer, I will choose.
DeleteIn my opinion any savings in banks or building societies aren't safe long term x
ReplyDeleteBanks have crashed before, and they could do again.
DeleteI try to use cash as much as possible outside of paying bills or getting gas for our car. I will use a cc if ordering online but that’s kept yo a minimum. One thing I think it’s safer. Less chance of fraud plus now who knows if the US government is keeping tabs on us snd what we buy/do.
ReplyDeleteUsing cash where possible will slow things down when they try to push digital currency.
DeleteThey claim that its for convenience but it really is about control. If you want something to think about read "1984" or the original "Handmaid's Tale". That's our world of the future. If you don't go along with the program you won't be able to live. One push of a button and you're shut off. Scary to think about but I find that many things in Science Fiction actually can become a reality.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of that book, it is quoted a lot. I should read it.
DeleteHere here Ilona. I never use a card and when asked I always try to explain the the cashier the reason why , they look at me as though I've come from space. Every move will be tracked by your card. So, what with cameras and cards there's no place to hide anymore and your life is monitored 24/7.
ReplyDeleteGet me out of here, lol Briony xx
I have done that. In a loud voice, I say, always cash, if we don't use it we will lose it. Odd looks from other customers. Probably think, silly old biddy.
DeleteI prefer cash to card any day! Sometimes the cashier will say "ooh is it cash - that's rare these days". You know where you are with cash!
ReplyDeleteI paid cash in a shop last week and the cashier hesitated. It took her a few seconds to work out how much change to give me.
DeleteI was pleasantly surprised when I ordered some ready meals for my dad last week, to find the option of paying by cheque or cash, at the point of delivery! That's what I call being sensitive to your customer base.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a good service.
Deletegetting cash is proving a bit of a nightmare for us , theres no banks the cash machines are often empty being a tourist area and for the post office van once a week it must be ordered as they dont carry hardly any
ReplyDeleteI think people living in rural areas will struggle a bit. I can still visit my bank if I want to, but I prefer to use the pop up Post Office in the village.
DeleteI am trying to use cash rather than card for the very reason that no way do I agree with it being phased out. It's also a lot easier to budget with actual cash. I can not imagine the window cleaner taking payments via a phone. I used the self scan at Tesco last week and there was a small queue for the two that take cash. The shop assistant said that she had seen more folks using cash in the past few months.
ReplyDeleteI think we are at the mercy of 'the state's quite enough!
I have given up with Tesco. More expensive than Aldi,
DeleteWe went to Cleethorpes and the public loo only accepted card payment! We eventually got the shopkeeper next door to unlock the disabled toilet.
ReplyDeleteMazza
That is ridiculous. Use a card to have a pee. I would have found a bush to go behind.
DeleteSame in Keswick loos near the lake. My dad didn't have a card with him and he didn't want to use mine, so a very kind lady let him use the disabled toilet after her!
DeleteIt’s far easier tho to simply use a card for public loos ! No worrying about having the exact change and no worries about vandals . Don’t see the problem here at all Jane
DeleteNo you don't see the problem Jane, because you don't look any further than the nose on your face. Digital currency means NO CASH AT ALL FOR ANYTHING. Do you get that? No cash, nil, sweet FA. Every single penny you spend will be monitored. All your movements will be monitored. Then you become a robot.
DeleteAlso, business owners like non cash because they do not have to spend time counting and banking money, and especially because it means the staff cannot steal the money.
ReplyDeleteTheir end of year figures will show whether they are on the right track or not.
DeleteIn Germany we say "Nur Bares ist Wahres", which means "Only cash is real". Sadly, a lot of businesses encourage their customers to use cards. I try to pay cash as much as possible. One reason is that it is nobody´s business to know what I buy. This is also why I don´t use any reward cards. I can very well imagine a future where you get cancer or diabetes and your health insurance tells you that you bought so many sweets, or wine or whatever is regarded as unhealthy, that it is your own fault you got the disease and they will not pay for the treatment.
ReplyDeleteHilde in Germany
Some good points you make, Hilde. Thank you.
DeleteI use card for most things but I keep a note of what I spend. Also I have never trusted politicians they are in it for their own good, the policy of fear during covid was disgraceful now it is the price of power, have not worked out what is behind that yet.
ReplyDeleteYou will, eventually. 2030 is the finishing line.
DeleteCash is king as far as I'm concerned. It's much easier to budget and I'm pleased when shop assistants say they are seeing more cash these days. We must keep cash as long as possible, because otherwise we are doomed. The young people won't notice, though, as they love gadgets and think being controlled is the way to go.
ReplyDeleteI was astonished to read the comment above about paying to use to a toilet. Perhaps it's to stop vandalism but I thought paying to spend a penny went out with the demise of the actual old pennies.
Amanda, Sussex
All the hype is aimed at young people. They are the future. Get them hooked into the new system. Us oldies will die off and leave the way clear for the new system.
DeleteAlmost impossible to get access to cash on the canals hereabouts (unless you have a car, and I don't) - cashpoints are disappearing at a rate of knots. The biggest hurdle to everything being online is not having a traditional "land" address. Doctors (can't get one), dentists (can't get one), banks, online shops - all demand a bricks & mortar address. For the moment only the large supermarkets appear able and happy to deliver to 'narrowboat moored near Bridge nn, postcode whatever. That though ceased entirely for the duration of the past couple of years of lunacy, and it took a long time for me to be able to get deliveries again. 'Not a registered priority' their systems told me, no humans involved in the decision!
ReplyDeleteEven the Canal Company Ltd demand one to register/license the boat - they ceased to accept cash at their public offices (most of which they've now closed) for the boat license (or anything) some years ago (they are an eager little lap-dog of what would, in times gone by, have been a "Quango"). Even passage through most tunnels and all such now has to be booked entirely online. I do hope that Her Maj enjoys receiving whatever junk mail that the Canal Company sends to me...
As this process tightens the Establishment and I are going to be a thorn in one another's side, although of course, of greatly differing sizes and consequences! The individual has never been so small and powerless in comparison to commerce and gubbermunt as we are today. The machine will rumble on, I will it more and more difficult to live my life.
Thank you for that Ian. Stick with it, I hope you find new and better solutions for your problems.
DeleteHi Ilona. We've recently had a bus journey and got the exact change ready to pay the driver. He refused it and said card/ contactless payments only! Turning away legal tender.
ReplyDeleteIt gets dafter every day. What would happen if a distressed young girl wanted to get on the bus to get away from unwanted attention, and she didn't have a card.
DeleteI had the same thing happen in Auckland, NZ. I had arrived by plane and planned on taking the local bus into the city as usual.
DeleteHi Ilona,
ReplyDeleteHere in Massachusetts, where I live, it is actually illegal for businesses not to take cash:
Section 10A: Discrimination against cash buyers
Section 10A. No retail establishment offering goods and services for sale shall discriminate against a cash buyer by requiring the use of credit by a buyer in order to purchase such goods and services. All such retail establishments must accept legal tender when offered as payment by the buyer.
Businesses like baseball parks and entertainment venues won't take cash though and I'm not sure how they are getting away with it.
Thanks for reporting what is happening in your part of the world.
DeleteI get young people in my shop who want to spend £1. I can't accept it as my card machine wants their cut and the bank want their cut so not much left. Also their parents put their spending money on these cards. I have to point out that they can only spend what is on it.
ReplyDeleteI'm also the treasurer for our horticultural society and at this year's show we took over £1,000 in donations, raffle and tombola. Having to use a card for this would kill the society as it would lots of charity and other community events.
I want cash to stay.
Carolx
The youngsters will grow up not knowing a thing about money management and budgeting. That's why they are targeting and recruiting them while they are still young and know no different. Once hooked into the digital currency trap they won't be able to get out.
DeleteThere are businesses that are now nowhere near any banks because they've closed so many branches. That means businesses in the middle of nowhere can no longer use the banking services of a nearby branch, so may have gone cashless for this reason. Blame the banks, not businesses.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame banks or businesses. I blame the World Economic Forum. They are pushing for the Great Reset, and digital currency. The world is in a financial mess right now. They are printing money like crazy, it can't go on. To go totally digital they need to get the whole world on board. If that happens life as we know it will change dramatically.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteI have deleted quite a lot of stupid comments on this post. I can't be bothered with you.
ReplyDeleteIt's cash for me. I like to see what I have spent and what I have left in my purse. Numbers on a screen mean nothing to me. I'm almost tempted to get rid of tinternet.. almost.
ReplyDelete