Don’t take any wooden nickels: a cashless society

 

I received this little rant in an email from a friend. I suspect he shared it as food for thought rather than actually promoting its message - as I am doing here.

A cashless society means no cash. Zero. It doesn’t mean mostly cashless and you can still use a ‘wee bit of cash here & there.’ Cashless means fully digital, fully traceable, fully controlled. I think those who support a cashless society aren’t fully aware of what they  are asking for.

 A cashless society means:

• No more tuck-away cash for those preparing to leave domestic violence.
• No more purchases off marketplace unless you want to risk bank transfer fraud.
• No more garage sales.
• No more cash donations to hungry homeless you pass.
• No more cash slipped into the hands of a child from their grandparent.
• No more money in birthday cards.
• No more piggy banks or tooth fairy for your child.
• No more selling bits & pieces from your home that you no longer want/need for a bit of cash in return.
• Less choices of where you purchase based on affordability.

What a cashless society does guarantee:

• Banks have full control of every single cent you own.
• Every transaction you make is recorded.
• All your movements & actions are traceable.
• Access to your money can be blocked at the click of a button when/if banks need ‘clarification’ from you which could take weeks, a hundred questions answered & five hundred passwords.
• If your transactions are deemed in any way questionable, by those who create the questions, your money will be frozen, ‘for your own good’.

And before anybody slams this post... don’t go shooting the messenger! I’m sharing it because maybe we all need to take off our blinkers.

Forget about cash being dirty. Cash has been around for a very, very long time & it gives you control over how you trade with the world. It gives you independence.

If you are a customer, pay with cash. If you are a shop owner, remove those ridiculous signs that ask people to pay by card. Cash is a legal tender, it is our right to pay with cash. Banks are making it increasingly difficult to lodge cash & that has nothing to do with a virus. Please stop believing everything you hear on the TV. Almost every single topic in today’s world is tainted with corruption & hidden agendas. Politics & greed is what is wrong with the world; not those who are trying to alert you to the reality

Please pay with cash & please say no to a cashless society while you still have a choice.

The move toward a cashless society does not rank among my top ten (or perhaps top 100) concerns, but it is something rather interesting to think about. Like most folks,  I find myself using my debit card when making even small purchases instead of cash. I don’t slip bills into my grandsons’ birthday card but email them Amazon gift cards instead. I usually take out $100 in cash at the beginning of each month and usually have a bit left at the end of it. I leave the pennies and nickels I get in change in the penny dish at the checkout.

The writer above seems to have two major complaints with a cashless society. The first is sentimental (no slipping bills to grandchildren, no garage sales, no donations to the homeless). Yeah, if I want to hold a garage sale, I’d probably need to figure out some means of using my phone and an online account to get paid for that old recliner. Support for the homeless ought to be done through established charitable organizations anyway. These traditional ways of doing things don’t sway me.

The second concern is about the ability for others, including the government, to track one’s monetary transactions. Other than as a matter of principle, I don’t think that is of major concern for too many of us. I don’t use cash to buy heroin, hire hit men or prostitutes, or buy guns from the black market. I don’t receive any money that I don’t want taxed. I’ve never felt the need for a suitcase full of bills hidden under the bed in case of emergencies. But then, I lead a boring life. If Uncle Sam wants to know I bought a Blizzard at the DQ yesterday, so what?

I suspect most illegal transactions involving monetary exchanges are done with cash. At least that’s what the popular media would have one believe. Does that mean that if cash were outlawed, outlaws themselves would have problems? A lot of big money schemes I read about involve transfers to off-shore bank accounts. And I understand crypto currency has a degree of invisibility crooks rather like. Perhaps the rant above was written by a money launderer.

I think it is rather interesting that some vendors at the Twins baseball stadium in Minneapolis no longer accept physical money, only plastic. The solution for those cash-only nutters like the writer of the opening piece? “Cash machines” in the hallways into which one can insert cash and have a prepaid cash card returned.  I’ve never used one of these machines so I don’t know if they allow prying eyes to see the transaction. But it may be a compromise some may need to make. Kind of like burner phones.

Oh, did you notice how the original message above moved from argument to political rant? I’d have been more sympathetic to the argument had the writer stopped before adding the last few paragraphs.

What will it take to move society back to a place where one can explore two sides of an issue without paranoia, denunciation, and hyperbole? 

Comments

[Carrie]

I was perplexed by a “buy bitcoin here” sign at a gas station. Apparently crypto is now the preferred payment method for illegal commerce. Time marches on!

[Tim Stahmer]

Europe seems to be much farther along on building a "cashless" economy than we are. On my two recent trips, I noticed many, if not most, businesses, large and small, with "card only" signs on the door. Even those stores that took cash, had things priced so that they didn't have to deal with coins. The only place to use coins was at public toilets, and most of them accepted and preferred cards. Even street buskers had signs with QR codes linked to their Venmo or Pay Pal accounts.

I must admit, I rather like "cashless". I use Apple Pay anywhere I can, and get slightly annoyed when a store doesn't accept it (or the machine doesn't work). Like you, I don't think much about the government tracking my purchases. Most people should be far more concerned about Google, Facebook, your wireless provider and bank doing that. These days, your data is more valuable than cash.

As to crypto currency, don't get me started on that scam... :-)

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Carrie,

I've seen those machines too and never took the time to figure out what they actually do. I am very leery about crypto!

Dad

Hi Tim,

The whole privacy/surveillance thing is a mixed bag to me. I don't like the idea of governments or organizations monitoring my activities, but I do like monitoring might prevent or discourage illegal activities. Eggars' book The Circle does a nice job exploring this dilemma.

Where and when is your next international adventure?

Doug

[Richard]

I just returned from a trip to Croatia, where yes, most people/tourists use credit cards or ATM cards to pay just about everywhere, from restaurants to taxis, from ferries to gelato. Unfortunately, current law prohibits leaving a tip on your credit/ATM card, which has left many of the people who most rely on tips--waiters, baristas, etc--with a reduced income. Unless people make a deliberate effort to carry some small amount of cash with them for the occasions, it isn't possible to leave a tip.

Don't get rid of your cash just yet! :)

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Richard,

I didn't know this about tipping. Thanks for letting me know. I do know that tipping is less important in most of Europe, but I always leave at least a few coins.

Appreciate the comment,

Doug