Do You Support A Cashless Society?

Trying2SaveABuck on 04/09/2024 - 07:16
Last edited 04/09/2024 - 23:41 by 2 other users

Gloria Jeans is starting to drop cash, I've noticed other shops have 'card only' signs.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/gloria-jeans-cafes-cashles…

As someone who pretty much exclusively pays card/PayPal/Bpay for stuff in 2024 I'm interested to hear on if OzBargain would support a 100% cashless society.

I'll try to be balanced. The three main argument against a cashless society are;

  1. Card surcharges the only way for businesses/consumers to 100% avoid this is via paying cash.
  2. Many 'businesses' (cough) tradies tend to do the side cash jobs giving a decent discount, anyone who has owned a house for longer then a few years would have experience with this.
  3. Some people mostly older generation just like paying in cash or do not trust the banks/government etc to use card.

The arguments for cashless are obvious it is quicker, more efficient, better for the environment, safer for businesses and consumers etc.

Do you support a cashless society?

My answer is 100% support but the government bank account guarantee needs to be set an unlimited level or much higher level (opposed to the 250k it is at now) as you essentially have no choice but to keep your money in the banks - for the record my bank account is sitting on $112 at time of posting but others might be richer then I.

Poll Options expired

  • 377
    Yes, I support a cashless society.
  • 920
    No, I do not support a cashless society.
Financial

Comments

    • knk on 05/09/2024 - 09:41

      Drugs too, although you can pay for those with cryptocurrency worst case.

      • ProlapsedHeinous on 10/09/2024 - 04:26

        crypto solved the drug problem more than a decade ago.

  • kiriakoz on 04/09/2024 - 11:58
    +4

    I find it funny how polarised people need to be with every single issue. It's obvious that society is changing and part of that is that we're becoming more of a cashless society. Having said that, the people who still wish to use cash have legitimate concerns that we need to solve before we can become cashless. We're becoming like USA where everything needs to be a conspiracy or cause outrage.

    Australian media is so lazy that they import our culture war issues from other countries rather than creating ones of their own and that's sad.

    • Miami Mall Alien on 04/09/2024 - 14:28

      It's obvious that society is changing

      Wow. You figured this out all by yourself?

      I don't think anyone is disputing that society is changing, the entire crux of the problem is to what end is it changing and who will those changes benefit? A select few powerful interests, like major, sweeping societal changes almost always do or the majority of the public?

      We're becoming like USA where everything needs to be a conspiracy or cause outrage.
      Australian media is so lazy that they import our culture war issues from other countries rather than creating ones of their own and that's sad.

      The world is becoming collectively outraged and aligning with reactionary, populist ideologies across the political spectrum precisely because nothing of what we're being told by authority figures, states, governments and corporations matches up with the lived reality of the majority of people in the planet, which has become remarkably sh*t in every measurable metric since 2020 especially.

      The entirety of the Western world but also the majority of the 3rd-world are facing the exact same fundamental issues now, which is precisely why everything seems so reductive in scope (because it fundamentally is) which essentially boils down to a life-and-death struggle between states versus their own populations in a fight for economic, political, strategic and basic subsistence survival. The political/parasitic/exploitative class globally has never felt more threatened for their own future longevity and relevance and the public have never had less trust and optimism in anyone in any position of authority globally than they do now.

      The real question to be asked is, at what point do their empty words become intentional misdirection from their planned agenda and at what point to the mindless zombies of society understand that their goals all along were to make things worse, not better?

      • Protractor on 05/09/2024 - 10:08

        Mindless zombies "understand" ? LOL

        They are too busy breeding themselves into extinction. By choice. No prompting required.

    • Ghost47 on 04/09/2024 - 16:41
      +2

      It's obvious that society is changing and part of that is that we're becoming more of a cashless society.

      You can have good, logical change (like implementing polymer notes) and stupid, illogical change (like males competing as females in sport). Society is changing, yes, but it doesn't automatically mean the change is prudent or sensible or actually good for society as a whole. Ever watched the movie Idiocracy?

      E.g. EVs are becoming more popular and are supposedly the "greener" option, but when you think about all the energy that is required to mine the metals for the battery and build the charging infrastructure and the fact batteries will eventually need to be disposed of or recycled somehow (if the owner doesn't write off the car before the battery needs to be replaced) etc. there are a lot of issues that arise in adopting EVs en masse. Elon also loves to say there aren't enough people on the planet (because he owns a company which benefits from a larger population of consumers, so of course he'd say that).

    • Cluster on 04/09/2024 - 17:08
      +3

      Part of the outrage culture is our media trying to frame everything as shock, horror, and outrage. All the time. A key culprit is News Limited media. Every second article is full of clickbait. They love the 'The Internet thinks this!' and 'The Internet blew up over this!' because one person said something stupid.

      • kiriakoz on 04/09/2024 - 20:23

        Totally agree, especially about News Limited. That's what I was driving at but you said it succinctly and better than I did. I find it amazing how much people focus on niche culture wars that don't even impact them in real life much.

  • zealmax on 04/09/2024 - 13:15
    +3

    If we go cashless, how will people be able to evade tax and lie to get social security payments, while driving their lambo?

    • neoleo on 04/09/2024 - 14:54
      +1

      Privacy friendly cryptocurrency …

  • randomusername2017 on 04/09/2024 - 13:24

    Username literally does not check out…🤔

  • darkmoss on 04/09/2024 - 13:42

    need cash to buy drugs

    • SpainKing on 06/09/2024 - 14:39
      +2

      ♪ Don't tell me money don't buy happiness when it so happens that money buys drugs ♪

  • Seraphin7 on 04/09/2024 - 13:43

    My answer is 100% support but the government bank account garentee needs to be set an unlimited level or much higher level (opposed to the 250k it is at now) as you essentially have no choice but to keep your money in the banks

    There might be an argument for increasing the guarantee level, but a movement to a cashless society ain't it. While I'm aware of cash hoarders out there, anyone who is (legitimately) carrying more than $250k cash is going to be in the extreme minority.

    • Trying2SaveABuck on 04/09/2024 - 13:45

      it isnt 'too' far off the average 20% deposit for a house in Sydney

      • Trance N Dance on 04/09/2024 - 13:59

        And that's Sydney's problem not a federal issue. It was also a program created in the turmoil of the GFC some 16 years ago to essentially prevent a run on the banks, encourage security in deposits so people don't go withdrawing it all and guarantee a collapse on the banking system.

        • ProlapsedHeinous on 10/09/2024 - 04:31

          And wasnt the law changed to make bail ins legal. no way im holding anything other than transient money in any of my bank accounts.

    • SlickMick on 05/09/2024 - 10:05

      ? Anyone who's being paying off a home for a while would have $250K+ in thier offset account??

      But I can't see the problem with having a few accounts, and is probably wise to spread other risks besides the bank collapsing.

      • Seraphin7 on 05/09/2024 - 16:13

        Agreed … and arguably should be explicitly addressed by government, but that is a current issue and not related to any movement to a "cashless society".

  • PurchaseAnxiety on 04/09/2024 - 14:51
    +5

    I'm a bit hypocritical in that I'm almost entirely cashless (I often don't take my wallet when I leave the house), but I also don't want a cashless society. The instances of IT infrastructure going down and leaving many of us without the means to give or accept money are a harsh reminder that it's just a bad idea. God help us if there's any prolonged outage. Not to mention that digital transactions mainly serve to benefit the companies facilitating the transaction. They obviously get their fees, but they also know what you're buying which is a critical piece in the customer profiles they build and sell.

    • neoleo on 04/09/2024 - 16:14
      +1

      Most people use phone case to protect their phone. Why not put $50-$100 between phone case and your phone? If you don't like to bring your wallet, this is one solution that when needed you can just take the cash out.

      • SlickMick on 05/09/2024 - 10:08

        This discussion is about absolute cashlessness, not just less cash and more eftpos. There wouldn't be any notes.

    • SlickMick on 05/09/2024 - 10:13

      If that's your concern, you need a bunker and enough provisions for the maximum expected duration, and a defence to stop others from taking it from you.

      If it comes to that, having cash will be the least of your worries.

  • jv on 04/09/2024 - 14:57
    -1

    Cashless Society - Do You Support It?

    💲💰💲

  • WildZero on 04/09/2024 - 15:07
    +1

    My local cafe near the office passes on the surcharge for card payments in the price as they legally can.
    I specifically pay them in cash to avoid this, even if it seems to catch the barista off guard every time 😁

    Similarly in Aldi I won't use contactless payments because of the 0.5% surcharge, when inserting the card and using EFTPOS avoids this.

    • timhn on 05/09/2024 - 07:41

      HSBC 2% cashback triump your saving of 0.5%

  • freekay on 04/09/2024 - 16:05
    +7

    I support choice.

  • neoleo on 04/09/2024 - 16:09
    +2

    Big NO for card surcharge, even someone above mentioned about surcharge via EFTPOS from certain places …

    Most people use phone case to protect their phone. Why not put $50-$100 between phone case and your phone? If you don't like to bring your wallet, this is one solution that when needed you can just take the cash out.

    If you think cash is like insurance, you don't need it until you really need it … Have some cash as a backup at least …

    For all Cash deniers, here are proofs that everyone need to have Cash at least as a backup (news in Australia) :

    https://www.9news.com.au/national/eftpos-outage-woolies-cust…

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-26/commbank-commonwealth…

    https://www.9news.com.au/national/mcdonalds-reports-nationwi…

    https://7news.com.au/news/nab-customers-hit-by-widespread-ou…

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-04/australians-lose-one-…

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-30/will-consumers-have-t…

    https://7news.com.au/sunrise/sunrise-star-monique-wright-exp…

    • SlickMick on 05/09/2024 - 10:22

      I didn't see anything there that proves I can't go cashless. (Disclaimer: I didn't read any of them.)

      EFTPOS might be down for a while? I can survive on what I have in the pantry for a while.
      EFTPOS down for an extended period? Do you think businesses will take your cash with thier systems down?

      We've become reliant on technology. There is a huge uproar if systems are down for hours, let alone days.
      If we're talking major disruption, cash will be less useful than toilet paper.

      • neoleo on 06/09/2024 - 09:26

        Read someone's comment from next page:

        Cloudy: Went to woolies yesterday and signs were up saying cash only as they’re having technical issues. The shop was half empty.

        I am happy to show off my cash to you and people that don't carry cash while shopping in stores :P You and those people will go home empty handed while I go home with goods from shopping with cash when card payment is not working or even no electricity for days/weeks/months (read below).

        We'll be in huge trouble when there is a solar superstorm. "It could take weeks or months to repair the damage." Cash is king. At least people can still buy goods in-store with cash even without electricity and payment network (because of solar superstorm). Any businesses that only accept card will not open or have to accept cash to survive until electricity and payment network are working again.

        Read this all:
        https://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-flare-electronics.ht…

        • SpainKing on 06/09/2024 - 14:43

          When's the next solar superstorm forecast to hit Earth? I note that the last one was this year, May 10th and we weren't without electronics for weeks/months

          • neoleo on 06/09/2024 - 15:13

            @SpainKing: Quoted from the article:
            "Even in these worst-case scenarios, the superstorms don't wipe out all electrical systems across the planet. Some regions would remain relatively unaffected. It would require a solar event of unprecedented magnitude to wipe out the electrical systems across the planet."

          • neoleo on 06/09/2024 - 16:24

            @SpainKing: To answer your question:
            "More powerful solar storms can be expected in the coming months as the peak of the current solar cycle — the 11-year ebb and flow in the number of sunspots, solar flares and eruptions — is expected in late 2024 and early 2025."

            https://www.space.com/may-solar-storm-largest-mass-migration…

            Extreme/massive solar superstorm is different than any other solar storm.

  • b1nch1cken on 04/09/2024 - 16:13
    +6

    I definitely do NOT support cashless. When the power goes out or a cyclone hits (I'm in the Far North) cash is the only way to get supplies.

  • SpicyStew on 04/09/2024 - 16:23

    Ty. Poll results good for crypto.

    Ik, some people here prefer to trade in shells or another depreciating asset like cash.

    • Cluster on 04/09/2024 - 17:15
      +3

      There are over 13,000 cryptocurrencies, and I bet over 99% have fallen in value since their peaks.

      • SpicyStew on 04/09/2024 - 19:45
        +1

        there is more than 2 million cryptocurrencies.
        get your facts straight.
        100 million sats in a bitcoin.
        i hope it all confuses you.
        no room for dummies.
        hahaha.

        • Cluster on 04/09/2024 - 22:27

          Sure, if you count every token ever created, there are millions. In which case 99.99%+ of them are essentially worthless.

      • ProlapsedHeinous on 10/09/2024 - 04:36

        You realise theres 180 different currencies in the world. And most of them are IRL shitcoins too. Fall in value is mainly due to lack of adoption, this will change and over time there will be clear winners.

    • SlickMick on 05/09/2024 - 10:23

      Shells only depreciate if someone finds a new supply. Rare shells appreciate.

  • RefusdClassification on 04/09/2024 - 16:45
    +5

    If governments supports it (which most seem to do), then I firmly oppose it. It's about increasingly control over the populace. Do something the government dislikes, your financial accounts get frozen (as happened to the Canadian truckers opposing Trudeau). The banks won't fight the government on your behave; they are essentially just extension of the government.The ATO already seems to know everything about everyone's finances, but aren't supposed to share with other agencies unless they consider you a criminal.

  • Cluster on 04/09/2024 - 16:47
    +1

    I collect and trade coins and banknotes, so I have a vested interest in keeping cash around. Today's kids are tomorrow's collectors. Stamp collecting is a rapidly shrinking hobby as the average age of a stamp collector is over 60. Many are looking to sell their collections rather than buy more, forcing prices down. Younger people don't use stamps anymore, and cash may be heading that way too. It's in my interests to keep people spending and using coins and banknotes :-)

    • SpicyStew on 04/09/2024 - 19:59
      +1

      stubborn old man.
      you should barter.
      hahahahaha

      your best bet is to hodl the stamps and hope that the next generation will see it as vintage collection like cars.
      never sell at the bottom.
      show your conviction.
      diamond hands my boy.

      • Cluster on 04/09/2024 - 22:29
        +1

        Perhaps spend more time reading and less time trolling. I didn't say I collected stamps, and my business is doing just fine thank you.

        • SpicyStew on 05/09/2024 - 17:23

          if you need a crypto payment system for you business hmu
          perhaps kids would be interested then.

      • whyisave on 04/09/2024 - 23:09

        you should barter.

        Do you know if bartering can avoid paying tax ?

    • neoleo on 04/09/2024 - 22:30

      Do you have these coins? ;-)

      https://www.9news.com.au/national/australias-most-expensive-…

  • Ghost47 on 04/09/2024 - 17:17
    +3

    IMO systems should have redundancies built in even if those redundancies make the overall system slightly inefficient and costlier to run, it is only sensible to do that. I see cash as being a redundancy in our ability to transact so I have no issue with keeping it and allowing people to transact in cash if they wish.

    Are there some inefficiencies introduced by allowing people to earn cash in hand or pay in cash like less tax revenue? Sure, but if people think that going cashless will automatically mean our country will improve in two [arbitrary number] year's time they're dreaming. The real question to ask is why is the government so hell bent on moving to a cashless society? To help themselves and their rich mates.

    • Thorn69 on 04/09/2024 - 19:42
      +1

      true that, the only ones that benefit are the banks,transaction fees

  • thisusernameistaken on 04/09/2024 - 17:43
    +4

    Useful reasons here why cash matters here

    Card has pros and cons and cash has pros and cons. I don't think we should be 100% on card, nor should we be 100% cash (e.g no online payments). Let's have the best of both.

    • ThadtheChad on 06/09/2024 - 17:28

      A lot of the reasons are US centric and likely do not apply here.

      The Banking system is unreal there. For lower SES people, there is a high chance they don't even have a bank account. Folks still extensively use cheques as well

      • thisusernameistaken on 06/09/2024 - 17:30

        Which ones do you think are US centric? I found most of the reasons applied to physical money in general

  • FireRunner on 04/09/2024 - 17:55
    +3

    No, why would I want less options?

    Also second hand buying/selling would be much riskier without cash

  • bailbondsh on 04/09/2024 - 18:26

    well if you're using cards then you are

  • Thorn69 on 04/09/2024 - 19:41

    you start off with 50 on card. you spend that 50 on multiple services each time the vendor is getting a small percentage as card fees, in the end the bank ends up with all that money the 50 is entirely gone eventually in transaction fees, where as cash the banks cant take transaction fees in cash

    • Scantu on 04/09/2024 - 20:35
      +2

      So you're saying it costs $0 to handle cash? Noone has to take it to the bank, deposit it, count it? Those things take time, and therefore money.

      The same thing happens with cash payments, you just don't see it. Big 💩 from me on this argument, people peddling it usually have no idea wtf they are on about.

      I definitely don't even support "cashless"/no way to transact without the government knowing about it either, this is just a gey argument tho.

      • neoleo on 04/09/2024 - 22:34

        You misunderstand his comment. What he means is no cash surcharge when paying with cash, unlike card payment that attracts card surcharge in most places.

        • Scantu on 05/09/2024 - 13:19

          Likely business owners have not accounted for taking cash as an "Expense", demonstrating the phenomena I am talking about. Maybe they should be charging for it?

          When a CC company charges them for the service, that forces them to realise it is actually an expense to transact, in and of itself.

          • neoleo on 06/09/2024 - 09:22

            @Scantu: No cash surcharge even before card exists. Cashflow is important especially for small businesses. So, accepting cash payment is good for cashflow unlike card payment that takes time at least 24 hours (someone said).

            • Scantu on 06/09/2024 - 10:42
              +1

              @neoleo:

              No cash surcharge even before card exists

              First that isn't actually true, you just didn't see it at that scale, and the business chose to absorb it before they were presented with the costs as a line item.

              Second thing is a non-issue, whoever "said" that to you either doesn't run a business or runs one poorly

      • whyisave on 04/09/2024 - 23:15
        +1

        So you're saying it costs $0 to handle cash? Noone has to take it to the bank, deposit it, count it? Those things take time, and therefore money.

        That money is earned by various people, involved in preserving the independence, anonymity, security and freedoms revolving around physical cash. You don't need permission from anyone, to use cash.

        The money earned by digital payments processing, is pretty much earned only by very, very, very rich few corporations.
        They are interested in convincing people to use digital, and from that, they build insurance profiles on each person,
        to perform risk analysis on your habits, purchases, frequency, etc. etc.

        So, these data then form inputs to formulas that are used for/against you, or your spouse
        ( More than 10 years ago, Tesco analyzed a person's shopping habits, ie. this late 40s man was buying red meat, a bottle of wine, buying petrol within 5-km of where he lived, etc. etc. Tesco decided that his risk profile was very high, because of his age, not traveling far from home, type of food he bought, etc. etc.
        Based on this risk profile, internet banner ads were served to his wife "Imagine your spouse dying. Take out death insurance on your husband". The seeds of doubt were planted in his wife's head )

        • Scantu on 05/09/2024 - 13:17
          +1

          Surcharges/fees for CC are earned by the payment companies - you just don't like it as much, and that's ok for you, but it isn't a good argument.

          WRT your last paragraph - all of those people consented to those things happening to them, there is no issue with it

  • [Deactivated] on 04/09/2024 - 20:57
    +3

    The current system is inadequate for society to go cashless. For example, my entire savings account was cleared out by scammers in 2019, and it took 1 week for my bank to investigate it before refunding/reimbursing me my money… During this period I didn’t want to use my credit card, luckily I had some cash stashed in my home to get me by. If our society were to go cashless, then people need to be refunded their money by their bank/CC company instantly when fraud occurs, not several days to a week or more later after they have done an investigation… Especially when some people (not me) have poor credit ratings and/or have no credit card at all and only have access to their money with a bank account.

    Also, the 2-3 days delay when you make many payments via cashless methods needs to change if we were go cashless, if it’s to replace cash then it has to be instantaneous just like cash is.

    • Cluster on 04/09/2024 - 22:30

      It's important to have multiple accounts with separate banks, just in case one of your accounts runs into trouble. Banks also have unplanned outages too that can wreck havoc with important bills.

      • [Deactivated] on 04/09/2024 - 22:38

        @Cluster - It shouldn’t be important, and a necessity to need to have multiple accounts with the same bank or different banks just in case, that means the current system doesn’t work, and that it’s just another issue with cashless. I don’t want to have multiple bank accounts, I want 1 and 1 only and that’s it, and as the customer whose money it is I should have that option and choice, without issues requiring the need for another account, and should have complete control of my money.

        • Cluster on 04/09/2024 - 23:39
          +1

          It shouldn't be a necessity, but no bank can guarantee 100% uptime. A card may be compromised or the bank unable to process transactions at the worst possible moment for you.

          When I go overseas I always carry three cards, just in case something happens to one. In Seoul I happened across a situation where two cards couldn't withdraw cash when I needed it, but a third card worked. I shouldn't have had to be prepared, but life isn't perfect.

          • [Deactivated] on 04/09/2024 - 23:57
            +1

            @Cluster: If no bank can guarantee 100% uptime, and security against fraud where they can still provide instant access to your money when you’re the victim of it while it’s in their care, then why are we even discussing going cashless as a society, and are there quite a number of boisterous losers on the internet against cash and it still being available as another option? If some people don’t want to use cash then don’t, but how is it hurting and affecting them having cash still being available for other people that do still do want to use it? If I had to guess many that defend going cashless are business owners, who care about themselves and their own profits more than they truly and honestly care about their customers wants and needs as a whole.

            I haven’t travelled overseas in quite sometime, in fact I no longer have a passport, I’m not interested in seeing and experiencing other countries at this stage in my life, I have many other interests and hobbies that I spend my money on on home soil.

            • neoleo on 05/09/2024 - 08:27

              @[Deactivated]: Only 1 bank and you could lose the entire or most of the money … It was in the news that happened to people here because of scam etc. Unlike UK, banks here don't have to return all the money that you lose in that 1 bank account. That's why having more than 1 bank account is necessary in my opinion. Not only scam, other reasons too could affect your money in that 1 bank. I read a lot of news …

      • Splashtash on 07/09/2024 - 19:53

        Strongly agree with you.

  • CalmLemons on 04/09/2024 - 21:00
    +1

    Sorry, Gloria who? If you're in Melbourne and you gets your coffee from GJ then you should be shot, cash or no cash is the least of your problems.

    I've noticed only the terrible businesses who often mistreat customers or know the customer has no choice but to shop with them enforces the card only line upon customers.

    The great businesses give customers choice, and a vast variety of payment options.

    • whyisave on 04/09/2024 - 23:19

      The great businesses give customers choice, and a vast variety of payment options.

      So, that means banks are not great businesses, if it does not want to give customers (the population, small businesses, etc.) the choice of keeping a variety of payment options.

      • CalmLemons on 05/09/2024 - 13:25

        Yes, banks are not great businesses - if you haven't realised.

        You know, Royal Commission, fraud, to name a few things lately…

        Banks are large dumb beaurocracies.

  • H3R34TH4C0MM3NTS on 04/09/2024 - 22:33
    +1

    Being Cashless makes it easier for businesses to nickel and dime you, when it's cashless theres no issue taxing every customer 12 cents and not batting an eyelid eg , theres no impost in charging $4.12 instead of 4.00 so why not just charge $4.12. In the cash world it would be too troublesome to even charge 10 cents on $4.00. Inflation occurs faster and the value of money decreases faster in a cashless world.

    • whyisave on 04/09/2024 - 23:21

      This is true.

      With digital payments, you can actually charge that $0.12 amount, and over time, multiply your profits significantly.
      Whereas in a cash transaction, this gets rounded down to $0.10

      Yet, in a cash transactions $0.13 gets rounded up to $0.15 cash payment !

      • neoleo on 05/09/2024 - 08:32
        +2

        I have seen 10% discount on certain day if you pay cash in a restaurant in the City. Cheapest meal there $15.9 - 10% discount with cash ;-) Other days is 7% discount with cash

  • ahara on 04/09/2024 - 23:56

    I support a cashless society as done in Sweden, due to the simple fact that it will reduce the shadow economy and result in less tax payments by those of us who are employed on a salary and not paid in cash under the table. The underground economy hurts the pockets of all law abiding citizens who follow the rules and cannot hide their salaried payments.

    It will also make crime and payment for crime related activities much harder, as the courts can much easier correlate where the income and transaction activities match usual drug/crime related patterns.

    Same goes for anyone who gets benefits from the government, but in reality also earns money on the side as a (enter cash payment job here).

    My hard earned tax should be used on those who really need the payment and not to fill up the pockets of those who wish to work half the time but get paid for free by Centrelink

    • [Deactivated] on 05/09/2024 - 01:11

      @ahara - Tax cuts to your weekly income is just an illusion, the Government will simply tax you else where to recoup the money, for example if enjoy a beer like many Australians do they will just add more tax when you purchase that. Your taxes are always going to go towards funding areas and people that you don’t want them to (politicians waste far more of our money on silly ideas that fail), you will never have control over that, for example I don’t have children by choice and wouldn’t pay a cent from my taxes towards education and schools for your children and other peoples children if I had the option to choose. So with that being the fact of the matter, the question is why do you care so much about sticking it to criminals, tax cheats, and dole bludgers that you’re happy to introduce and overlook the disadvantages that a cashless society would create for all forms people including law abiding citizens?

    • citybargainhunter on 07/09/2024 - 23:44

      They can still trade in US dollarsor some other currencies. Where there is a will etc

    • ProlapsedHeinous on 10/09/2024 - 04:43

      Adorable you think the problem will be solved…. Theres still barter, gold, silver, crypto, beer, many many things that can be used and everyone will just adjust to whatever the best one is.

  • kaleidoscope on 05/09/2024 - 00:05
    +2

    i do support cashless transactions, but i do not support entire society going away from cash because that would be very inconvenient at certain times.

  • Commander Shepard on 05/09/2024 - 04:40
    +5

    Cash is king

  • AddNinja on 05/09/2024 - 06:27
    +3

    Everyone should support cash. I know running a cash system in parallel to electronic transactions is costly but in the event or catastrophe or war, the country needs to keep running should the electricity fail, or the banks etc get hacked and their systems fail.

  • Rickysupertramp on 05/09/2024 - 06:30

    I can assure you, there's a LOT more "main" arguments against it.

  • Mugsy on 05/09/2024 - 07:30
    +1

    Gamers have had to learn time and time again to not preorder games… let it release first so you know what you're buying into.

    But gaming is small fry in costs and consequences compared to a nation going cashless. Maybe it's best to wait and see how other countries' experiments into cashless society goes.

    Thank you Sweden for being our case study…

    https://fortune.com/europe/2024/06/21/why-going-cashless-has…

  • kiwimex on 05/09/2024 - 07:39
    +2

    All those worried about internet / power outages. There is already technology out there where the chip in your debit/credit card can automatically deduct from your last balance without the need for internet access. So effectively if the internet was down for 24hrs and you had $200 in your account and you spent $50 at a store this would be deducted from your balance with no need to access the internet immediately, and this would carry on until you reached your $200 available balance, the same would be for the merchants eftpos machine (which could run on batteries as well) once internet / power is restored balances on all ends would be automatically updated.

    • timhn on 05/09/2024 - 07:46
      -1

      Urm, isn't the efpos machine must connected to Internet as well?

      • kiwimex on 05/09/2024 - 08:20
        +2

        No there will work off the same principle as the card with the chip in them. As stated all the transactions will be stored on the machine until it regains internet access then balances will be restored.

        • neoleo on 05/09/2024 - 13:35
          -1

          We'll be in huge trouble when there is a solar superstorm. "It could take weeks or months to repair the damage." Cash is king. Read this all:

          https://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-flare-electronics.ht…

          • filmer on 05/09/2024 - 16:27
            +1

            @neoleo: You think having Cash will save the day in such a scenario?

            • neoleo on 05/09/2024 - 16:56

              @filmer: At least people can still buy goods in-store with cash even without electricity and payment network (because of solar superstorm). Any businesses that only accept card will not open or have to accept cash to survive until electricity and payment network are working again.

  • Joey2scoops on 05/09/2024 - 07:51
    +3

    So, in a world where there is a war, your electronic economy would be a prime target.

    Don't need bombs or missiles to take that down.

    Keep the cash, beware of convenience replacing common sense.

  • MisplacedGaijin on 05/09/2024 - 08:36
    +5

    I use cash as a budget tool, if there's not enough in my wallet then it gives me an opportunity to re-think "do I really need this product ?". After all, if I see money going out of my wallet then it's a distinct "pain point" right there. I'd like to see a survey on how many of us check the bank statement at the end of the month !

    Given that cash is still the "currency of the realm", I detest when shops offer a product for sale, I accept their price and then they tell me how they want the money. Illegal according to the Reserve Bank (unless the shop has a sign saying "card only").

    I do wonder when the survey says 95% of sales are tap-and-go, how many are because that's the only option ?
    Going cashless is a cost-saving (no cash handling) for the merchant, but for the consumer ?

    Sheesh …

    • ProlapsedHeinous on 10/09/2024 - 04:50

      I don't have any objections to people not using cash, but I have a massive problem with people wanting to get rid of it. keep using your tap and go and leave people who want to keep using cash alone.

  • Nebargains on 05/09/2024 - 08:39
    +1

    I don't care one way or the other, for me it may as well already be cashless because I haven't used cash in like 5 years or so, travelled a number of countries around the world in that time and haven't used cash anywhere. Pretty much used my phone with linked CC to pay for everything since.

    So I guess if it was cashless society then I wouldn't care, I also don't care if some people use cash.

  • bobwokeup on 05/09/2024 - 08:59
    +2

    It’s safer and quicker so yes cashless all the way, not to mention all the dodgy businesses and tradies that don’t declare the money they earn. I literally only use cash for small items sold or bought on marketplace.

  • Chewy2221 on 05/09/2024 - 09:06
    +2

    A "discount for cash" seems to be an outdated concept but it is something I would support.

  • cloudy on 05/09/2024 - 10:14
    +6

    Went to woolies yesterday and signs were up saying cash only as they’re having technical issues. The shop was half empty.

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