how long before cash is obsolete?

[frank]

I noticed while shopping the other day that more and more stores are using self checkouts and card only lanes. it seems to look like they are under staffing the regular checkouts to force people to use cards or other forms of electronic payment. Do you think we will see a cashless society in the next 10, 20, or 30 years?

frank

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I don't travel much. I just returned from a week's vacation in a major city. From the time I left til I got home the only time I needed to use cash was at a hot dog stand. Most of the time the places didn't want to deal with cash (bars, restaurants, taxi, public transportation), or wouldn't accept cash at all (hotel, airline).


Although, no individual that I tipped refused US currency.

 

[Music Lover]

I don't think a cashless society will happen or that it's a good idea. It's just the loss of control over your money disguised as convenience.

 

[COcheesehead]

Pretty soon. The young’ ens behind us don’t even know what it means to carry cash. I rarely carry cash. I am hard pressed to think of places that don’t take cards. With all the proliferation of merchant services even down to the farmer’s market level, cash will fade.

 

[street]

Nevah, any way I hope so.

 

[kcowan]

I suspect that cash will fade out as the Millenials dominate in the shopping world.

So it will become smaller overall as a share of retail but I do not see it disappearing.

 

[prudent_one]

No, I don't see that happening. Lots of people on this forum could get by without cash but there are many, many people who couldn't. Underground economy, people who can't get bank accounts, people who don't want bank accounts, people who find it easier to manage money with cash...

Even now, when I go out to lunch on Sunday at a small local diner where you pay at the register, I see about 75% of people paying cash.

 

[Gumby]

I noticed while shopping the other day that more and more stores are using self checkouts and card only lanes. it seems to look like they are under staffing the regular checkouts to force people to use cards or other forms of electronic payment. Do you think we will see a cashless society in the next 10, 20, or 30 years?

frank

And so we build the walls of our own prison.

 

[braumeister]

Sweden is probably the most completely cashless society in the world, and yet according to this 2018 article, a quarter of Swedes still use cash at least once a week, with cash transactions in the retail sector at about 15%.

The Swedes rebelling against a cashless society

 

[scrabbler1]

I don't think we will ever go cashless, although plastic is being accepted in places I thought would never have gone that way, such as taxis.


I don't use cash as often as I used to, but as long as some businesses have minimum $$ purchases to use plastic (delis, small eateries) or have price differentials between cash and plastic (gas stations), cash will still be used, if not required.

 

[REWahoo]

I smile whenever I see a thread topic like this one. It reminds me of when I left the military 40+ years ago and went to work in the check printing industry. My friends and family thought I was nuts since "checks were going away" and I would be out of a job in a few years.

Check usage has declined dramatically but four decades later we still aren't a "checkless society" - and probably won't be for a few more decades.

 

[erkevin]

Then there is a record of everything that you buy. The insurance companies get a hold of that data and your premiums soar because you purchased; alcohol, bratwurst, ice cream, bullets, bungee-jumping tickets, not enough toothpaste..................

 

[Alan]

We went to Norway for 2 weeks and at the first stop I got Kroner at an ATM. On our last day we were in Bergen and I still had all of it so we spent it at the market there even though all the stalls took cards.

The UK attempted to go checkless and almost got there but not quite. I never write or receive checks but enough folks do so that a year or so back the banks gave up and introduced mobile phone check deposits.

 

[Sunset]

I noticed while shopping the other day that more and more stores are using self checkouts and card only lanes. it seems to look like they are under staffing the regular checkouts to force people to use cards or other forms of electronic payment. Do you think we will see a cashless society in the next 10, 20, or 30 years?

frank

While there are more self serve places, the reason is simply that it's a lot less costly to have self serve. So they staff a few of the remaining registers only to handle some of crowd as they don't want idle cashiers waiting for customers.

 

[audreyh1]

I noticed while shopping the other day that more and more stores are using self checkouts and card only lanes. it seems to look like they are under staffing the regular checkouts to force people to use cards or other forms of electronic payment. Do you think we will see a cashless society in the next 10, 20, or 30 years?

frank

Our grocery self-checkout machines accept cash and give change.

For the general going cashless- not in my lifetime.

 

[dixonge]

People thought we were going cashless back in 1981. I mean, how else is the Antichrist going to force everyone to get a barcode tattoo?

When Your Money Fails

 

[Dash man]

As long as there are transactions where people don’t want a record of, there will be cash.

 

[davebarnes]

I have not used cash in the USA in the last 20 months.
Cards, Apple Pay, Venmo.
(Haircuts - Venmo. Tamales - Apple Pay.)

On our last trip to Italia, Slovenija, and Österreich, I think that 2/3 of our cash use was 3 meals at 2 restaurants in Piran.

 

[Sunset]

I have found I need to refill my $150 in my wallet about every 6 months. Just a few years ago I remember getting cash every couple of weeks from the ATM.

Mostly because now Aldi takes CC, I no longer use much cash.

 

[JoeWras]

Check usage has declined dramatically but four decades later we still aren't a "checkless society" - and probably won't be for a few more decades.

And there are plenty of entities today that will take a CC, with a nice premium attached. So, a check is better.

Taxing authorities are a good example. I'd prefer to not set up bank info to the govt. So I use a check.

Other examples are big ticket items. Cars, trips, etc. They'll take a credit card, and add 3% or so.

I think the kids don't even blink an eye at the premium and pay it. I couldn't live with myself if I was paying a premium on my tax bill just to use a credit card.

 

[Ronstar]

Never. At least not in the foreseeable future. Because there are sometimes glitches that make paying by cc impossible. Such as during a power outage.

I was buying brewing supplies once when the power went out in the whole neighborhood. The store couldn’t take my cc as payment. I started to put my $500 worth of purchases back on the shelves.

The store owner said that I could have a 10 or 20 pct discount (I can’t remember exactly) if I paid in cash. I went to 2 or 3 atm’s before I found one with power, and came back to the store and bought my stuff at a discount with cash.

If it wasn’t for cash, I wouldn’t have been able to make some beer.

 

[street]

I think cash made me a better saver/frugal in my life. Having cash inn my pocket always made me scrimp/budget of what I had in my pocket.
I love to use cash for many under 50$ purchases. I love the feel of holding those Benjamins in my hands. Lol

 

[stepford]

I was going to say that as long as there's dope, hookers and hitmen there'll be cash, but all of these are now bought using Bitcoin and other cruptocurrencies. So I'm not so sure anymore.

 

[nobody]

Hard to imagine strip clubs not taking cash. Until weed is legalized at the Fed level the dispensaries out here only take cash. Not that I do either of the 2 above, just saying.

 

[audreyh1]

We use so little cash that the annual rebates/rewards from Costco are more than we need, and I haven’t visited a US ATM in years!

Overseas I use a lot more local cash.