What happens if you want to purchase something from a farm stall and there is no cell coverage for your network provider. How do you pay for your vaccine and antibiotic free eggs.
What if there is a network or power failure and small traders cannot trade.
What if a small trader cannot use digital payments because he has been declared insolvent and now is prevented from trying to earn a living selling mushrooms or berries or chopping firewood.
There are many transactions on the fringes of society that use cash even in predominantly electronic payment societies.
Sex workers are one and even sex toy shops. If you want to surprise your SO with a little something and do not want it to show up on your card statement before the day how do you pay for it. If you fall into a river and your phone is drowned how to you phone without coins for a pay phone (almost all gone in many places) or pay for a taxi if your phone was your wallet.
How to buy or sell random goods in a garage sale if the customer or seller does not support your mode of funds transfer.
What if the dilution of value to the banks for each transaction rubs you up the wrong way.
Giving government additional power over your wealth is a bad thing. They could have a computer crash and everyone is broke until further notice. They will not be happy for you to make any transaction without paying tax.
You may not trust that the seller is not mining your purchase history and selling it to aggregators.
What is equally concerning is that property deeds are being converted to digital in many countries. The banks used to hold the deed if you had a loan and when you paid your loan you would get the deed back. Now banks are saying they are destroying the deed and offer you a printout from a central register, what if you want to sell your property and the bank says you do not own it, the deeds database was corrupted 12 years ago and you have to go to the high court to prove you own your own home because the database says BlackRock owns it or Bill Gates seems to own your farm.
In my tiny island nation which is also a global hidden wealth haven, there have been two massive banking functions breakdowns in just one month recently. Is it still easy to pay in cash where you are? I have noticed in some nations people just tap tap tap. Where I am, felt embarrassed to pay using cash but I still do and many people do too though it is not fashionable. Can you still pay in cash where you live at the supermarket machine checkouts? And in retail clothes shops?
Finland is on the list of was it 5 or 7 countries that want to lead the way to a cashless society trial populations. We are in the treatment group and some other lucky countries may still be in the control group.
Finland is special. We have had internet banking since the Internet (I think), peak cheque was in 1984 and they disappeared from public use very soon after 1997 (27 year already) when the full risk for any bounces or fraud was transferred to the shop and card payments were available.
In the past 4 years there have been hygiene related moves to reduce cash. Public transport managed to PAUSE and when there was no riots to then eliminate all cash use on buses and trains. very irritating. If visiting a different region you will have to download an APP or purchase a single or multi-use card to use a bus.
There have been no additional ATMs installed in Finland in the last 15 years, they have maintained the number and when one is closed it is relocated to new development sites.
Self service checkout counters in shops only accept digital payment. In the last 2 years since the go-cashless drive there have been a number of large national coffees hop and some other chains that have started to refuse cash. It has not reached the news and the common citizen is ok with it because it does not affect them. Many in Finland are happy to admit they like cashless and have been doing it for as long as they can which is possible in I think every situation.
Yesterday my wife told me that she had seen a beggar with a card payment terminal. That is disconcerting to me. There are comparatively few beggars in Finland and even less homeless as the winter would cull off those who have not made some arrangement to keep warm.
If you like numbers here are some random numbers about cash use in EU. I do not have the patience to read so can offer no opinion.
It looks like Finland has also tried unstaffed convenience stores in the same way as China. I was unaware of the test as it did not exceed my news threshold but I do not consume much mainstream news.
If you have the time and a strong stomach you can read all the horror stories about Finland going digital at this site. I expect you could change the URL to include another country and see how bad the situation is there. Basically it is happening whether we like it or not.
Mine is debit only as far as digital, started for 2 reasons: 1. Thru debit if my card is lost/stolen- I still have my money, 2. I've worked insanely long work weeks most of my life & being able to still go cash my check was always a pain, so direct deposit fixed that problem.
On the flip side of that I've been very much getting ready to go back to cash only because while some will say "cash is becoming obsolete" or "fiat currency is dead" I'd rather take my chances with that, than to have my income accessible giving these authoritarians the weapons to use against me
Don't think the authorities that we gave power to wants a totally cashless society too( drawbacks to it too) though some people definitely want it. Cash notes are not dirty. How silly we are to think that. I live in a tiny island and pay using cash though many have signed up blindly for the cashless wagon. Cards of coz serve a function too. XO
I use cash often because I keep it on hand for gas because of debit card fees at the pump and convenience stores. I use a debit card for groceries. I never use mu phone or that wallet stuff. I rarely use a credit card.
In reply, dear Charlotte, hope your new radio show is going well. if there's an online link, maybe I can listen to it and call in! The phone banking wallet stuff- actually thieves can easily steal the phone. Read in overseas newd that there are those who stand over you and memorise your phone pin and then swipe your phone to gain access. XO
I think there was already a plan to provide debit cards to refugees to the EU so they could get some benefits and make purchases and be tracked easier. :-)
What happens if you want to purchase something from a farm stall and there is no cell coverage for your network provider. How do you pay for your vaccine and antibiotic free eggs.
What if there is a network or power failure and small traders cannot trade.
What if a small trader cannot use digital payments because he has been declared insolvent and now is prevented from trying to earn a living selling mushrooms or berries or chopping firewood.
There are many transactions on the fringes of society that use cash even in predominantly electronic payment societies.
Sex workers are one and even sex toy shops. If you want to surprise your SO with a little something and do not want it to show up on your card statement before the day how do you pay for it. If you fall into a river and your phone is drowned how to you phone without coins for a pay phone (almost all gone in many places) or pay for a taxi if your phone was your wallet.
How to buy or sell random goods in a garage sale if the customer or seller does not support your mode of funds transfer.
What if the dilution of value to the banks for each transaction rubs you up the wrong way.
Giving government additional power over your wealth is a bad thing. They could have a computer crash and everyone is broke until further notice. They will not be happy for you to make any transaction without paying tax.
You may not trust that the seller is not mining your purchase history and selling it to aggregators.
What is equally concerning is that property deeds are being converted to digital in many countries. The banks used to hold the deed if you had a loan and when you paid your loan you would get the deed back. Now banks are saying they are destroying the deed and offer you a printout from a central register, what if you want to sell your property and the bank says you do not own it, the deeds database was corrupted 12 years ago and you have to go to the high court to prove you own your own home because the database says BlackRock owns it or Bill Gates seems to own your farm.
In my tiny island nation which is also a global hidden wealth haven, there have been two massive banking functions breakdowns in just one month recently. Is it still easy to pay in cash where you are? I have noticed in some nations people just tap tap tap. Where I am, felt embarrassed to pay using cash but I still do and many people do too though it is not fashionable. Can you still pay in cash where you live at the supermarket machine checkouts? And in retail clothes shops?
There are many great benefits to cash. XO
Finland is on the list of was it 5 or 7 countries that want to lead the way to a cashless society trial populations. We are in the treatment group and some other lucky countries may still be in the control group.
Finland is special. We have had internet banking since the Internet (I think), peak cheque was in 1984 and they disappeared from public use very soon after 1997 (27 year already) when the full risk for any bounces or fraud was transferred to the shop and card payments were available.
In the past 4 years there have been hygiene related moves to reduce cash. Public transport managed to PAUSE and when there was no riots to then eliminate all cash use on buses and trains. very irritating. If visiting a different region you will have to download an APP or purchase a single or multi-use card to use a bus.
There have been no additional ATMs installed in Finland in the last 15 years, they have maintained the number and when one is closed it is relocated to new development sites.
Self service checkout counters in shops only accept digital payment. In the last 2 years since the go-cashless drive there have been a number of large national coffees hop and some other chains that have started to refuse cash. It has not reached the news and the common citizen is ok with it because it does not affect them. Many in Finland are happy to admit they like cashless and have been doing it for as long as they can which is possible in I think every situation.
Yesterday my wife told me that she had seen a beggar with a card payment terminal. That is disconcerting to me. There are comparatively few beggars in Finland and even less homeless as the winter would cull off those who have not made some arrangement to keep warm.
If you like numbers here are some random numbers about cash use in EU. I do not have the patience to read so can offer no opinion.
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/paysysa4en.pdf
It looks like Finland has also tried unstaffed convenience stores in the same way as China. I was unaware of the test as it did not exceed my news threshold but I do not consume much mainstream news.
https://www.nfcw.com/2023/05/31/383864/convenience-store-in-finland-offers-automated-contactless-shopping-using-rfid-tags/
If you have the time and a strong stomach you can read all the horror stories about Finland going digital at this site. I expect you could change the URL to include another country and see how bad the situation is there. Basically it is happening whether we like it or not.
https://www.nfcw.com/country/finland/
Mine is debit only as far as digital, started for 2 reasons: 1. Thru debit if my card is lost/stolen- I still have my money, 2. I've worked insanely long work weeks most of my life & being able to still go cash my check was always a pain, so direct deposit fixed that problem.
On the flip side of that I've been very much getting ready to go back to cash only because while some will say "cash is becoming obsolete" or "fiat currency is dead" I'd rather take my chances with that, than to have my income accessible giving these authoritarians the weapons to use against me
Don't think the authorities that we gave power to wants a totally cashless society too( drawbacks to it too) though some people definitely want it. Cash notes are not dirty. How silly we are to think that. I live in a tiny island and pay using cash though many have signed up blindly for the cashless wagon. Cards of coz serve a function too. XO
I use cash often because I keep it on hand for gas because of debit card fees at the pump and convenience stores. I use a debit card for groceries. I never use mu phone or that wallet stuff. I rarely use a credit card.
In reply, dear Charlotte, hope your new radio show is going well. if there's an online link, maybe I can listen to it and call in! The phone banking wallet stuff- actually thieves can easily steal the phone. Read in overseas newd that there are those who stand over you and memorise your phone pin and then swipe your phone to gain access. XO
Ya me too. All the purely online banks and card apps come with cons that one may not think of. XO
I think there was already a plan to provide debit cards to refugees to the EU so they could get some benefits and make purchases and be tracked easier. :-)