What I learned by going deep into the other side...

[Anonymous]

LOTR directly from the federal reserve website; also just curious to who you think a cashless policy affects? Any one who is here legally can open a bank account or prepaid debit card. 

"Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," states: "United States coins and currency [including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks] are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law which says otherwise."

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

LOTR directly from the federal reserve website; also just curious to who you think a cashless policy affects? Any one who is here legally can open a bank account or prepaid debit card. 

"Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," states: "United States coins and currency [including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks] are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law which says otherwise."

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Well I'll be!   You learn something new everyday!  Thanks for the excerpt.  

Whether it is legal or not, all it takes is one person who feels wronged and the bad publicity from it will probably kill that business.  I still say, my personal response to a retailer doing this would be not to do business with them until it was obvious that the whole of society's payment structure allowed this form of payment only.

Greed is often hidden behind words like efficiency. My personal favorite quote:  Just because it's legal, doesn't make it right!

There are many MANY people who don't trust banks.  I can't blame them. I mean look at what Wells Fargo did just a few months ago to their loyal customers!  SMDH.   Some people are not even trying to have a credit card/debit card/ApplePay/GooglePay or any other payment method for that matter.  Not to mention there are still some older people who grew up in the depression who really REALLY don't trust banks and tend to have cash stashed anywhere and everywhere but in a bank! LOL.

Those who I know that are on a fixed income don't want a bank account because they have seen their little money eaten away by bank fees. They sometimes turn to finding ways to make quick CASH when their funds run out before month's end.

[bada_bing]

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@Anonymous wrote:

LOTR directly from the federal reserve website; also just curious to who you think a cashless policy affects? Any one who is here legally can open a bank account or prepaid debit card. 

"Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," states: "United States coins and currency [including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks] are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law which says otherwise."

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There are millions of "unbanked" legal citizens of the USA. per the FDIC:

 The FDIC estimates there are 10 million unbanked or underbanked American households.

These people don't have access to banking for various reasons, not all of which are in their control

and none of which are illegal. 

I'm not (much) of a tin foil hat conspiracy buff, but I see very important reasons for cash to remain

a viable method of commerce. I don't use cash much at all, but would vigorously oppose a totally

cashless society. 

[Anonymous]

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@bada_bing wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

LOTR directly from the federal reserve website; also just curious to who you think a cashless policy affects? Any one who is here legally can open a bank account or prepaid debit card. 

"Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," states: "United States coins and currency [including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks] are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law which says otherwise."

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There are millions of "unbanked" legal citizens of the USA. per the FDIC:

 The FDIC estimates there are 10 million unbanked or underbanked American households.

These people don't have access to banking for various reasons, not all of which are in their control

and none of which are illegal. 

I'm not (much) of a tin foil hat conspiracy buff, but I see very important reasons for cash to remain

a viable method of commerce. I don't use cash much at all, but would vigorously oppose a totally

cashless society. 

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Hm, mind sharing what they list those reasons as? Choosing to not use a bank or credit union is not a valid reason for saying my statement is incorrect. 

[bada_bing]

Mismanaging personal finances will have you barred from opening an account because of a bad Chex report.

Have you ever pondered on how check cashing mills are able to charge what they do for a simple transaction?

They have a captive clientele, the unbanked. People above the lowest strata have difficulty understanding the rules

for the lower class even when evidence is everywhere, like the corner check cashing place.

[Anonymous]

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@bada_bing wrote:

Mismanaging personal finances will have you barred from opening an account because of a bad Chex report.

Have you ever pondered on how check cashing mills are able to charge what they do for a simple transaction?

They have a captive clientele, the unbanked. People above the lowest strata have difficulty understanding the rules

for the lower class even when evidence is everywhere, like the corner check cashing place.

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That is simply not true, having a bad Chex report will prevent you from opening an account at most banks, but TD, Wells, and even some Credit Unions offer accounts specifically designed for those who have made indescritions. Your making a broad statement about the profitability of check cashing institutions, and they make their profits in many other ways as well. including individuals without consumer credit to obtain a loan from a traditional bank, and those who do not research what options are available to them. There are no set rules, just because it may be difficult to open a bank account does not mean those individuals are barred from it. Reminds of the saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can't force it to drink.

[Dalmus]

 I don't think you really need a tinfoil hat mentality to see why there are some reasons people should not be FORCED to use electronic payment for every day living expenses.

 Using cash is freedom to not be traced and tracked along every little thing you do.  Obviously this helps people do shady/illegal things, but it also keeps some people from being persecuted because of what they purchased or what they supported.

 Although, sometimes watching the news and seeing what goes on in the world and how much we know about things we probably shouldn't, makes those tinfoil hats look a little less silly!

[Dalmus]

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@iced wrote:

Another thing to consider in regards to retail price being driven higher is that by opting to encourage the consumer's use of credit the business itself is cutting costs in other ways. With fewer consumers using cash the business does not have to have such a large amount in the cash drawer, and deposits into a business account will have to be made less frequently, cutting down on manager's man hour trips to the bank. The other untold story is the business is able to minimize it's robbery risk, while the risk will almost certainly always be there, if they are robbed the robber will have made off with less cash due to the drawer not being as stocked. Cash also cuts into customer processing time, in establishments where every second counts such as a coffee shop it is much faster to swipe then it is to pay by cash and count out the change. If we are thinking thereotically here we could say that consumer's view and satisfaction with a business are higher when they have to wait less. Therefore Credit is beneficial to the business.

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Interesting point here. I actually have been to several places in the last few months that have stopped accepting cash altogether - it's credit and apple pay only. They're all about efficiency and security, and every transaction is now just a quick swipe or scan.

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 With swiping cards, I can see this being useful...  But I don't see it as being faster than a cash transaction.  I see it as a way to deal with workers who A) don't know how to properly count cash, or B) unable to find honest works that don't steal.

  With the proliferation of chip cards, though, this gets more and more annoying every day.  I've noticed lines move slower at businesses that have their chip readers activated.  Far slower than even the youth with poor counting skills doing a cash transaction.

 If you're going to be a credit-only business, then be a swipe-only business!

[Anonymous]

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@Dalmus wrote:

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@iced wrote:

Another thing to consider in regards to retail price being driven higher is that by opting to encourage the consumer's use of credit the business itself is cutting costs in other ways. With fewer consumers using cash the business does not have to have such a large amount in the cash drawer, and deposits into a business account will have to be made less frequently, cutting down on manager's man hour trips to the bank. The other untold story is the business is able to minimize it's robbery risk, while the risk will almost certainly always be there, if they are robbed the robber will have made off with less cash due to the drawer not being as stocked. Cash also cuts into customer processing time, in establishments where every second counts such as a coffee shop it is much faster to swipe then it is to pay by cash and count out the change. If we are thinking thereotically here we could say that consumer's view and satisfaction with a business are higher when they have to wait less. Therefore Credit is beneficial to the business.

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Interesting point here. I actually have been to several places in the last few months that have stopped accepting cash altogether - it's credit and apple pay only. They're all about efficiency and security, and every transaction is now just a quick swipe or scan.

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 With swiping cards, I can see this being useful...  But I don't see it as being faster than a cash transaction.  I see it as a way to deal with workers who A) don't know how to properly count cash, or B) unable to find honest works that don't steal.

  With the proliferation of chip cards, though, this gets more and more annoying every day.  I've noticed lines move slower at businesses that have their chip readers activated.  Far slower than even the youth with poor counting skills doing a cash transaction.

 If you're going to be a credit-only business, then be a swipe-only business!

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If a cash drawer is out of balance even a few cents usually the worker is terminated so that would be a pretty stupid person to get a job somewhere so they can steal maybe $200-300 out of a cash drawer that they would immediately be caught at... and second it is not just youth that have poor counting skills. I agree to the chip readers though, almost as annoying as the neighbor's dog that never shuts up. 

[Dalmus]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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If a cash drawer is out of balance even a few cents usually the worker is terminated so that would be a pretty stupid person to get a job somewhere so they can steal maybe $200-300 out of a cash drawer that they would immediately be caught at... and second it is not just youth that have poor counting skills. I agree to the chip readers though, almost as annoying as the neighbor's dog that never shuts up. 

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 Having known people who owned high volume businesses, I'm amazed at what people go through to steal money.  People who are otherwise lazy and useless suddenly become ingenius and inventive when it comes to theft.  My friend suspected a new hire of stealing, and after refocusing the security camera to see the register screen better and sending in a couple "secret shoppers," he figured out that the cashier was ringing up items at the wrong price, "fixing it" for the customer, but never correcting the register, and pocketing the difference when he thought nobody was watching.

 But in general, I agree with you... Its not worth the risk to most of us.  If I'm going down for theft, I want it to be spectacular... Like millions of dollars.  Getting nabbed for petty theft like $200 from work is stuff a junkie does!

 And you are right about counting skills.  I was just making a generalization.  I see plenty of middle-aged folks that I wouldn't trust to balance a checkbook.