Drumbeats for the cashless society

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Used cash three times last week.

Car dealership told me there was a three percent surcharge to use credit card, so I used cash. Same thing at the dentist. Checks and debit cards had no surcharges but used cash. Also used cash at notary.
 
searcher said:
Used cash three times last week.

Car dealership told me there was a three percent surcharge to use credit card, so I used cash. Same thing at the dentist. Checks and debit cards had no surcharges but used cash. Also used cash at notary.
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Well that's great. I had thought that you had previously posted that you rarely used cash. Glad to hear that's not exactly the case.
 
Joe King said:
I had thought that you had previously posted that you rarely used cash
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I did. After posting that I took a quick scroll through this thread.


A little over a year ago you couldn't remember the last time you'd used cash.
searcher said:
Really can't recall the last time I really used cash.
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At least you are moving in the right direction. Keep finding ways to use it more. If more people don't, we will lose it eventually, for sure.



searcher said:
I'm no proponent for a cashless society
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If not, show it by using it more.


searcher said:
Edit to add: I'm a firm believer in having an emergency stash of cash on hand................just in case.
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Because when/if the time comes that you need to use that emergency stash, you'll want to be able to use it, right?
 
^^^^ why is that funny?

Will you laughing if you are hungry, but no one will accept your emergency stash?

Is it not true that the fewer people who use cash, the more likely it becomes that it'll be removed as an option?
 
Joe King said:
Is it not true that the fewer people who use cash, the more likely it becomes that it'll be removed as an option?
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I'm not in favor of a cashless society but there are a large group of people who are, Think IMF, BIS and a host of other .gov types who are working to bring it about.

I started thinking about stuff like this back in the early 70s but never thought it could happen in my lifetime. I was wrong. It could and just may. Depends upon a lot of factors that I have no control over. All I can do is vote.

As to the majority of the population..........most people use plastic or a phone to pay for things. They don't think about, nor care about, a cashless society. They're already living it. Have been for years.

Any more banks are simply way stations used to hold your digital currency, transfer that currency and pay your bills. Has been that way for years.
 
searcher said:
I'm not in favor of a cashless society but there are a large group of people who are, Think IMF, BIS and a host of other .gov types who are working to bring it about.
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If not in favor of it, do what YOU can in order to go against it.

Ie: find ways to use cash.

It's like how muscles can atrophy if unused for a long time. Don't help our money to atrophy.


searcher said:
I started thinking about stuff like this back in the early 70s but never thought it could happen in my lifetime. I was wrong. It could and just may. Depends upon a lot of factors that I have
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The means to do so did not exist back then. Only in recent years has it existed.
...but yes, there was talk back then of it coming. It's been on the wishlist of the elites for a very long time.



searcher said:
As to the majority of the population..........most people use plastic or a phone to pay for things. They don't think about, nor care about, a cashless society. They're already living it. Have been for years
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When you have the chance, remind them about the dangers of no longer having cash as a means of exchange.

If more people do what they are capable of within their own sphere of influance, together we might be able to at least keep delaying it.

If we let it go, our children, grandchildren and future generations will never know a freedom we've taken for granted.




searcher said:
Any more banks are simply way stations used to hold your digital currency, transfer that currency and pay your bills. Has been that way for years.
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They'll just end up putting themselves out of business.

In a truly cashless society, there will be little need for brick and mortar banks.
 
Joe King said:
In a truly cashless society, there will be little need for brick and mortar banks.
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Around here more and more banks are closing branches. The big guys are just keeping one or two main branches open. Some of the little ones getting swallowed up by the big ones.
 
If you have to register to read, it's free.

CrowdStrike computer outage highlights need for Payment Choice Act​

On July 19, millions across the country found out the hard way what it means to rely too heavily on a digital economy. When an update from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike caused millions of computers to go offline, ATMs became inoperable. Bank customers temporarily lost access to their accounts. Restaurants, grocery stores and other retail establishments that have recently gone all or largely "cashless" were suddenly faced with lost sales and frustrated customers and employees trying to cope.

As Mark Eubanks, the CEO of Brinks, observed, "With every grid disruption, whether from natural disasters, cyberattacks or computer glitches, people are acutely reminded that cash is critical to keep commerce functioning."

More:

CrowdStrike computer outage highlights need for Payment Choice Act

The ability to make cash transactions is vital to some Americans, and when technology fails us, it can be a lifeline for all Americans. We need to preserve it.
www.americanbanker.com
 
searcher said:
As Mark Eubanks, the CEO of Brinks, observed, "With every grid disruption, whether from natural disasters, cyberattacks or computer glitches, people are acutely reminded that cash is critical to keep commerce functioning.
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YES.

There's little question in my mind that this is deliberate - to gin up panic.

It's ALSO obvious to me, that this is counterproductive. I'm almost completely off the financial grid, now - something I'd have thought asinine, 17 years ago.

Are the Elites just stupid?...or is there something afoot, or some strategy, that I can't ken?
 
Casey Jones said:
. I'm almost completely off the financial grid, now - something I'd have thought asinine, 17 years ago.
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Now imagine if everyone were doing the same.

Then further imagine if everyone had been doing that for the past few generations.

Our situation would be vastly different today.
 
I am not surprised. There are always a lot of contrarians in the population; and young people are less likely to be inhibited in displaying it.

I am one, and know how I'm reacting to all this arm-twisting and data-hoovering. When I was a kid (early 20s) I really, REALLY wanted a credit card. In the Volcker years, those were not easy to get without lengthy established credit.

Now, the MasterVisa people are tripping over themselves to issue me as many cards as I want. Replete with crushing penalty fees and 20-percent interest, if my payment is seconds late on a deadline.

I'm not interested. Just call me Mr. Cash, there, clerk...
 
Short article I came across by accident. Supposedly translated from German, at least it opened in English for me. Podcast part is German.

How the public sector is abolishing cash​

Local and long-distance public transport is available to everyone. But more and more people are being excluded. Children are being thrown off the bus because they are not allowed to pay with cash. If you don't have a smartphone, you have to pay expensively or not at all. And some public offices only accept card payments. The federal government is committed to cash and is promoting its abolition, largely unnoticed. By Hakon von Holst [ * ].

This article is also available as an audio podcast.
Cash is not the money of the rich. It is more popular than average among low-income people. Cash gives you control over your own spending, it cannot be easily removed with a swipe of your smartphone. Cash is the only state-approved means of payment for everyone - free of charge and not in the interest of the financial industry , which enriches itself from the fees for using cards. And last but not least, thanks to banknotes and coins, people remain able to act in the event of seizures and sometimes even political persecution.

More:

How the public sector is abolishing cash Nachdenkseiten via machine translation (Micael T)
 
Preaching to the choir here but we do have guests.

The end of cash will come at a high price — your privacy and more cybercrime

Countries abandoning physical cash entirely, in favor of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), is not science-fiction. Digital payments are convenient and efficient, but those advantages can blind us to the profound implications for privacy, civil liberties and financial autonomy that a cashless society will bring.

One of the most pressing concerns about a cashless society is the loss of financial privacy, which in turn poses significant risks to personal privacy and autonomy.

Every digital transaction leaves a trail of data that can be tracked and analyzed. Financial institutions often use this information for fraud detection and targeted marketing. But governments can exploit the same data to monitor and punish citizens for undesired behavior. This was starkly illustrated by initiatives like Operation Choke Point in the U.S., which aimed to cut off access to banking for unpopular, albeit legally operating businesses deemed undesirable by the government.

In another example, Canadian trucker protests in 2022 prompted the Canadian government to invoke the country’s Emergencies Act, which included measures to cut financial support to the protestors. Banks were ordered to freeze accounts of individuals and organizations suspected of being involved in the protests without the need for a court order.

More:

 
It's legal? Sure. Tell that to people who've had their money seized.

The odds of it happening are low? Great. Be a gambler. All you need is one tail-light out, or even one roadside sobriety check, to lose it all. And to spend a bit of time in jail, as they work to buttress their rationale for seizing the money.

FedGov gave an INCENTIVE for local LE to behave lawlessly; and like a dog performing for treats, local LE are acting on that incentive.
 
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