Cashless society starting in Cornwall, UK...

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

I hate everything about the way they wrote that. It makes me recoil immediately in distrust and hiss.

They are trying to sell a "more genuine experience" by REMOVING the genuine experience.
Fumbling around for change is part of the genuine experience.

You can't get much more phony than this while claiming to not to be.

a reply to: tadaman

Recoil and hiss, sounds like 'no step on snek' to me!
...but agreed, I don't buy the explanation either.

a reply to: TheMadTitan

can see it now...

'Hey, i wanna buy this, this and this'
'Our internet/power is down'
'Bye'

I can also see it..

"Hey, we just saw from your records that you purchased this (very sick in our opinion) type of pórn recently from this dubious website, so either you accept our terms or we'll doxx you and your sick perversions for the whole world to see".

What if you want to buy something that's harmless, but you know your boss wouldn't approve of? What if your boss or family member is a major hater of some basketball or hockey team you went to a game of last week and they can now find out because you can't pay for anything in cash?

Cashlessness opens up such a nightmare of a hellish world, there's no way to live in it and be happy.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: turbonium1

Good point. Intelligence tools run the drug trade. Keeping them dirty keeps them obedient and useful for all manner of atrocities. This all runs on cash.

That's probably the only reason cash still exists, to fuel all of our wicked, harmful, extremely addictive vices, which must use cash exchanges, and nothing else.

Drug dealers and hookers don't take credit cards, they only take cash.

Cash is not going to vanish away, completely - not anytime soon, anyway - if just for that reason.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

I don't know them but my gut tells me it's just easier not doing cash so it ain't some altruistic reason, just convenience.

In a cashless society it's also easier for them to track every penny you spend , I see it as handing over more control to the man.

You can take my cash from my cold dead hands.

The UK has tougher privacy laws, "they" can't track every penny you spend because "they" are a payment company and the data that they have is extremely limited and can't be broughtsold like it can in the US.

You could simply use more than one payment method. Payment companies can't share this information so if you use different companies they can't connect the purchases.

originally posted by: turbonium1

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: turbonium1

Good point. Intelligence tools run the drug trade. Keeping them dirty keeps them obedient and useful for all manner of atrocities. This all runs on cash.

That's probably the only reason cash still exists, to fuel all of our wicked, harmful, extremely addictive vices, which must use cash exchanges, and nothing else.

Drug dealers and hookers don't take credit cards, they only take cash.

Cash is not going to vanish away, completely - not anytime soon, anyway - if just for that reason.

Actually ... a lot of criminals are cashless these days. Pre-paid gift cards have been a criminal currency for a while now. Back in the day when having your own phone was something new and exciting gangs would give their runners burner phones and pay them in those scratch cards with minutes on, among other things.

I believe iTune gift cards are the currency of choice for some criminals.

originally posted by: AaarghZombies

originally posted by: turbonium1

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: turbonium1

Good point. Intelligence tools run the drug trade. Keeping them dirty keeps them obedient and useful for all manner of atrocities. This all runs on cash.

That's probably the only reason cash still exists, to fuel all of our wicked, harmful, extremely addictive vices, which must use cash exchanges, and nothing else.

Drug dealers and hookers don't take credit cards, they only take cash.

Cash is not going to vanish away, completely - not anytime soon, anyway - if just for that reason.

Actually ... a lot of criminals are cashless these days. Pre-paid gift cards have been a criminal currency for a while now. Back in the day when having your own phone was something new and exciting gangs would give their runners burner phones and pay them in those scratch cards with minutes on, among other things.

I believe iTune gift cards are the currency of choice for some criminals.

I'm referring to the countless millions of people who use illegal drugs, get hookers, who are paying it all by cash.

Not money launderers, professional criminals, which is very different, obviously.

Those types of vices are where people use cash.

originally posted by: johnb
Oh crap do these places have to display signs saying they refuse to take cash and if so is this even legal?

If i offer to pay by cash as i don't have plastic or a smartphone - are they not legally obliged to take my 'legal tender' ?

Legal tender only applies to paying debts - and even then there are limitations.

As a shop owner I can refuse any payment offered. If I only accept two pence pieces or payment by bank transfer, that is my legal right. Obviously you do not have to make a purchase if you do not have, or object to, the payment method I ask for.