Wow, I never I thought I’d see the day that cash disappeared from our lives. But if Armaguard’s latest troubles are anything to go by, it’s coming, and more quickly than expected. How scary is that?
Like, how confident are you that, when you need it, you can transact without cash as a backup? How many times in the last year have banking systems failed (was it just when you had a trolley full of goods, or had you planned to shop, and now can’t?), or have rogues penetrated systems to lay waste to the security of large corporates?
How about the “little old ladies” who only know cash? What do they do? I guess someone else will need to do their shopping for them, making their lives just that little bit more lonely.
And what of long-held practices we all know and love?
Do we put a visa card under a youngster’s pillow and tell them the tooth fairy said they could spend $5 of it?
A $50 note in a card to a friend….. soon to be gone as an option.
How will you be nice to a busker, or some out-of-work person destitute on the street? Drop a credit card in their guitar case or hat? What if you don’t have the time to take them for a meal, but wanted to help them a little bit, quickly?
What of the stash under the mattress? Will that be worthless in just a few years? Oh, right, there’ll soon be “Digital Dollars” !
You know, those things that can be individually massaged to guide your spending – like, if you don’t get the latest Govt-mandated vax your Dollars “won’t work”? Is this simply good ol’ CT (cosnpicary thoery)? Could be, but how sure are you of that? If you tend to be a bit radical, that could be one good way for “powers that be” to fix your wagon !!
But leaving that scarey stuff aside for a minute, what will you do the next time the banking system fails and leaves you high and dry for a day or three? You can’t say “Stuff it” and go pull cash from an ATM (remember them? They used to provide cash when you needed it).
What else are we going to lose along with cash? Think about it, and perhaps consider making a few more transactions a week using the folding stuff to help keep it around.
You know the old saying – “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone!”
Benny
It scares me as well Ben, I simply don’t like putting so much trust into 3rd party systems especially when it comes to money.
I simply don’t like putting so much trust into 3rd party systems especially when it comes to money.
Amen to that comment, Adam. And how much more robust are any “digital dollars” liable to be anyway? Have our systems got more clever, such that hackers, or failing power systems won’t affect them and our use of them?
Meantime, what can we do?
Well, for mine, I’ve made a decision to use cash WAY more than I have previously. Yeah, the Debit Card is handy, but its use is likely trackable and, do I want some “power” to be able to track me? With cash use reportedly dropping like a stone, the only way I can see to push back is to start using the folding stuff more. Let the powers know we aren’t wanting to give up our right to a good old system that works !!
Any other ideas? I’m all for pushing back a bit more….. ;)
Benny
Couldn’t agree more “Cash is still King.” Think of the trades, extra work that is done using cash, the saving that are made and the benefits you mentioned for making small donations to those in need. Not to mention all the small surcharges that the providers and banks are making on ridiculous small transactions. Buy a coffee, pay 1.4% surcharge, it all adds up, and some places give you no option, they stopped taking cash due to COVID and now have not reintroduced it. I am confident that some of these charges or “surcharges” are also open to the retailer to add on at their discretion and then claim it is the provider that charges them. When in fact it is not the case, it’s just a disguised mark-up.
Hi David,
Ask anyone in Kalgoorlie at the moment about how vulnerable the system can be. No power, no gas, no air con,
I hadn’t heard – what has happened in Kalgoorlie? Sounds major – has someone shut off a tap somewhere?
Later – I went looking – a freak storm took out 200,000 KvA power line towers (which won’t get rebuilt overnight). Not just one either. Seems Kalgoorlie might need a power station of its own. Or a few more diesel Gennies as backup. Anyway, for those interested, here’s the link I found from the ABC
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-19/kalgoorlie-blackout-explainer/103365870
Benny
Well, THIS email I received struck a chord with me. It’s title read thus:-
Save money and get healthy by avoiding the cashless effect
The email referenced a petition to the Govt that attempts to prevent the abolition of cash in our society, and it makes comments that ring true to me. It was all about “the pain of parting with cash keeps you safer and healthier than using a card”.
Makes sense doesn’t it? Here are a couple of extracts from the email:-
When cash is compared to any other payment method, the research data shows consumers spend more when they don’t have to hand over physical notes and coins. The cashless effect works to increase our spending by removing the ‘pain of paying’ – the emotional impact we feel when having to hand over physical money. And paying with cash – with its associated pain – means we are more likely to make better spending choices – and this has direct impact on our physical health.
“Consumers are more likely to buy unhealthy food products when they pay by credit card than when they pay in cash,”
In between, they referred to studies done that show that people spending via a card or “tapless” end up spending far more. Another plus for retaining cash, eh?
paying with cash:
1) Makes budgeting easier – you can only spend what you have in your purse. If you want to spend more you need to go and get more cash. You can set your daily budget in the morning and stick to it.
2) Retains the pain of paying – the emotional feeling you have about losing a tangible and valuable physical banknote – so you’re likely to spend less.
3) Improves your healthy choices – paying with cash means your less likely to make impulsive unhealthy spending choices.
On top of all this, cash helps us retain our privacy, avoid payment surcharges and doesn’t suffer from ‘system outages.’
Here’s the petition, should you wish to add your signature:-
https://www.change.org/p/an-australian-cash-and-banking-guarantee?source_location=tag_
To read the research data mentioned, go here:-
Both are worthy of some minutes of your time. Please do check them out,
Benny
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