New York City votes to ban cashless businesses in step against discrimination

[Dis]

I rarely ever have cash in my wallet, and I've been that way for at least 10 years now, but I still would expect all stores and food places etc here to accept cash, sometimes a friend or family member pays me back in cash so I like knowing I don't have to worry about a place not taking it. But I'm in the UK.

I do remember how confused I was when I discovered how backwards the American banking system is from my fiancee. I was more shocked that a country that is considered so advanced in a lot of ways related to tech is so outdated with a lot of it's banking systems.

When she opened a new account last year and told me she had to have a direct deposit set up for her pay to avoid a $12 fee I was confused as hell .....before that I had never heard of a normal bank account having any restrictions like that.

Only based that on my UK banking experience to he fair, but I've had the same account since I was 16, never paid a fee or had any restrictions. Admittedly I also found it crazy that America still uses actual cheques as well, I've cashed one of those since I opened my account 14 years ago, but there was no fees or anything.

Not only have I had no fees for my account, but they even added cashback bonuses to my debit card for my account recently too without any fees, they rotate different businesses every 2 or 3 weeks that they offer cash back for, you just open the app or webpage and it lists the current offers. Cash back is between 6-15%, but I mean if it's a place I shop at anyway it's free money without any real effort

 

[DvdGzz]

How am I supposed to buy random games without the wife finding out if I can't use the cash I set aside for "emergencies".

 

[faceless]

hang out at a check cashing place, walmart or grocery store that cashes checks on a friday afternoon and see how many young people cash checks too

 

[Alucrid]

I use checks regularly enough to have had to order a new checkbook and use cash all the time

 

[$10 Bagel]

At JFK I don't think the airlines take cash, but they at least have a machine that lets you convert cash into a card.

that should be mandatory if places want to go cashless because it's easier and less riskier than dealing with cash drops and such.

however, they aren't going cashless for that reason

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

Good, this is one of fronts that gentrification starts to discriminate against working class locals.

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

Can you ban cash-only businesses too? They're the bane of my existence.

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Omfg ditto

 

[Aske]

What are the homeless meant to do with the change people give them if they can't use it? Start handing out cards with the sort code on it and wait for people to log onto their banking app?

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I can't wait until we have a cashless system for doing the equivalent of tossing someone a few bucks. We're a long way from that, and a long way from a cashless society. Refusing cash is dystopian nightmare fuel. There are people living amongst us who literally can't use anything but cash. Take it away, and there will be a bizarre underclass of people who trade in Nuka Cola Mexican Coke bottle caps.

Edit: But yes, ban cash-only businesses, ffs. I'm rich and beautiful and shaln't sully my hands with the proles' vile tender.

 

[jchap]

Checking accounts are free so long as you have more than 100 bucks in it.

 

[Railgun]

America is such a backwards country. Here in Australia there are lots of banks where you can get a free debit account, with no minimum opening balance or maintenance fees or any real hidden fees. I guess I could see how ID required could be a problem in some cases but ID is required for government pensions and the like so not having an ID has lots of problems beyond this.

Hell its pretty common for their to be cashless businesses here that only accept contactless payments with PayPass and Apple Pay and the like and don't accept old school chip and pin cards.

How does public transport work in the US? Do people still hop on the bus and buy paper tickets with cash holding up everyone?

Another thing I'm curious about, so many Americans seem to default to a credit card when they think of a bank account. Are Debit cards not common in the US?

 

[Mammoth Jones]

You talk ask if your solutions are always feasible without risking their business. It's easy to say that when you're only issuing the risk instead of taking it on. I'm not entirely against the idea of the bill, but people really are ignoring the genuine need to not take cash in some cases. I think the bill shouldn't apply to very small businesses. It's common to allow less strict rules on smaller businesses.

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The price of doing business is you have to take people's money, dude....

And since cash is money...do you not see where I'm going?

 

[NineConsonants]

The price of doing business is you have to take people's money, dude....

And since cash is money...do you not see where I'm going?

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with your argument, they would be required to take all forms of payment. It's like people here refuse to acknowledge that they aren taking away something away from businesses by doing this. Why are we pretending we live in a world where businesses can't have preferences on how they deal with payment? This isn't the first case of them doing this. Not all forms are accepted all the time. Your argument makes sense if they have your car impounded since you are owed your car back. But you aren't owed somebody's business.

 

[poptire]

Checking accounts are free so long as you have more than 100 bucks in it.

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This is not universally true.

I went through a bankruptcy years ago and was not allowed to open a checking account period.

 

[Rosé Fighter]

hang out at a check cashing place, walmart or grocery store that cashes checks on a friday afternoon and see how many young people cash checks too

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I work at a place that has a check cashing area. The people who cash checks in there instead of the bank range from 18 to 80.

It's crazy to realize that bank accounts are for the privileged.

 

[yurr]

No they don't. I don't agree that "bank accounts are free" is a good response, mind you, but free checking is a major feature of many national banks.

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Not if you have a history of long overdrawn or closed accounts. A lot of banks want to check your credit now

 

[yurr]

Far easier for the business, don't need a safe, can't make errors counting cash, simpler register, don't have to worry about giving change, runs to the bank etc.

The sooner more businesses go cashless the better.

Plenty of ice cream vans and donut stands use card readers in London and other cities.

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Don't forget not having to worry about being robbed by spurned employees or others.

 

[Deleted member 41502]

I went from being cash free in the us to pretty much cash only in Asia. I think I like it better. Im more careful with my spending.

But there's lots of shit you just can't do. I can't give money to Apple or Google anymore. I... dont really feel like that's a loss. Any business that actually want to work in Asia provide a "cash on delivery" or "pay at a store" option.

 

[Night]

My least favorite thing is pulling up to a gas pump and seeing that they're going to charge me 10 extra cents a gallon for using my credit card.

I forever make a mental note to not frequent their gas station anymore.

Can we ban that?

Or like when I buy things off some websites, they charge 3% extra for using a credit card. They're passing their credit card fee on to me.

Fuck that.

 

[Gernau Morat Gurgeh]

Good

 

[Artdayne]

Absolutely ridiculous, sorry.

Bank accounts are free.

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[nacimento]

In Germany they should do the opposite, fine businesses that dont take cards.

 

[Lagamorph]

How did New York even have a single cashless business when you still have to SWIPE YOUR FUCKING CARD IN 2020?!

If swiped the magnetic strip on my credit cards literally auto-declines in Europe as a fraud prevention measure.

 

[elenarie]

For someone living in Sweden, this is so weird and backwards. But this is America, so I shouldn't be surprised, I guess.

Cash is slowly being removed here, checks are not a thing anymore, and more and more places support contactless payment via phones.
Bank accounts are free, so you could get one fairly easily.

 

[caliph95]

I wouldn't mind living in a cashless society probably would prefer it

But in like 20-50 years in the future probably a lot more where it wouldn't screw the poor who can't afford it or don't have access to it or just inconvenient for them

 

[harry the spy]

What about providing homeless people with means of being part of a cashless system rather than artificially keep us in an antiquated system

 

[Samanosuke Akechi]

Don't most require a minimum monthly balance now and if you dip below that, you have to pay a fee the following month?

Edit: I personally haven't primarily used cash in 10-12 years or more. I rarely have cash on me.

 

[Euler]

Carrying cash is awful. Make it so businesses can't be cash only instead.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

I'm not even remotely surprised at the lack of empathy on display from some posters.

I can still remember the hassle of maintaining a minimum account balance to avoid fees that would suck up the pittance I had still managed to hold onto in my early twenties. I also know some people who lack photo ID and would have difficulty opening bank accounts for the same reasons why others have difficulty registering to vote.

Take your dystopian gentrification bullshit elsewhere, please.

 

[DryCreek]

.

 

[Samanosuke Akechi]

Cash is very annoying. Having to pull out exact amounts or paying a larger amount then having to wait for your change. Just takes way too long.

I simply insert my credit card, hit a button or two and done.

 

[Mivey]

Would be in favour of laws that force stores to give customers the option of both cash and cashless. It's also crazy to see stores that only allow cash in 2020.

I would personally prefer a cashless store myself, as I don't need to wait for people to pay large sums with what feels like hundreds of coins, each of which they need a minute to find in their purse

 

[Lishi]

Would be in favour of laws that force stores to give customers the option of both cash and cashless. It's also crazy to see stores that only allow cash in 2020.

I would personally prefer a cashless store myself, as I don't need to wait for people to pay large sums with what feels like hundreds of coins, each of which they need a minute to find in their purse

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I think it's necessary to cap the bank charges, this will likely kill most of credit card rewards.

 

[Joni]

It is idiotic. Instead of fixing the problem with the American financial sector, an outdated solution is kept. If you see how in countries like Liberia they are even trying to skip the traditional banking step, the USA should be able to do as well.

 

[Ryu]

Bitcoin wallets are for free.
Also, please ban cardless businesses too then, please. Cash will fail, it's not a matter of "if", but "when".

 

[SolidChamp]

(Yellow) Taxi drivers in Taipei have the opposite problem. They fucking HATE accepting electronic forms of payment, even if their cab is equipped with the devices that make it possible. Old school drivers who don't work for a major carrier (and typically have old vehicles in awful condition) refuse to get with the times and also were the ones showing up in droves to protest the presence of ride sharing companies that made huge waves in Taiwan.

Having the option for BOTH is absolutely essential for anyone/business offering goods and services!

 

[Arkanius]

Oh another American only problem.
Most European countries have a "basics" account where it can't have any charges for the maintenance of the account. You just can't have special credit cards (only debit) and other special services.

 

[DieH@rd]

My Balkan country is currently getting ready to adopt China-like QR based payments in effort to streamline the daily flow of cash between general population and businesses.

 

[Kusagari]

It's clear the "free banking" people don't recognize that everywhere that has "free banking" is because of direct deposit. Otherwise, you would need to keep a certain amount of money in your checking account a month or you're stuck paying fees every month.

And, yes, there's a shockingly high amount of businesses still not offering direct deposit.

 

[MechaMarmaset]

Checking accounts are free so long as you have more than 100 bucks in it.

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This is false.

 

[svacina]

It's clear the "free banking" people don't recognize that everywhere that has "free banking" is because of direct deposit. Otherwise, you would need to keep a certain amount of money in your checking account a month or you're stuck paying fees every month.

And, yes, there's a shockingly high amount of businesses still not offering direct deposit.

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America is fucking weird.

 

[konka]

Why are brick and mortars required to take cash and amazon isn't?

 

[Mammoth Jones]

with your argument, they would be required to take all forms of payment. It's like people here refuse to acknowledge that they aren taking away something away from businesses by doing this. Why are we pretending we live in a world where businesses can't have preferences on how they deal with payment? This isn't the first case of them doing this. Not all forms are accepted all the time. Your argument makes sense if they have your car impounded since you are owed your car back. But you aren't owed somebody's business.

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Discriminating against poor people that typically only have cash is ok to you? I kinda prioritize them ahead of businesses. That's the price of doing business. It's legal tender good for ALL DEBTS public and private...

 

[Agent 47]

American madness strikes again. Is it not easy to set up a current account and get a debit card? Everyone gets one in the UK around 16/17.

 

[flyinj]

Good move.

Cash only is fine. As a business, if I don't want to deal with fraud, charge backs, fees or shit just not working, it's my right to avoid it. Don't like it, shop somewhere else. Personally, I wouldn't operate that way, but if people want to, so be it.

However, if I ever start a dollar slice joint or dollar grilled cheese truck, you're goddamn right I'm only accepting cash. I ain't got time for you to fumble around with you fucking NFC bullshit and credit card that won't swipe. You gimme a dollar, you get a slice or a sandwich. Don't ask for change or anything else.

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The issue isn't cash only in and of itself. The issue is when businesses go cash only and put an ATM in the store that charges 2-5 times the normal transaction fee to enrich themselves by fucking over their customers.

In NYC this is pretty much a given at the newer cash only restaurants.

 

[Kthulhu]

Good. There are 2 billion people in the world that don't have a bank account. If you have a retail business IMO you should accept cash.

Pretty much every card purchase is tracked and sold to advertisers. Not go mention the security risks whenever one of these places is hacked.

 

[Deleted member 58401]

I kind of understand cashless at a Farmer's Market or something, but this is a good step, generally.

On the other hand, a country like Iceland is virtually cashless already, and I'd prefer we go in that direction. But that would require a lot of legislation and probably postal banking. Not to mention security concerns.

 

[hurlex]

This seems like a no brainier. How can a company not accept the official legal tender of the country?

Sorry, if you cannot run a successful business without saving money by being cashless, then you don't deserve to be a business.

 

[Deleted member 46493]

I'd like to see NYC try to make businesses not be cash only. It'd be a failure.

I lived in Brooklyn Chinatown for 3 years. Everything was done in cash - even when they accepted cards I noticed most people used cash. It taught me to always keep $20-40 on me in cash just in case.

I understand this is a shock to non-NYC dwellers but yes, a lot of areas here are cash heavy and both the residents and business owners prefer it that way.

 

[EYEL1NER]

Current accounts have a fee in the US? Of fucking course they do... my word. Only premium current accounts have a cost here.

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The bank account I've had since I got my first job at 15, almost twenty years ago, actually added fees last year. I was wondering why I was getting charged a fee everything month out of the blue so I called them. Turns out they split the type of account I had from a regular no-fee checking account to three different types of accounts, two with fees if you don't maintain above a specific monthly balance, and one with a flat monthly fee. They had defaulted me to the monthly fee one. So not only do some accounts have fees, some banks are moving towards having more fees to have accounts rather than away from it.

 

[GalvoAg]

Can you ban cash-only businesses too? They're the bane of my existence.

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For real, fuck these places.