Times are a-changin' in London where cash is king

It would be very foolish to be completely cashless in life

When I was in Vancouver last summer, it was exactly as the above article claims- although no one told me I couldn't pay in cash, people just assumed that I would pay with a card. I paid in cash.

In theory, a cashless society would be very convenient and I support this concept.

Unfortunately, we cannot trust the elitists who are pushing to convince the public to embrace it. They only have thier own interests at heart, not ours.

Once they have got rid of cash the government will introduce a tax on card payments.

I use cash when at home, I get looked at as if I'm a freak. So many restaurants and businesses refuse to to take cash now, it's ridiculous. Businesses are charged a small percentage by card issuers to process their payments, this is passe don to their customers. The more you use your cards, the more you help inflate prices and profit the card companies.

I was surprised that cash still accounts for 40% of transactions in the UK - most seem to have stopped using cash altogether, even for very small purchases.

I know a bar that doesn't take cash at all. Saves them a lot of cost and inconvenience.

Contactless payments have revolutionised things in only a few years.

In theory, a cashless society would be very convenient and I support this concept.

It certainly would...

Unfortunately, we cannot trust the elitists who are pushing to convince the public to embrace it. They only have thier own interests at heart, not ours.

And you lost me when you started on about elitists...

Thunderbird2:

As finance expert Brett Scott points out in this article there are drawbacks. Two that concern many are:

1: Surveillance

2: Cybersecurity

There is much evidence that big tech and governments are tracking us without our consent. A cashless society will only create more surveillance and monitoring of our daily lives.

Poor cybersecurity of our hard earned finances can incur irretrievable losses.

Our legal weapons in case of loss from the above are often weak as they have the weight of the law on thier side.

I don't trust these, usually nameless and faceless, people who are pushing this. The elitists, the people at the highest echelons of world and local finance and business and government officials who do thier bidding.

Perhaps I am being clearer now?

I'm sure there are quite a few builders, plumbers and drug dealers who would be quite sorry to see the complete demise of cash.

“In London where cash was king”, surely.

Good article expressing my deeper reservations.

Having lived in Japan I cannot embrace a totally cashless society. So many horror stories abound with identity theft, security leaks, etc., outrageous problems continuing to pop up here and there. Paranoia rules. Are we sheep to be fleeced? Have we lost our independence? Honesty seems to have gone out of the window, and criminal gangs find cyber holes in the system.

Half cash and half digital may be good, where cards are no more than a convenient option, please!