Cashless

Introduction

A few weeks ago I bought a vinyl copy of "Ra" by Todd Rundgren's Utopia from RPM in Newcastle.

I was looking for a version with the cut-out pyramid and this had it for the price of only £3. The guy got out his card machine and I tapped, and the payment failed, I tapped and tried again and it failed. After the third time, I said I would go to a cash point and draw some money out and just pay in cash.

I came back and gave him a fiver, and he said he's just take £2.50 as the banks charge them 50p per transaction, so I could have that. I didn't say no, and got a mint copy of the album for less than I paid for it when I bought when it was released in the seventies.

Then we talked.

Going Cashless

He remarked that no one would know what I had spent my money on, and also the banks would not be taking a cut of the transaction from the seller. Yes the sale would be recorded for auditing purposes but my details would not be included in the transaction.

I was given a receipt, just in case there was a problem with the record, but there was nothing traceable. I know this was just a record (which happens to be a favourite of my daughters Juliet and Kirsty) but the only people who know about it are me, RPM, and the people who read this piece.

It is not all that long ago that when going to buy something I had to first visit a cash machine, draw the money out and then keep a tab on what I was buying so I had enough in my wallet to pay for it.

Now things have changed.

In the name of convenience I now just swipe my card or phone and the item or items are purchased.

Every thing I buy is tracked by financial institutions and sellers giving them an incredibly detailed picture of what I do, where I do it, how I do it, and when I do it.

I am giving away all the details to faceless corporations, so that I don't have to inconvenience myself going to cash machines to get money and then having to be aware of what I am spending.

A down side to this is that I never have cash for tips or to give to people who are maybe having a hard time. I have forgotten that last time there was cash in my wallet.

This is probably the same for all of us, and I have been shocked to see to number of bank branches that are closing down, often explaining that people can get money from the Post Office. That is so ironic because of the efforts by government and financial institutions to close the Post Office down, though it has been privatised so its days are probably numbered.

My dad won't even use a cash machine so if all these branches close due to our embracing of the cashless transactions people like him are going to be in a very difficult position.

Some pubs will not take cash and there is a benefit in that they do not need to cash up and deposit the physical cash in the bank each night.

Conclusion

So we do this in the name of convenience. People are advocating still using cash, because it keeps the consumer in control, but we all know we would sell our souls for a convenient life. Well maybe not, but society is moving that way.