Hi Misty, I think you have explained very well how the use of credit and debit cards have enabled a lot of businesses to survive in these unpleasant times. I know my card has been well and truly used in the fitting out of our camper van, for boat building purposes and just for ordinary living. I regret the passing of the cash transaction, I've had a £100 in my wallet for a couple of months and hardly touched it, but I do see how the use of cards has made life so much easier particularly whilst we have been held virtual prisoners in our homes.

Cheers, Nerys

Firstly Nerys, Please don't shut up, we all love to read your writings. For myself, I left Grammar School at 16 and went to work as a bank clerk, in a local bank and worked for them for 31 years before being made redundant, I saw all of the technological progress in banking from beginning with a clerk working a full manual accounting system, aided only by a mechanical adding machine, through to full online computing and cash dispensers, I was made redundant in 1990 due to reorganisation after 15 years as a manager. The last branch I managed stood at daggers drawn with another bank immediately opposite and a third bank at the next road junction. All are now closed. But I think we should all be grateful for the convenience and ease with which we can spend our money by debit card and credit card. We must all be using them to support our boat building habit. The small local trader can still use these modern devices, my local Veg stall that visits our village twice a week has a card machine linked to the banking system by mobile phone and they use it very successfully, during the two periods when I have been forced to shield 'on government advice' they have delivered to me weekly and I have paid through online banking. So it is not all bad, but my granddaughter, following in her grandads footsteps, walking to work at her bank branch has been told it will close in July and she will get another placement. So we have some way to go yet. I remember when direct debiting came in there was a great reluctance by the more cautious to be involved with such a thing, they would rather send a cheque than give their bank details to a third party, blissfully not realising that every cheque bore their bank details and a copy of a signature to go with it. If their was ever anything good about sliced bread then I put these cards alongside it!

Nerys
Couldn't have said it better😊😊

My feeling is that the government and big business have been working towards a cashless society for a long time and covid has really accelerated that move. Think, some shops are not taking cash. The huge growth in online shopping has meant more card or PayPal use, same thing really. When did you last pay to fill up at a service station. How do you pay for a fast food order. The big businesses, the Amazons of this world are getting richer and in years to come we'll probably be voting for TheAmazon or Ebay party when they are rich enough to influence government, How long before the small one man band type of business has more or less disappeared, particularly with the help of covid. I haven't been to an ordinary little market for years, once a mainstay for poorer families, but how will they survive in the current climate. In my last business cash was king, I didn't take cards as I maintained that my goods were so reasonably priced that everyone had the cash to buy something, but today, I would not have survived. So where will all this lead us, I believe to a society where there is far more control over the population than we have ever had. The move to cut down travel is already underway by the future ban on petrol and diesel cars and the introduction of more expensive electric, thus stopping the poorer man from owning a car.
I'll shut up, I've said too much already.

Nerys

Nerys,
That is scary. Sounds like one could wave your savings away in an instant. I do like cash, but more and more places here frown upon it, even when it has printed upon it "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private." I suppose one would have to be able to read that though.....

Hi All,
Here in SA they are limited but the trouble being s they can scan them in your wallet on a once of purchase, banks do tend to SMS you on large purchases but sometimes 24 Hours later.

Hi Tora Dog, the contactless card has been in use here for some time. At first it could only be used for very small purchases, but since covid the value one can purchase has risen considerably. All that's needed is to wave the card over the machine and that's it.

Nerys

I have not seen the contactless type of card that is mentioned. Over here all seem to require inserting the card into a machine because they have chips on them that must be read. The week point is that the cards can be used as a debit card OR a credit card and the latter does not require a PIN for a transaction.Especially if used over the phone.
A week of so ago, my wife and I were taking the kids(furry four legged variety) for a walk and when we go out of the van there on the ground was a CC. I tried to contact the individual, but they were not listed in the phone book, so I called the number on the card and reported it lost, but found, so that the bank would cancel it, which they did. Then I cut it up and tossed it.
Now... when will my packages arrive? 😠 No such luck....

Very true. Always have the card in your possession NEVER hand it over to anyone. Scams happened in Taxis in Australia a lot as the taxi driver had a fake reader.
Tap it your self and see the amount and the approved message on the terminal.

Here in SA which is cybercrime ridden I have cancelled the contactless method of paying! This is due to the bank's attitude of "you are responsible"
We have constant scamming of cards in restaurants and ATM's
Never let your card out of your sight and if the ATM looks dodgy it probably is.

Hi, I lived in Australia and worked in the industry that handled contactless cards. In Australia, each transaction is approved by 'the bank' when the card tapped on a terminal, which means that if a card is reported as stolen a stop is recorded against the card and it will not authorise any transactions. In the UK when contactless cards were introduced the terminals downloaded a negative list of card numbers when the terminal settled at the end of the day, this obviously meant that a stolen contactless card could be used many times without fear of being caught. The banks have been introducing new terminals that seek authorisation on each transaction. Once this rollout has been completed if a card is reported as stolen it will not work. I am no longer in the industry but believe that this is nearly complete and when it is I expect the contactless limit to be raised to a higher level. Governments love contactless payments or really any payments that eliminate cash as it means tax can be applied without any problems. The downside is that we leave a digital trail of our lives that can be followed.
I saw some research that says people check that they have their phone 5 times more often than their wallet, so I expect the 'banks' to push to move contactless payments on to phones as a phone has a level of security that a plastic card does not.

The filth that paper money carries is quite incredible but now it has such a plastic content who knows?

I think the covid thing where some shops won't take cash has pushed us all very much quicker towards a cashless society. Although I have always been one to use cash as much as possible, I have found myself using a card virtually everywhere , and really this is totally against what I have always believed.
Another point on handing that card in today, and that was the second time we've found one within a few months, our fingerprints are now on that card and if it had been used illegally, if the police checked it ,we could be accused of being the people who used it illegally.


Cheers, Nerys

I had a conversation with my bank just yesterday about this... the security of it.

Apparently there is now (mostly) a hard-limit of £250 total on the Contactless transactions. For some banks it is a £250 limit that resets at midnight. For others (e.g. Natwest), it will not work as contactless after £250, but if you use your PIN after a failed contactless transaction, it will then reset your limit for another £250...

This was all new enlightenment for me.

Before Covid, I was fan of using hard cash. Mentally, waving a plastic card at a machine doesn't feel like 'spending'. It's all too easy. Physically counting out and handing over hard-earned paper money is so much harder to do. So many times I've started pre-counting my money out for something, ready for purchasing, and then change my mind! Nope... prefer to carry on seeing/feeling that wad of cash in my wallet thanks!

Hi Nerys,

Totally agree with your points.

What gets me is people are so lax when they use them - just wave it at a terminal, don't check if the terminal has actually been asked to debit a larger amount than needed and then go about their day!

Security, contactless cards and common sense do not go together it seems!

Glad I'm old school and in relation to our money, trust no one and nothing!

Andy