I mean, since the last time I’ve visited: it seems like no one ever carries it. I prefer it because CC charge additional fees (which end up making the item cost more) I have a small rant about that: STOP RIPPING OFF PEOPLE WITH THOSE SURCHARGES?! (It should be 0 rather than 1%) as it may seem trivial, they add up overtime. Are stores allowed to refuse cash payments outright despite them being legal tender?
Yes, I realise this, my point was that the cost doesn’t disappear, it’s just hidden
Cash has a cost. It needs to be physically handled, counted, stored securely, moved in armed transport, and cash in all businesses is lost to theft every hour.
Small business insists on cash not to avoid bank fees, but to avoid taxes. My barber’s lifestyle does not match his income on paper.
Exactly, I’m not sure how people can’t fathom how expensive it used to be to run everything on cash.
The free cash cost of the past had factored into it, the 30 minutes of wage needed to clear the tills and check the balances, the bank fee that they get to process 5kg of shrapnel, armoured guards to move large sums of cash around, specialised training, firearms and custom vehicles. Cash was an industry, of which a small amount remains.
Now the extra cents they slap on your card payment at the tap, that has always been bulshit. The price on the sticker being the amount you pay is a core tenant of this country, and I’m glad they are cracking down on it.
I’m also strongly in favour of keeping the cash option there. Many many good reasons to have it around.
You seem to be laboring under the misconception that people don’t want to pay for things by card.
Card payments are more convenient than cash.
They rely on a network, which costs money. Yes, the fees exceed the cost, which allows the network provider to make a profit. However, if the profit was excessive there would be alternatives, and most Australian’s will be invested in that payment network through their super anyway.
In summary, consumers are enjoying convenience in exchange for a fee. You personally might find the fee unreasonable but you’re the minority.
You seem fixated on the idea that when paying with cash you will be burdened with the card fee even though you’re not availing yourself of that service. I’m a self employed consultant. The vast majority of customers pay electronically, by bank transfer. A few times a year someone wants to pay with cash, so I have to make a special trip to the ATM to deposit it just for them. Handling cash has a non-trivial cost.