Is cash still king? Examining physical money in a digital world

[ZedRM]

Nope, this is from the Fed Reserve

There is no federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law that says otherwise.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12772.htm

Incorrect. US currency bills have a statement printed right on the bills themselves and reads as follows:
"This note legal tender for all debts, public and private."

That statement, which is a legal document issued by the US government, excludes business and private parties from refusing US currency as a form of payment.

 

[captaincranky]

Well, if we take the value of the US dollar, which is only about 90% of its value compared to a year ago, and reference it to the current value of bitcoin, which is about $23,000 as compared to $65,000 in approximately the same time period, I'd say.....
Show me the money..!

If we compare bitcoin to the Dow Jones Industrial average, as of now, the Dow Jones would be at about 15.000, give or take.

 

[Revolution 11]

Incorrect. US currency bills have a statement printed right on the bills themselves and reads as follows:
"This note legal tender for all debts, public and private."

That statement, which is a legal document issued by the US government, excludes business and private parties from refusing US currency as a form of payment.

That is not correct. Look at the words again. "Legal tender for all DEBTS". Payment of services is not considered to be a debt. Transactions conducted in real-time are not debts. So businesses don't have to accept cash for normal transactions and business. If you owe a legal debt to a business, then yes, they have to accept cash as payment for that debt.

 

[BadThad]

I have been in MANY situations where dummies with no cash were DENIED. One that routinely sticks in my memory and has happened many times is pulling into parking for an event - if you didn't have cash, you didn't park. Especially true where parking was temporarily expanded into a grass field.

Multiple times I've walked into a store and seen a sign "cash only, machines not working". Then there have been instances where ALL power was out and EVERY open store had signs "cash only".

The biggest advantages of cash are it is ANOMONOUS and can get you DISCOUNTS on goods & services. I don't like the "eye in the sky" seeing all my purchases then marketing to me or selling my data. I have negotiated hundreds of deals by pulling out cash and offering a lower than asking price to great success.....just did it again last night, guy wanted $125, I pulled out a $100 and he said OK. Let's see you do that with a piece of plastic!

CASH IS KING AND WILL ALWAYS BE

 

[BadThad]

The sad part is that our society is moving more and more to a convenience / efficiency optimized model that greatly decreases resilience and introduces a host of single points of failure.

And one that permits big government to peer into every detail of your life should they desire. I'm amazed daily by all the fools in America that believe government is the answer to everything and clamor for more of it. I want government OUT of my life as much as possible - leave me alone, stop stealing my money and most importantly SHRINK.

 

[BadThad]

Cash is still king especially when you hire contractors. Mention cash and they'll give you a discount. But it also works with certain retailers too.

100% I have a lot of experience with this. Just two years ago I saved over $2000 on a roof for my house by offering CASH. Saved hundreds of dollars on smaller jobs over the years by using cash.

 

[BadThad]

Cash is a hassle. I can breath easy knowing I can cancel my lost card. I can't cancel lost cash. Tap to pay is also way faster. I hate cash paying slowpokes in line.

I haven't used cash for retail purchases in years. I don't carry all my ID with me wherever I go either. Replacing ID is the ultimate hassle. Drivers license is all the ID I carry daily. Easier to replace if lost.

Let us know how that works out when your debit card info gets stolen, they wipe your account clean and you're broke. If you're ever behind me in line, I'll make sure to pay with small bills and change just to make your day.

I guess you've never waited in line at a BMV, eh? A driver license is not "easy" to replace.

 

[Underdog]

Hackers, scammers, and Phishers can empty your account if they are skilful enough or you are stupid enough. If you have cash stashed away from electronic monitoring it makes the scammer's job a lot more difficult. Banks suck. They use your money and squeeze a profit out of it for themselves. Here in France we have to pay to have a bank account. We're getting double screwed.

 

[Irata]

And one that permits big government to peer into every detail of your life should they desire. I'm amazed daily by all the fools in America that believe government is the answer to everything and clamor for more of it. I want government OUT of my life as much as possible - leave me alone, stop stealing my money and most importantly SHRINK.

We all feared an Orwellian future, turns out it‘s more like Huxley envisioned, at least in the West.

 

[waclark]

Incorrect. US currency bills have a statement printed right on the bills themselves and reads as follows:
"This note legal tender for all debts, public and private."

That statement, which is a legal document issued by the US government, excludes business and private parties from refusing US currency as a form of payment.

Not according the federal reserve. Did you read the link I posted? That statement means it can be accepted but it does not say that it must be accepted. By the way, counterfeit money has that same statement on it. Do you think I am obligated to accept that too?

 

[m3tavision]

Losing a CC is a much smaller worry imo. Most CC limit the amount of fraud spending damages you are accountable for to $50 (and some won't hold you accountable for anything). If I lose more than $50 it's already worse than a CC. However, I will give you that losing a debit card is far worse since there's very few stolen card protections in place.

lol^
If you are worried about loosing $50 bucks... instead of loosing your CC and the headache of getting a new one with a different number and having all your accounts updated...

Illustrates why you do not have $50 in your pocket.

 

[ZedRM]

That is not correct. Look at the words again. "Legal tender for all DEBTS". Payment of services is not considered to be a debt. Transactions conducted in real-time are not debts. So businesses don't have to accept cash for normal transactions and business. If you owe a legal debt to a business, then yes, they have to accept cash as payment for that debt.

You seem to be missing some context. The term "debt" can and does mean ANY financial obligation, including purchase transactions. Your failure to understand that does not make it a less valid point.

Not according the federal reserve. Did you read the link I posted? That statement means it can be accepted but it does not say that it must be accepted.

You too seem to be missing context. People are free to make an exchange of services and goods through any method that pleases them. However, if currency is required and the party paying wishes to offer cash, the receiving party may not refuse. If they do, it gets legally sticky and can result in a lawsuit.

By the way, counterfeit money has that same statement on it. Do you think I am obligated to accept that too?

Pedantic semantics. There are just as many ways to offer fraudulent electronic payment. You would be stuck without money and the perps would likely never face justice. For that reason your point is semantics.

 

[Knot Schure]

I have been in MANY situations where dummies with no cash were DENIED. One that routinely sticks in my memory and has happened many times is pulling into parking for an event - if you didn't have cash, you didn't park. Especially true where parking was temporarily expanded into a grass field.

Multiple times I've walked into a store and seen a sign "cash only, machines not working". Then there have been instances where ALL power was out and EVERY open store had signs "cash only".

The biggest advantages of cash are it is ANOMONOUS and can get you DISCOUNTS on goods & services. I don't like the "eye in the sky" seeing all my purchases then marketing to me or selling my data. I have negotiated hundreds of deals by pulling out cash and offering a lower than asking price to great success.....just did it again last night, guy wanted $125, I pulled out a $100 and he said OK. Let's see you do that with a piece of plastic!

CASH IS KING AND WILL ALWAYS BE

Yep - use it, or lose it.
And the privacy with it too. I draw out 500 US / UK / EU whatever equivalent, and then pay for meals - everything with that.
I keep all my receipts and yes I lose my walking cash from time to time when drunk, but my cards are safe at my home / hotel.
Losing my cards is like a death in the family...