Novocastrian

You, especially you, could be mugged just because of your head-dress.

But when I last lived in Germany, people would still buy groceries using a cheque at the. ahem, check out.

Some peasants still do this in France. I'm wondering what it's like in das Heimat these days?

scrubbedexpat091

I use debit often but always carry some cash so I am not completely SOL when debit system fail, which seems to be something I see at least once a week somewhere and a lot of places in Richmond and Vancouver (usually smaller shops and restaurants.) are cash only.

Cash is still popular in this area with small businesses in certain areas.

Not so much in Canada but in the US you get a lower gas price when paying by cash, sometimes as much as 20 cents less per gallon when paying by cash.

Piff Poff

I usually have some cash on me, when I was on a tight budget, I preferred using cash over cards. Second hand private car biz is all about cash, as are swap meets and the like.

scrubbedexpat091

So is the 2nd hand aquarium biz and frag swaps and fish auctions are almost always cash only.

As for cheques, I am finally down to 12 per year. Just for rent, the property management company has no electronic method of payment, cheque or money order only.

Jingsamichty

In the past year I have not seen one single person pay by cheque at the supermarket, or indeed for anything - it is cash or card only.

MelVan

There have been pretty significant advances in going cashless in Australia - combination of smartphone payments and Tap & Pay has accelerated the trend. I can go for a couple of weeks without using cash - public transit uses a stored valued card (and that's the only mechanism for payment), the toll roads use a transponder (again the only way to pay), the coffee / sandwich shop at work now encourages customers to use cashless payment (the owner said much easier from a financial management perspective and cuts down on cash loss / handling issues). The gardener wants electronic payment. Even my housekeeper now issues electronic invoices and wants electronic payment. She said "it's just easier to be automated now I've worked out how to do it".

We also don't have to worry about tipping in Australia, so another potential cash item isn't there.

All that said, there are still some businesses that only accept cash (or discourage electronic payments eg for smaller values). But they are certainly fewer than used to be the case. Even some tradies I deal with have said they can't be bothered with cash anymore. The Australian Tax Office tells us the cash black market is alive and well, but as the years pass, I see fewer and fewer instances of where it might be active.

Australia has also just implemented a new payments platform to facilitate real time payments between bank accounts.

As with everything in Australia, all of that comes at a cost. The Reserve Bank has progressively implemented policy that permits merchants to pass on the cost of participating in electronic payment systems to consumers. Credit cards frequently attract a surcharge (even debit cards / EFTPOS can). The practice varies wildly between different merchants. Many big businesses (the airlines and telcos are probably the best examples) relentlessly apply the maximum surcharge permitted for electronic payments. Many other businesses do not - presumably trying to curry customer goodwill, or they recover the costs through their prices.

BristolUK

True enough.
Not only true but one is likely to be more careful.
Nope. I was just making a lame joke of finding out where you were going to be at 3.00 so I could "talk you into giving me" your £200

Davita

I read somewhere that police advise having instant cash available if one is in an area where casual muggings, mainly by druggies, is prevalent. Further escalation may be avoided as the assailant usually grabs the cash and runs away...whereas fumbling, or denying any cash, can create further problems.

bats

Obviously you never went to the same hairdresser's as I do, or massage therapist.

I like to use cash as the bank charges for each use of the debit card. That soon adds up.

BristolUK

You don't use free banking?

PC - Now Simplii - isn't quite as convenient as it was, now that there are no free machines in Superstore but then other bank's customers didn't have that anyway.

Now it's just CIBC machines to use for no charge, which I imagine is the same for CIBC customers, just as TD customers can only use TD machines free, RBC customers can only use theirs free and so on.

Most of my withdrawals are now cashback at whichever supermarket I'm at, the nearby Shoppers or the mini supermarket up the road.

I've got 3 monthly scheduled debits plus 3 or 4 payments I make as and when and ten debit card uses per month is typical.

bats

TD have free withdrawals at other banks but I was talking of when you use your card to buy something. Tap and go.
I like cash though as I spend less if I see the notes leaving my purse.

scrubbedexpat091

Tangerine offers an unlimited free account including unlimited debit/tap transactions, at least in BC. You can use Scotia bank ATM's free of charge as well as Scotia owns Tangerine.

I do tend to spend less when I have cash, with a card it's so easy to lose track of spending.

Dorothy

I don't know if banks there do it, but my daughter has an app on her phone linked to the bank. So every time she taps her card (it's actually her phone she taps) the app updates. She gets alerts as to how much she's spending and what she's spending on. It takes some setting up but it's handy to keep track

dbd33

I spend a couple of grand a month in cash. Not for parking meters though, I use plastic for them, indeed I fed one today with Amex.

Atlantic Xpat

I seldom carry cash & use debit or credit tap and go pretty much everywhere.