42
Is cash dead in Australia? (nord.pub)
submitted 1 week ago by to c/australia@aussie.zone
58 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

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?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 5 points 1 week ago* (1 child)

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.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago

    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.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent