I thought they had to take cash. Doesn't the federal reserve note say "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private"?

Edited: Never mind! I found the answer.

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/legal-tender.aspx

 

I thought they had to take cash. Doesn't the federal reserve note say "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private"?

Edited: Never mind! I found the answer.

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/legal-tender.aspx

Apparently they have to take dollars but there is no requirement to take frn. Credit or debit cards denominated in dollars are ok. I had to look it up too. Some states may require that cash is accepted

 

The Amish salvage stores I shop at have traditionally been cash only businesses that is until a couple of weeks ago when one instaledl a CC terminal. I'm not sure how the thing runs without being on the grid but evidently they saw a chance for profit because the Amish are profit driven Merchants.

 

i went to a jimmy john's sub sandwich place for lunch once when the power was completely out. They refused cash. They wrote down credit card numbers instead.

 

Sigh...

 

I agree completely, it's already happening, and not with a bang, or even much of a whimper (see what I did there ?
The new-age millenials are happy to live by their little plastic card.
I've seen more people than I can recall fly into the country from the other side of the planet, with ZERO cash in their pockets !! ( I mean, WTF, people ??)
More and more buisnesses insist on paying employees by direct deposit, with no resistance. Utilities and companies are no longer accepting cash,take it or leave it.
Gold was effectively removed as real money, and now cash is dying a slow death by a thousand tiny cuts, and the majority haven't noticed, and/or simply don't care.
It's all finally coming to fruition, yet we still hear head-in-the-sand nitwits yammering about completely sidestepping this reality, via their imagined Mad-Max black markets.

 

There's always been a considerable barter market in the rural areas. I already turn down checks or plastic from people I deal with.

 

Learned something today here. I always thought it was required to accept cash. Not so, apparently. I much prefer my customers to pay in cash, and have never had a means to accept credit or debit cards.

 

How many businesses that used to send you a monthly bill, so you could pay by check, now require credit card or direct access to your bank account? I have four now. My health insurance (Medicare Part B) is the latest. I dropped off evilBay a couple of years ago because Paypal insisted on direct access, but them I can do without. Can't do without health insurance.

John Brunner - "Shockwave Rider". circa 1967. I think the man had a crystal ball.

 

Well, the cashless society won't gain any traction if enough people refuse those establishments. And some kinds of cashless transactions aren't that bad -- trade/barter. But so long as enough people want to conduct business with cash or trade, then that part of the economy will keep going on.

I don't have much faith in the vote, but I do in the boycott. The animal rights people put huge pressure on industry not to test cosmetics, etc. on animals, and the anti-GMO consumers are probably going to get us better labeling also. So long as enough consumers vote with their wallets, we'll be in better shape.

 

Well, the cashless society won't gain any traction if enough people refuse those establishments. And some kinds of cashless transactions aren't that bad -- trade/barter. But so long as enough people want to conduct business with cash or trade, then that part of the economy will keep going on.

Terrific, another "IF" argument. (as a childhood buddy used to say, "if 'IF' was a skiff, I'd go fishing"). So,what part of "already happening" is so difficult to get a handle on ? The vast majority of people are already on-board with this. The same majority has no interest in boycotting their favorite companies, much less the utilities, when they largely perceive this as a convenience, and GOOD thing. They also have no interest in participating in a flea-market/ barter system.
Again, this isn't futuristic science fiction, this is ALREADY TAKING PLACE, and enveloping us further as we speak. And it is going to continue to. Time, and money, and eventually the law, are all on their side.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GEERrqjAlU

it's an idea, like when Holder said we need to brainwash people about how they think about guns...so it's starting in video games basically saying a pandemic started by a mad scientist infected the cash supply with small pox..good way to turn kids off from using cash, and skipping to plastic.

the idea in my opinion is once they remove cash, they can turn off your plastic any time using a computer and remove you from society if your an undesirable.

-I usually won't go to places that won't take cash...and most of the local restaurants in my area are cash only, same with my barber.

I wish more places would barter, because that is the real underground economy.

 

How is that different from getting a paycheck?

 

every year you have to fill out those hippi papers at the doctors office, so this year they had a paper in with the others that said they would only accept debt card or cc no cash.so it begins !

 

The reason



I'm glad that you've pointed out that society is moving toward greater use of electronic transactions of its own will and without the government dictating it like some people think they are. Of course, some people don't like this because they like cash, but there are some good reasons why people aren't using as much cash now as they used to.

1. Cash or checks were your only realistic options for payments until around 30-40 years ago, and credit cards have not been in vogue for more than about 25 years.
2. Cash is physical, which means that your physical presence is usually necessary in order to complete the transaction. This can be inconvenient or downright impossible in many instances, particularly with the advent of online retailing. When I was a kid, my mother would go to town monthly to physically pay many bills (i.e. water, electricity, insurance, etc.), and it took her the better part of a day. Also, sizable quantities cash can be fairly bulky to carry around on your person.
3. Cash can be lost or stolen, but if a credit card is used by someone else fraudulently, cardholders are by law not responsible for more than $50 of such purchases, and most banks don't even levy that.
4. Electronic records are far easier to maintain than paper ones. Ask an accountant.
5. Electronic transactions are far easier to trace than cash transactions. Businesses have been having problems with employees stealing their cash for a long, long time. That's why prices for small items started ending in 99 cent increments; employees had to make change and were less likely to stick bills in their pocket.

But cash has some distinct advantages.

1. When the lights go out, cash is still there. Many businesses, though certainly not all, will still take your cash even if they have no electricity.
2. Cash offers much more anonymity than electronic transactions. It cannot be easily traced from person to person, which is why virtually all illegal transactions use it.
3. To be seized, cash must be physically removed from someone's possession. It cannot be frozen like a bank account or a credit card.

Despite its disadvantages, cash is still 'king' when it comes to small transactions (<$25). And here's an interesting point: "Consumers of all age groups list cash as their preferred payment instrument, yet 18 – 24 year olds actually prefer cash at a higher percentage (40 percent) than any age group."
http://thefinancialbrand.com/39408/consumer-cash-usage-banking-payment-research/

And considering that there are still $3.8 trillion in FRN out there, cash isn't going away any time soon.

 

Whenever I find a business that does not accept cash, I contact the manager and let them know that they lost a sale and all future business from me due to that policy. I will pay more to avoid electronic payments.

 

A gym near where I lived used to refuse cash & check payments, and even an entire year paid in advance. They 'required' access to your account to perform EFT's on a monthly basis. My wife talked to the manager and we left, no purchase.

Fast forward to a year later. Now they give discounts for a year paid in advanced and accept cash & check. I guess we were not the only ones to walk away.

 

A cashless society would be just great. You put all your money in the account and the government takes out what they "deserve" and you get what it left..........that is if there is anything left. So that means no more tax evasion, no more working under the table everyone goes blissfully skipping off into the sunset. Life is good.......

 

IF you really believe people wouldn't still work around the system....

 

For those who are really disconcerted by the move toward electronic transactions, I encourage you to at least check out Bitcoin. It isn't completely untraceable, but it can be nearly so. That's why so many governments are scared poop-less by it and the whole concept of cryptocurrencies. What if people were getting paid in Bitcoin? If no one knows exactly who has what, how can the Feds take 'their share'?

Even the Bank of England is trying to develop its own electronic currency, but it would be centrally managed and, hence, completely traceable, which is the obvious goal. Banks are scared of cryptocurrency even more than governments.

 

Before anyone jumps on the Bitcoin band wagon it would be wise to Google Bitcoin hacks. There is even a Bitcoin Generator tool to put coins in your account... and if a hacker can make such a tool you can only begin to imagine what a government could do. At least a half dozen companies have lost over a half million dollars in Bitcoin scams/theft. Even if you only have a few hundred dollars there have been hacks that reduced the value of your "coins" from dollars to pennies.

Of course there are credit card scams too BUT the resources to secure credit card transactions are thousands of times stronger.

 

I feel naked if I don't have some cash in my wallet. It might only be a dollar, but I 'need' something in there...

 

There are also multiple smartphone apps that let you pay with your phone in the store, so you don't even need the physical credit card. None of them have taken over yet, but I've seen a few Coke machines that will let you buy a soda with a wave of your phone over the machine, if you've got the right app installed.

 

Dude, we are talking in parallel.

I'm not disagreeing that "most of" I'm simply stating that the "excuse" is invalid. People will find a way

 

And I don't dispute this point, all I'm saying is that those that "find a way" around the coming global, electronic, (at least largely) cashless sytem will be such a tiny minority, that this ''resistence" won't have any significant effect.

 

Don't lose sight of the fact that 40% of all consumer transactions are conducted with cash, more so than any other payment method. Granted, it's most commonly used for small transactions, but between this and $3.8 trillion in cash out there, cash is not going away in the foreseeable future.

http://thefinancialbrand.com/39408/consumer-cash-usage-banking-payment-research/

 

Willingly cutting out potentially 15% of the customer base? Good luck with that.

I discussed this yesterday, but based on the economy and the number of jobless and poor, I don't think a transition into a cashless society on a large scale is feasible for them right now.

 

...., I don't think a transition into a cashless society on a large scale is feasible for them right now.

LOTS of things that aren't feasible for them "right now", are still steadily approaching and developing. That's undeniable. You can (semi)-plausibly deny that this comes fully to fruition, but there's no denying that we're light-years further along the road towards an electronic/cashless system than we were just a few short decades ago. That is a fact.
We are actively WATCHING this develop before our eyes. That isn't speculation or opinion. It's CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE.

 

I would not buy anything from a company that refuses cash.

 

Have noticed more restaurants, especially chain places, using those little kiosks on the tables for ordering and payment. Keeps the wait staff from having to deal with bringing over a bill and collecting the money. In the business's eyes streamlines everything and cut's down on theft I suppose. No way to pay with cash in those instances, only uses credit or debit cards for payment...

 

No way to pay with cash in those instances, only uses credit or debit cards for payment...

We used to just tell the server we were paying cash. Never a problem a single time. :thumb:

 

We are likely 90-95% of the way there already. It may never go all of the way but those in charge will push it as far as they can. I still spend cash plenty of the time but there are plenty of ways we must pay bills with checks and CCs.

 

The thing about cashless is the fees. Most people who use it a lot don't think twice about fees. 50 cents here, a dollar there. Nickel and dime fees.

Credit cards charge businesses to rent the machines and charges again to process not only the sales, but the returns. Those must be built into the price of goods and services, because otherwise you'd make no money. My brother had to give in since most people don't carry around thousands of dollars to make impulse purchases. They'll carry around a $10,000 credit limit on a plastic card though. It adds around a 3 to 4 percent financial transaction tax.

If you want to know what it will look like in the future, sell something on eBay and look at the fees. Transfer money through PayPal to someone using a credit card and look at the fees.

That's before the government even gets to their cut, or starts in with negative interest rates to further encourage spending. Direct deposit, bank bill pay, and tax withholdings are there to get you to forget about money. How much you make, how much people charge, how much you spend, how many fees occur, how much is taken out in taxes. You know, basic financial money management. Add healthcare and retirement to the mix and you have a pretty good hold on everyone's lives.

If everyone had to deposit their full paycheck and write seperate checks to the IRS every month for SS, Medicare, Defense, etc. then pay all their bills like you once did, people might wake up to how much they actually spend of what they make.

 

The thing about cashless is the fees. Most people who use it a lot don't think twice about fees. 50 cents here, a dollar there. Nickel and dime fees.

When I was 'purchasing' a credit card machine for my business that is what struck me. Monthly fees, transaction fees, purchase percentage fees. They added up amazingly fast.

If everyone had to deposit their full paycheck and write a checks to the IRS every month for SS, Medicare, Defense, etc. then pay all their bills like you once did, people might wake up to how much they actually spend of what they make.

This is why it is taken out before, no one 'misses' it. :thumb:

 

So what is the restaurant going to do when I eat the meal and then say, sorry, all I have is cash? They either take it or they give me a free meal.

 

Another article advocating the virtues of the world going cashless....

Though the author closes the article by stating, "we have a long way to go", we can expect this gradual propaganda campaign to only gain momentum.
Just like with Climate Change, we'll eventually be barraged with a preponderance of "experts" regaling us with "facts" about how this is all to our benefit, just as they do in this article.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...-would-happen-if-america-totally-abandoned-cash/ar-BBtOFkV?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=iehp

"......And yet the global attachment to cash may not be helping many countries’ economies. Because cash is expensive to store and transport, a switch to digital transactions would ultimately pay off for many countries, according to recent research from Harvard Business Review and experts from Tufts University.....

.....For consumers, those costs included ATM fees and the cost of traveling to an ATM or bank branch where they could withdraw cash and the possibility that people can lose cash.

For businesses, costs included storing cash and keeping it secure, and transporting it in armored vehicles to banks when necessary.

For banks, there are logistical costs, including restocking ATMs and storing and transporting money – especially in countries in the developing world with more security and infrastructure challenges, according to the report.

And for governments, there are costs including printing money and the “tax gap,” or the amount of money the government never collects because of unreported or under-reported cash transactions.

The report points out that the U.S. alone spends $200 billion annually to keep cash in circulation....."

 

Mil-Dot I'm certainly no economist

but even a blind fool would have to "see" that there is something fundamentally flawed in the current system that's pushing not only the US economy but the world's economy over the cliff.

That flaw is the flip side of debt:Credit. As I understand it in the US there is some 50 trillion in credit with only 250 billion in physical cash to support it in the US. That is why I believe the push for outlawing cash comes from; limiting the options for regular folk and protecting the wealth of the elite. You have to remember FRNs are legal tender not digital dollars.

That's why I have to wonder what people are smoking when they say there is not enough gold to back money. There is certainly enough to back 250 billion or 500 billion which I think is equal to about 15 tons at $1200 an oz. The rest is credit and not real. In a crisis.

Think about the credit crunch in 2008 and what could have happened or Greece limiting ATM withdrawals or Argentina today. Everyone should be holding some physical cash reserves and PMs as a hedge against a credit crisis.

It is only through the use of credit that Americans have kept a reasonable standard of living that has steadily eroded since 2008.

I don't believe that I'm that much different than most folks. I use online banking and bill pay to make our payments. No money changed hands. We recently borrowed a substantial amount from a bank over the internet and had the money wired to my bank to make home improvements and repairs. Again no money changed hands.

We have the cash on hand to make those improvements with but I want cash to "scotch" with. I also plan to buy some silver too with some of the loan proceeds as a hedge. Like my thread on Stock Market Wizardry I have a plan, I have a plan. My health and space limits our traditional preps so I'm preparing us the best way that I know. It may not work but I hope if it doesn't I'll have a head start on what will work and have the ability to move faster into what will.

If you consider there is only one dollar of physical cash for every hundred dollars of credit then you might have some ideal what cash is worth in that scenario and why they might not want you holding cash.

That's my view and I'm open to being wrong and probably will be until it happens.

Though the author closes the article by stating, "we have a long way to go", we can expect this gradual propaganda campaign to only gain momentum.
Just like with Climate Change, we'll eventually be barraged with a preponderance of "experts" regaling us with "facts" about how this is all to our benefit, just as they do in this article.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...-would-happen-if-america-totally-abandoned-cash/ar-BBtOFkV?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=iehp

"......And yet the global attachment to cash may not be helping many countries’ economies. Because cash is expensive to store and transport, a switch to digital transactions would ultimately pay off for many countries, according to recent research from Harvard Business Review and experts from Tufts University.....

.....For consumers, those costs included ATM fees and the cost of traveling to an ATM or bank branch where they could withdraw cash and the possibility that people can lose cash.

For businesses, costs included storing cash and keeping it secure, and transporting it in armored vehicles to banks when necessary.

For banks, there are logistical costs, including restocking ATMs and storing and transporting money – especially in countries in the developing world with more security and infrastructure challenges, according to the report.

And for governments, there are costs including printing money and the “tax gap,” or the amount of money the government never collects because of unreported or under-reported cash transactions.

The report points out that the U.S. alone spends $200 billion annually to keep cash in circulation....."