Thinking about visiting New York next year, so I looked up what the situation is regarding cash, thinking if we had to pay with a card everywhere accumulative charges might be massive. Turns out it's illegal to be card only in the Big Apple - good for them. Card companies apparently earn $130 billion(!) a year in charges.
Take a look at Starling if you can be bothered. Fairly certain you can open an account with them without being a UK tax payer. Free to use the card abroad.
Took one to Florida last year and was a big help for when not using cash.
Thank you for the heads up.
Revolut are also good
A few places here don't take that card, which is why I am a bit dubious.
And Monzo is the most reliable of the fintech banks
Does have fee free limits on cash withdrawals in the States though unless you pay for Premium or actually use them as a bank.
Its funny how quickly shirty barmaids have gone from rolling their eyes when a card is produced to them rolling their eyes when you hand a tenner over.
There is space for both, what I really don't like is the charges, I completely accept the card machines have a cost however the moment the lady who runs my local told me what they take on every transaction I vowed to only ever use cash in there.
Places like Charlton, bars at large events, I get it. There would be a lot of piano playing on the tills going on and people pay phenomenal amounts of money for licences at events like BST and it seems to move queues a lot quicker
Its funny how quickly shirty barmaids have gone from rolling their eyes when a card is produced to them rolling their eyes when you hand a tenner over.
There is space for both, what I really don't like is the charges, I completely accept the card machines have a cost however the moment the lady who runs my local told me what they take on every transaction I vowed to only ever use cash in there.
Places like Charlton, bars at large events, I get it. There would be a lot of piano playing on the tills going on and people pay phenomenal amounts of money for licences at events like BST and it seems to move queues a lot quicker
But they will be paying fees and likely insurance too for transacting in cash too. Likely that not all cash transactions make it into the company books I suspect 🤔
Its funny how quickly shirty barmaids have gone from rolling their eyes when a card is produced to them rolling their eyes when you hand a tenner over.
There is space for both, what I really don't like is the charges, I completely accept the card machines have a cost however the moment the lady who runs my local told me what they take on every transaction I vowed to only ever use cash in there.
Places like Charlton, bars at large events, I get it. There would be a lot of piano playing on the tills going on and people pay phenomenal amounts of money for licences at events like BST and it seems to move queues a lot quicker
Have said it before. They take the piss. I lose thousands of pounds a year to the card company. I have a sumup device which charges a lot less but I only use it in case I don't get signal or the whole of the network goes down for my official card machine.
Travel to the US regularly and never use cash. They kindly offer you the option of 15, 20 or 25 per cent tip option on all card transactions.
Absolutely crazy. Was in Vegas a couple weeks back and the fact that tips on card machines in the back of a taxi came with a $3 charge and then when the prompt for a tip came up the minimum was 20%.... Absolute fucking joke.
Can you just pay cash and give the driver a tip of your own choice?
Thinking about visiting New York next year, so I looked up what the situation is regarding cash, thinking if we had to pay with a card everywhere accumulative charges might be massive. Turns out it's illegal to be card only in the Big Apple - good for them. Card companies apparently earn $130 billion(!) a year in charges.
Take a look at Starling if you can be bothered. Fairly certain you can open an account with them without being a UK tax payer. Free to use the card abroad.
Took one to Florida last year and was a big help for when not using cash.
Thank you for the heads up.
Revolut are also good
A few places here don't take that card, which is why I am a bit dubious.
And Monzo is the most reliable of the fintech banks
Monzo has not failed me so far: Europe, USA and Peru. I would recommend it.
Thinking about visiting New York next year, so I looked up what the situation is regarding cash, thinking if we had to pay with a card everywhere accumulative charges might be massive. Turns out it's illegal to be card only in the Big Apple - good for them. Card companies apparently earn $130 billion(!) a year in charges.
Take a look at Starling if you can be bothered. Fairly certain you can open an account with them without being a UK tax payer. Free to use the card abroad.
Took one to Florida last year and was a big help for when not using cash.
Thank you for the heads up.
Revolut are also good
@shine166 am I right in thinking Revolut are not a UK licensed bank, therefore your money is not protected by the financial services scheme?
Thinking about visiting New York next year, so I looked up what the situation is regarding cash, thinking if we had to pay with a card everywhere accumulative charges might be massive. Turns out it's illegal to be card only in the Big Apple - good for them. Card companies apparently earn $130 billion(!) a year in charges.
Take a look at Starling if you can be bothered. Fairly certain you can open an account with them without being a UK tax payer. Free to use the card abroad.
Took one to Florida last year and was a big help for when not using cash.
Thank you for the heads up.
Revolut are also good
@shine166 am I right in thinking Revolut are not a UK licensed bank, therefore your money is not protected by the financial services scheme?
You are right. They have been trying to get a UK banking licence for several years, and failing each time. As the FT points out at regular intervals, with some insights into what isn't right there. And nobody ever sues the FT...
I don't know why it isn't, I get that there is the time cost of taking cash to a bank and any associated expenses with that for fuel and parking not to mention Robocop for protection, what I was getting at, whilst I assumed there was a charge for using X, Y or Z providers card machine I didnt expect it to be free but the disproportionate amount they charge per transaction surprised me to the point I won't use my card there again. She's a good landlady and margins are skinny enough for leaseholders in that game.
All those you’ve listed incur costs, plus the processing costs of moving the cash around the system costs billions.
as for card fees, I agree they are expensive, but on par with cash, and thankfully still regulated thanks to being in the EU. They are a real joke in the rest of the world
I don't know why it isn't, I get that there is the time cost of taking cash to a bank and any associated expenses with that for fuel and parking not to mention Robocop for protection, what I was getting at, whilst I assumed there was a charge for using X, Y or Z providers card machine I didnt expect it to be free but the disproportionate amount they charge per transaction surprised me to the point I won't use my card there again. She's a good landlady and margins are skinny enough for leaseholders in that game.
The margins for cash not going through the books are even greater if that is the game!
I of course have no knowledge of this scenario but am suspicious of any business that restricts card transactions given it’s how the majority of customers expect to pay these days and few other fees paid on the business account for most modest sized businesses.
I don't know why it isn't, I get that there is the time cost of taking cash to a bank and any associated expenses with that for fuel and parking not to mention Robocop for protection, what I was getting at, whilst I assumed there was a charge for using X, Y or Z providers card machine I didnt expect it to be free but the disproportionate amount they charge per transaction surprised me to the point I won't use my card there again. She's a good landlady and margins are skinny enough for leaseholders in that game.
The margins for cash not going through the books are even greater if that is the game!
I of course have no knowledge of this scenario but am suspicious of any business that restricts card transactions given it’s how the majority of customers expect to pay these days and few other fees paid on the business account for most modest sized businesses.
Me too, I am not advocating one or the other. I agree with anyone who has the hump places won't take cash which is still legal tender however I use my card far more often than I use cash.
The sole example I have of me being militant is following a conversation with the lady who runs my local and her telling me the amount the machine providers take on each transaction, wasn't so bad when cash was the king however now if someone buys something for a pound she let's them pay by card and its scandalous what they take.
She has nothing to gain from cash apart from not paying the disproportionately high fees. And I agree with her. I'd have zero problem of places putting signs up advising people as much either
My understanding is that Visa and Mastercard take about 1.5% of the transaction value. Then she has to pay something to the "acquirer" who provides her terminal. I think its usually a fixed monthly fee.
I can find out exactly the answer locally, since I work with a company in in retail events for whom Visa is the anchor sponsor, and when I heard the story from the card company POV it didn't sound so much to bear, but I can't remember the details and of course there may be different prices in the UK.
Mind you I think the card companies could do with the competition. They are getting worried here, because as well as the pay by phone number thing I mentioned, there are QR codes generated on the bank apps, or even instant payment via bank account on apps. A guy came round last night to buy something off me I was selling on the local version of eBay. I made him an espresso while he tapped in my bank account details on his app. I kid you not, my phone app pinged the account credit notice before the coffee was fully poured.
The card companies are sort of getting competition, in the UK it’ll be via Open Banking payment, but cards do a job at a certain price point, and interchange (fees charged by visa and Mastercard) aren’t a problem in the UK, it’s capped, but the Payment service providers don’t make money on terminals themselves, so they get it back on fees as that element isn’t capped.
In Vietnam this summer everyone wanted cash. The issue with that was I was travelling with a family of 4 and the machine would only let me withdraw £90 a time. As cheap as it is there that doesn't get you that far when paying for hotels in cash etc so I would have to stand there and make 4-5 withdrawals at a time (the £90 was per withdrawal but actual withdrawals were seemingly unlimited!). It made it very obvious to anyone around I was fully loaded with cash when I left the machine!
In Vietnam this summer everyone wanted cash. The issue with that was I was travelling with a family of 4 and the machine would only let me withdraw £90 a time. As cheap as it is there that doesn't get you that far when paying for hotels in cash etc so I would have to stand there and make 4-5 withdrawals at a time (the £90 was per withdrawal but actual withdrawals were seemingly unlimited!). It made it very obvious to anyone around I was fully loaded with cash when I left the machine!
@Athletico Charlton I’ve been to Vietnam 5 times since May and it’s SO frustrating, especially coming from China where I literally don’t have to touch cash, ever and it’s an absolute pain in the arse finding an ATM that takes my card.
I’m going again in February straight after I’m back from England, is it possible to exchange beforehand in London?
In Vietnam this summer everyone wanted cash. The issue with that was I was travelling with a family of 4 and the machine would only let me withdraw £90 a time. As cheap as it is there that doesn't get you that far when paying for hotels in cash etc so I would have to stand there and make 4-5 withdrawals at a time (the £90 was per withdrawal but actual withdrawals were seemingly unlimited!). It made it very obvious to anyone around I was fully loaded with cash when I left the machine!
Nothing worse than getting your dong out when there's loads of people watching.
Travel to the US regularly and never use cash. They kindly offer you the option of 15, 20 or 25 per cent tip option on all card transactions.
Absolutely crazy. Was in Vegas a couple weeks back and the fact that tips on card machines in the back of a taxi came with a $3 charge and then when the prompt for a tip came up the minimum was 20%.... Absolute fucking joke.
That's merica for ya. They love a tip. My mate just got back from new york and said everyone of them pretty much demanded a tip. The restaurant he went too gave him his bill of $110 and the waitress wrote $20 in the tip box of the receipt.
There's a basic reason for this. Restaurants/bars in America pay their staff next to nothing. That's how the base price of meals is kept low (but not as low as it used to be of course). The waitress you refer to will have to put her tips on her tax return to the IRS. Worse, the IRS checks the restaurant's turnover, divides that by the number of staff, assumes each member of staff gets the tip level she asked for and taxes them on it if there is a discrepancy from what is put on the tax return. So, if you don't tip, not only does your waitress effectively not get paid, she also has to pay tax on money she hasn't received. This is why American restaurant/bar staff hate undertipping Brits.
Edited to add: @Huskaris the same goes for your Vegas cab driver.
In Vietnam this summer everyone wanted cash. The issue with that was I was travelling with a family of 4 and the machine would only let me withdraw £90 a time. As cheap as it is there that doesn't get you that far when paying for hotels in cash etc so I would have to stand there and make 4-5 withdrawals at a time (the £90 was per withdrawal but actual withdrawals were seemingly unlimited!). It made it very obvious to anyone around I was fully loaded with cash when I left the machine!
Nothing worse than getting your dong out when there's loads of people watching.
On a similar note, we went to Albania and they too wouldn’t take cash. Having to constantly get money from machines seemed to cost me a arm and a lek
In Vietnam this summer everyone wanted cash. The issue with that was I was travelling with a family of 4 and the machine would only let me withdraw £90 a time. As cheap as it is there that doesn't get you that far when paying for hotels in cash etc so I would have to stand there and make 4-5 withdrawals at a time (the £90 was per withdrawal but actual withdrawals were seemingly unlimited!). It made it very obvious to anyone around I was fully loaded with cash when I left the machine!
Nothing worse than getting your dong out when there's loads of people watching.
On a similar note, we went to Albania and they too wouldn’t take cash. Having to constantly get money from machines seemed to cost me a arm and a lek
See, I got cash out in Seoul and it felt like I had won
In Vietnam this summer everyone wanted cash. The issue with that was I was travelling with a family of 4 and the machine would only let me withdraw £90 a time. As cheap as it is there that doesn't get you that far when paying for hotels in cash etc so I would have to stand there and make 4-5 withdrawals at a time (the £90 was per withdrawal but actual withdrawals were seemingly unlimited!). It made it very obvious to anyone around I was fully loaded with cash when I left the machine!
Nothing worse than getting your dong out when there's loads of people watching.
On a similar note, we went to Albania and they too wouldn’t take cash. Having to constantly get money from machines seemed to cost me a arm and a lek
See, I got cash out in Seoul and it felt like I had won
In Vietnam this summer everyone wanted cash. The issue with that was I was travelling with a family of 4 and the machine would only let me withdraw £90 a time. As cheap as it is there that doesn't get you that far when paying for hotels in cash etc so I would have to stand there and make 4-5 withdrawals at a time (the £90 was per withdrawal but actual withdrawals were seemingly unlimited!). It made it very obvious to anyone around I was fully loaded with cash when I left the machine!
@Athletico Charlton I’ve been to Vietnam 5 times since May and it’s SO frustrating, especially coming from China where I literally don’t have to touch cash, ever and it’s an absolute pain in the arse finding an ATM that takes my card.
I’m going again in February straight after I’m back from England, is it possible to exchange beforehand in London?
Good question, does anyone know where we can get Vietnamese Dong in London?
In Vietnam this summer everyone wanted cash. The issue with that was I was travelling with a family of 4 and the machine would only let me withdraw £90 a time. As cheap as it is there that doesn't get you that far when paying for hotels in cash etc so I would have to stand there and make 4-5 withdrawals at a time (the £90 was per withdrawal but actual withdrawals were seemingly unlimited!). It made it very obvious to anyone around I was fully loaded with cash when I left the machine!
@Athletico Charlton I’ve been to Vietnam 5 times since May and it’s SO frustrating, especially coming from China where I literally don’t have to touch cash, ever and it’s an absolute pain in the arse finding an ATM that takes my card.
I’m going again in February straight after I’m back from England, is it possible to exchange beforehand in London?
Good question, does anyone know where we can get Vietnamese Dong in London?
Travel to the US regularly and never use cash. They kindly offer you the option of 15, 20 or 25 per cent tip option on all card transactions.
Absolutely crazy. Was in Vegas a couple weeks back and the fact that tips on card machines in the back of a taxi came with a $3 charge and then when the prompt for a tip came up the minimum was 20%.... Absolute fucking joke.
That's merica for ya. They love a tip. My mate just got back from new york and said everyone of them pretty much demanded a tip. The restaurant he went too gave him his bill of $110 and the waitress wrote $20 in the tip box of the receipt.
There's a basic reason for this. Restaurants/bars in America pay their staff next to nothing. That's how the base price of meals is kept low (but not as low as it used to be of course). The waitress you refer to will have to put her tips on her tax return to the IRS. Worse, the IRS checks the restaurant's turnover, divides that by the number of staff, assumes each member of staff gets the tip level she asked for and taxes them on it if there is a discrepancy from what is put on the tax return. So, if you don't tip, not only does your waitress effectively not get paid, she also has to pay tax on money she hasn't received. This is why American restaurant/bar staff hate undertipping Brits.
Edited to add: @Huskaris the same goes for your Vegas cab driver.
In Vietnam this summer everyone wanted cash. The issue with that was I was travelling with a family of 4 and the machine would only let me withdraw £90 a time. As cheap as it is there that doesn't get you that far when paying for hotels in cash etc so I would have to stand there and make 4-5 withdrawals at a time (the £90 was per withdrawal but actual withdrawals were seemingly unlimited!). It made it very obvious to anyone around I was fully loaded with cash when I left the machine!
@Athletico Charlton I’ve been to Vietnam 5 times since May and it’s SO frustrating, especially coming from China where I literally don’t have to touch cash, ever and it’s an absolute pain in the arse finding an ATM that takes my card.
I’m going again in February straight after I’m back from England, is it possible to exchange beforehand in London?
Good question, does anyone know where we can get Vietnamese Dong in London?
Comments
There is space for both, what I really don't like is the charges, I completely accept the card machines have a cost however the moment the lady who runs my local told me what they take on every transaction I vowed to only ever use cash in there.
Places like Charlton, bars at large events, I get it. There would be a lot of piano playing on the tills going on and people pay phenomenal amounts of money for licences at events like BST and it seems to move queues a lot quicker
as for card fees, I agree they are expensive, but on par with cash, and thankfully still regulated thanks to being in the EU. They are a real joke in the rest of the world
The sole example I have of me being militant is following a conversation with the lady who runs my local and her telling me the amount the machine providers take on each transaction, wasn't so bad when cash was the king however now if someone buys something for a pound she let's them pay by card and its scandalous what they take.
She has nothing to gain from cash apart from not paying the disproportionately high fees. And I agree with her. I'd have zero problem of places putting signs up advising people as much either
My understanding is that Visa and Mastercard take about 1.5% of the transaction value. Then she has to pay something to the "acquirer" who provides her terminal. I think its usually a fixed monthly fee.
I can find out exactly the answer locally, since I work with a company in in retail events for whom Visa is the anchor sponsor, and when I heard the story from the card company POV it didn't sound so much to bear, but I can't remember the details and of course there may be different prices in the UK.
Mind you I think the card companies could do with the competition. They are getting worried here, because as well as the pay by phone number thing I mentioned, there are QR codes generated on the bank apps, or even instant payment via bank account on apps. A guy came round last night to buy something off me I was selling on the local version of eBay. I made him an espresso while he tapped in my bank account details on his app. I kid you not, my phone app pinged the account credit notice before the coffee was fully poured.
i work in payments, sadly I know this shit
I’m going again in February straight after I’m back from England, is it possible to exchange beforehand in London?
So, if you don't tip, not only does your waitress effectively not get paid, she also has to pay tax on money she hasn't received. This is why American restaurant/bar staff hate undertipping Brits.
Edited to add: @Huskaris the same goes for your Vegas cab driver.
Having to constantly get money from machines seemed to cost me a arm and a lek