Cashless society by 2020??

[Mister T]

The teller had to get the ok from the manager to do the transfer and said I wouldn't be able to do such a cash transfer again.

Why? Is there some cash amount that is okay?

[gweidion]

Maybe they are declaring Egypt a terrorist backing country?

[fred lever]

Dropped into the post office to pay the green slip.
(all other purchases are card or PAYPAL)
Second in the line, mind in neutral.
Sudden commotion at the counter wakes me up.
Guy in front of me says loudly.
YOU DONT HAVE ANY MONEY!?
I tune in all ears.
Guy wants to withdraw cash, no says lady , "we don't have money, you go to bank"
BUT YOU ARE THE BANK, YOU HAD SIGNS OUTSIDE WE  DO BANK BUISNESS HERE.
No says lady, we have no money, next please.
Unhappy customer leaves.
I don't know how much or what sort he wanted.
I noted some months ago the PO took down the signs indicating they would do all bank business.
I gave up getting coin there, go to the CBA in the next suburb where non commercial customers are limited to $100 maximum.
Thats ok for me.
So it seems the great Post Office experiment has fallen over.
The local shops say most payments are tap and go about 10% cash now.
All shops have  readers, none are cash only.
I just use the coins to throw $4.40 at the paper shop if I buy a paper only, any more purchases and out comes the card.
Don't use cash anywhere else but do keep $100 in wallet for when the system is down!
Fred.

[Basilstate]

Yes,people still need to keep a reserve of cash in case the systems crash.

Happy Xmas Fred.

[gweidion]

You want to have your $100 in a multiple of denominations. If the net is down and the shop doesn't usually do cash, they aren't going to have change for a hundred dollar note. I'd recommend $200, $30 in fives, $30 in tens, $40 in twenties and 2 $50s.

[Basilstate]

You want to have your $100 in a multiple of denominations. If the net is down and the shop doesn't usually do cash, they aren't going to have change for a hundred dollar note. I'd recommend $200, $30 in fives, $30 in tens, $40 in twenties and 2 $50s.

Yes,i always throw excess $2 & $1 coins in a large tin so always got a couple of hundred dollars on hand.

[jens coins]

The Commonwealth bank limit is for $100 in coins only for non business accounts.
You can exchange any amount in notes with a daily limit of $5000

[nealeffendi]

Blasted cards and cashless anything. A week or so ago my St George App went from showing my balance and transactions to a bunch of computer code. Had to reinstall it which is a pain so took 2 days. Then this morning early hours my account became overdrawn. Dodgy $708 eBay charge took my account negative. So the dodgy payment is still pending. Phone StGeorge hotline to report fraud but they only work 8 till 8. Phone them at 2pm and the auto system says there is greater than a 40 minute wait. Same again at 5.30pm. So they either have not put on staff to deal with some surge in fraud or they don't care. Bet the scammers are doing maximum scamming right now knowing many people are too busy with Christmas and maybe off camping or whatever and won't even realise they were scammed until the new year.
Hard to scam physical cash so was able to buy my daughters Christmas present an hour ago with cash as the card won't work.

[autocoupler]

I see my kids moving money around on their phones without a care in the world. Way too trusting for my liking.

Even tap and go raises my suspicions, but the way our system has become it's getting nearly to the point where there's little choice sometimes.

Bring back the old pass book I reckon. Then the banks would have to open 24/7 like some of us in the real world.

[gweidion]

My concern is "If you don't see money, you don't have a proper grasp of what you are spending."
How can you be frugal if the money just disappears you have little to no concept of where it has gone?

I love passbooks. My mum had one till she died earlier this year. You had a physical asset that told you how much money you should have. Digital sucks.

[Mister T]

I have a couple of old family passbooks - interesting to see the money coming and going over the years.

[fred lever]

I picked up my usual serve of $2 coins yesterday for cash use from the bank hole in the wall.
The coins were in Armagard rolls and were all dates no UNCs no coloured coins all dirty circulated.
I mean DIRTY with stained and corroded examples.
They all seem to be Australian Mint coins not Chinese forgeries!
I always keep an eye open for forgeries.
Walter Bloom published an article on $2 forgeries back around Y2000 in CAB.
That gave me the heads up to look at the time and sure enough I found a handful of "different" $2.
I had an article about that published in CAB.
Some of the forgeries had obviously hand cut dies that look about right until you look closely!
King Billy and her Maj were caricatures of the real thing, and the Southern Cross is wrong placed.
Usually dated around 1990. Later coins had better die work but look circulated, some had no edge knurling.
I think the government quietly culled the duds from circulation and  it all died.
Fred.

[fred lever]

Wel.................here is a comment on the Commonwealth Bank and the future of cash.
I dropped into the new "improved" Combank branch at 7-Hills in western Sydney.
Improved means only ONE teller now and a long queue of pensioners clutching bills and cash.
Lining the wall were a bunch of slot machines allowing cash and coin IN (deposit)  or cash NOTES out.
Only one slot machine to take out COINS, but only in exchange for CASH notes.
I did not bother to ascertain what maximum is involved at the machine.
I rocked up to the Teller, greeted by a pretty surly lady, no fun to be had here, who freaked when I asked for a couple of rolls of $1 coins.
(Thats the maximum,, $100, a peasant can take out in one go with a card.)
She groaned and stomped off to the lock up cupboard and pulled a tray with 20 rolls out and hacked two off that.
I noted the lock up cupboard had SFA amount of coin rolls, maybe they had more out the back.
Mission accomplished.
Most of the punters in the queue were older than me and I'm 80.
At least I'm not on a walker or wheely chair.
Yet.
By that time I'll be in the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm anyway and unable to care less.
The point is, the Bank is not interested in releasing coin to the public and discourages the use of coin.
My country friends, its coming to a town near you VERY SOON so be ready!!!

Old Fred.

[nealeffendi]

Popped in Friday to the soon to be closed Westpac in Merrylands ( they are combining branches with St George in Stocklands). They did the same thing in Mt Druitt last year. Problem with shutting Main St branches and only having them in Westfields and whatnot is the ATMs are inaccessible after hours. Couple of months ago I went 6am to a St George ATM in St Mary's and it was out of order. Nearest ATM was in Mt Druitt ( not accessible as in Westfields), then heading East it is Blacktown ( again in a shut Westpoint).
And I used to use the ATM at Greystanes when I lived there (branch now closed) or at Wentworthville (branch now demolished).
If it is this hard to find banks in the suburbs I'd hate to think how bad it is in the bush.
And when I renewed my security licence recently there was no longer the option to pay cash. Had to be online and to add insult to that the government adds a merchant fee for paying online. I've also noticed more retailers such as my butcher and my green grocer now charge a fee to pay by card. Once cash goes we will be a captive market to pay fees every time we buy anything.

[JeffH]

The way the cost of living is going I am rapidly heading for cashless -in hand or online. ☹️