Cash V Card, what do you use?

fortwilliam

I'm finding myself going cashless more and more..
I am starting to question the logic of stuffing my pocket/wallet with a paper representation of currency that can be lost, stolen or damaged.
If I lose my debit card or it gets stolen, I cancel it & get a replacement and lose no money.
Granted, maybe €100 in a safe place at home is a good idea, or even a €50 in the back of your wallet only to be used when needed.
What think you, time to get rid of this unneeded emotional attachment to an age old method?

Could we function if paper money was withdrawn tomorrow?
If nothing else, it would cut down 90% of black market trading.

mad muffin

Card. Always card. I haven't carried cash for over a decade.

J_E

Mainly use card for convenience, but always paranoid of service charges/incorrect amounts being put on card, and I don't always check the receipts. The fact you can track someone's purchase history with card is both a curse and a blessing also.

Michael D Not Higgins

Sounds great and all but the cost of debit card transactions means it's not worth it for small amounts. (Edit: for shops, as they generally don't accept it for below €5 or whatever, even though that's technically not allowed by Visa)

I also find when I'm out for a night, it's quicker and easier to pay in cash. Taxis are similarly easier with cash.

garv123

Bit of cash in the wallet for stuff under €20-10, card for everything else.

On a night out its always cash if I can help it to keep track of what I'm spending

jimgoose

Couple of €50 notes in the wallet when I goes fer porter or a few groceries in the local shop, Visa Debit/Mastercard for everything else. Mainly the Mastercard.

Frank Black

The day I can light my cigar with a card or stuff it into the g-string of a nubile pole dancer is the day I stop carring cash.

jimgoose

Frank Black wrote: »

The day I can light my cigar with a card or stuff it into the g-string of a nubile pole dancer is the day I stop carring cash.

Well, there's a couple of places you could put the card, but I don't think they can read the chip properly.

alexlyons

Mainly use card. Very rarely carry cash.
What's annoying though is if I need a bottle of water unexpectedly for example, I have to pay with card and the retailers look at you like you're from another planet. Either is a hassle for them but they still do it (really don't care if it takes an extra minute, or what they moan about) or they say oh sorry theres a €10 minimum...

Having lived in the states, I frequently paid for items amounting to less than a dollar with a card. Was very quick and very handy. Similar to contactless here, they just swipe with no need for a signature below a certain amount. Occasionally it randomly picks you to be verified by signature. Granted signature is a lot less secure than pin.
But here with the way the machines work, with most of the work being done by the customer, the cashier generally has to activate the machine for that transaction, which means nobody knows when to touch the card so it takes longer.
If they went down the route of swiping for purchases below 10 or 15 euro, with random verification with the pin pad every so often, it would be far far quicker and easier.

Ihatecuddles

Always cash. Never use my card.

REXER

Cash more than card as I hate paying the inflated transaction charges that the wbankers have introduced!

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Depends. If I have money, then ill use the card cause I never feel guilty paying for things but if money is tight then ill take cash out and use that to pay for things as I'm more careful with actual money.

dyeti

I used to always use my card, but I find I overspend and frequently at that if I use my card. When you constantly use card your money is just numbers on a screen that are so insignificant it's hard to take your finances seriously! When I have cash I know what I have (and where it is too!).

I also get paid monthly, so I try to withdraw a certain amount of money per week and try to live off that in order to budget and avoid excessive spending, because man do I love excessive impulsive needless purchases!

anncoates

Mixture of both but generally more cash than card.

endacl

Barter system. Every time.

whitewave

Student account means I don't have card charges so use that mainly....ah, the small perk of being an eternal student

Soft Falling Rain

I will only use the card for paying bills and outlaying a large amount.

Was in a Spar the other day and some dope decided to use his card to pay for two rolls. Even better was that he was telling the assistant that he only changed his pin and had trouble remembering it.

But who got it in the neck from people complaining in the queue? Only the shop assistant of course. Clowns.

For Forks Sake

REXER wrote: »

Cash more than card as I hate paying the inflated transaction charges that the wbankers have introduced!

Most banks also have charges for cash withdrawals (possibly more)...

maximoose

Card. Only time I like to have cash on me is when going out on the booze.

The Backwards Man

Much easier to hide cash from the taxman.


Oh dear, I've just said that out loud haven't I?

Fighting Irish

you can't snort coke with a card

oldyouth

Mainly a card, but I always try to have around €20 on me. I'd never impose a card transaction on a retailer for small amounts

dyeti

Fighting Irish wrote: »

you can't snort coke with a card

No, but you do have to cut up lines with a card It's a symbiotic relationship!

Jigsaw

I prefer cash to be honest. Nice to open up the wallet and look in and it looks like a well thumbed phone book with lots of notes. That feels so good.

pajor

Visa debit all the way. Helps me budget a lot easier.

endacl

Fighting Irish wrote: »

you can't snort coke with a card

Or pay for it. A card is useful to chop it though.

An upside to switching to a cashless society would be the reduced likelihood of having to listen to coke heads talking shyte!

DazMarz

Obviously card for anything on the internet (the new Visa Debit cards are so good for this).

Cash or card IRL; it really varies. Depends on how much cash I have on me (I always like to carry a bit of cash with me for incidentals and you never know when a poker game might break out). Getting more and more into using card though.

questionmark?

Contactless payments have really taken off in the UK and nearly all the bigger chains now have it with a large number of smaller businesses as well. Its almost instant approvel so often quicker than counting out the change, no stupid bank transaction fees, money back if someone steals the card and uses it.
Cash is still handy for some things, like paying for the hooker and coke but card is king.

Cash in the pub and for small transactions like lunch etc

Card for most other things.

No Pants

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Most banks also have charges for cash withdrawals (possibly more)...

I get cashback when buying groceries with the card. That way I have the card for larger transactions and cash for the smaller ones. The bank charges are a real disincentive to using the card. Compared to other countries where they have no issue with me using a card to buy a cuppa.

WilyCoyote

Always card. No problem buying a bar of chocolate here with a debit cared. Smaller outlets only take a CC for more than $5

c68zapdsm5i1ru

I use both, but find I'm more conscious of what I'm spending when I use cash.

FTA69

As a rule people who use their card to pay for a couple of pints in a pub are twats.

ancapailldorcha

FTA69 wrote: »

As a rule people who use their card to pay for a couple of pints in a pub are twats.

That's a bit harsh. I used to live right opposite a pub in Manchester and the nearest ATM was 10 minutes walk away. I never saw the point in walking 10 minutes for money I could just spend with a card and gain 10 minutes drinking time.

fricatus

Cash for anything under €50, card for anything over €100, and either for amounts in between, that's my rule of thumb.

People have to be reasonable. Sticking your card in a machine, typing in the digits and waiting up to a minute with a queue behind you when you're buying a fizzy drink and a bag of crisps is ridiculous. Just as ridiculous as going into a department store and buying a load of clothes and shoes with €50 notes that you peel off a roll like some sort of Mafia don.

I know which one feels much better though!:D

SpaceTime

I'd use a card more if the bank didn't keep charging me 40 cent every time I enter my PIN!

Until they come up with more reasonable charges, cash is going to remain king in Ireland.
And robberies, cash in transit thefts and all those other things that go along with it.

I'm also finding a lot of retailers have contactless payment machines and don't know how to use them.
For example, I was in Starbucks in Cork the other day and the machine was clearly a contactless one (it was displaying the logo and everything) and the guy inserted my card (costing me an extra 40cent)

British retailers have adopted them much more effectively.

McDonalds seems to be the only Irish retailer using contactless properly and consistently.

Arthur Rimbaud

I use cash instead of card because of the transaction charges.

Take out €100 for an ATM I pay about €0.40
Do 12 transactions totaling €100, I pay about €5

Do that every week you're down hundreds of quid.

Simple maths.

SpaceTime

I don't know why retailers here though are so reluctant to move with the times.

Contactless if free-of-charge to most AIB and Bank of Ireland customers at present, but the shops aren't really making people aware that they can accept it. Many of them have the machines and will still insert your card anyway.

Where as in the UK it's heavily advertised and it also speeds up the queue in the shop as there's no dialling in pins for small amounts.

FTA69

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

That's a bit harsh. I used to live right opposite a pub in Manchester and the nearest ATM was 10 minutes walk away. I never saw the point in walking 10 minutes for money I could just spend with a card and gain 10 minutes drinking time.

We all get caught from time to time and that's fair enough.

I worked in a pub that did cash back and eejits still insisted on repeatedly paying for two pints at a time on card. That's effete b*llocks to be honest.

Holsten

Cards, most cash I would carry would be a 20 euro note for any small stuff I might need to get.

ancapailldorcha

FTA69 wrote: »

We all get caught from time to time and that's fair enough.

I worked in a pub that did cash back and eejits still insisted on repeatedly paying for two pints at a time on card. That's effete b*llocks to be honest.

If I was going to be there for a spell, then I'd ask for cashback as it adds no time to the initial transaction and speeds up the proceeding transactions.

Ruu

Always use the card wherever I am to get the cashback. Wish there were more rewards cards offered in Ireland with regards to CCs.

EyeSight

FTA69 wrote: »

We all get caught from time to time and that's fair enough.

I worked in a pub that did cash back and eejits still insisted on repeatedly paying for two pints at a time on card. That's effete b*llocks to be honest.

I love pubs that do this. On nights out if i realise i need cash(which i prefer in bars) i dread those huge ATM lines with annoying slow drunks and beggars sitting next to you to make you feel uncomfortable.
Buying my first drink with card and cash back solves this.

rainbow kirby

Usually only carry around £20 in cash and pay for anything more with my card. Not a big fan of carrying much cash ever since my wallet was stolen when I was in college with around €120 in it, a big hit for a student.

FTA69

FTA69 wrote: »

We all get caught from time to time and that's fair enough.

I worked in a pub that did cash back and eejits still insisted on repeatedly paying for two pints at a time on card. That's effete b*llocks to be honest.

A lot of pubs in the UK just keep your card and start a tab, then you pay up at the end.

This is a good idea I think and solves the problem of people paying with cards slowing things down.

REXER

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Most banks also have charges for cash withdrawals (possibly more)...

A single transaction for 28c to withdraw a few hundred to cover 2 weeks versus multiple withdrawls, a no brainer really.

What also gets to me is that my fees are used to subsidize those with tracker mortgages!

Kaizersoze81

No need to be paying fees for every card transaction. TSB have no fees. I switched in August and haven't paid a cent in fees since. Was paying BofI approx 50 euro in card fees every 3 months.

Me?

I pay my way.

Sir Arthur Daley

Cash is the only way to do business, long live the booming black market.

PucaMama

Card mostly for me. As another poster said no fees...

No Pants

REXER wrote: »

What also gets to me is that my fees are used to subsidize those with tracker mortgages!

And someone else on a higher rate is therefore subsidising you. It all works out in the end.

What is it about this country where we always have to be blaming someone.