6 ms·

They'll struggle to get anywhere asking for cash. Australians generally carry little to no cash around

HumanDrivenDev 9y ago
Really? As someone who has spent a long time in New Zealand it was striking to me how many places you needed cash for in Australia. EFTPOS is not ubiquitous there like it is here.
- willbw 9y ago
  New Zealand for whatever reason I used cash a lot too. Australia you can pay stuff for small sums like $1 on card almost everywhere so no point to carry cash most of the time
  - LouisSayers 9y ago
    You can do the same in NZ - it’s called eftpos / PayPass (PayWave in Aus). Cash is rarely needed in NZ if you’re a local. If you only carry credit cards though you’re going to need some cash.
    - madeofpalk 9y ago
      FWIW, PayPass and PayWave are the trademarked terms used by MasterCard and Visa internationally (respectively) for contactless payment
  - HumanDrivenDev 9y ago
    edited parent - I meant EFTPOS wasn't as ubiquitous in AU as it was in NZ.
  - sitharus 9y ago
    Australia has regulated interchange rates so credit/debit card acceptance has been higher. Credit cards are capped at 0.8% and debit cards are lower. Mastercard published a list: https://www.mastercard.com.au/en-au/about-mastercard/what-we-do/interchange.html https://www.mastercard.com.au/en-au/about-mastercard/what-we... NZ's government thinks (or thought, it's changed recently) that the market would sort it out so the current rates are up to 3% for credit and 1.5% for debit, again Mastercard's list is here: https://www.mastercard.co.nz/en-nz/about-mastercard/what-we-do/interchange.html https://www.mastercard.co.nz/en-nz/about-mastercard/what-we-... EFTPOS transaction are generally fee-free for all parties.
- sitharus 9y ago
  I was in Canberra for a week late last year and I never used cash, everywhere took debit cards. Some had a surcharge for using debit over eftpos but I didn't see any shops or restaurants that were cash only. Market stalls were, unlike in NZ where mobile EFTPOS is almost everywhere.
- steveh73 9y ago
  I would hazard a guess you could make 99.5% of transactions with EFTPOS in NZ - the exceptions might be a few vendors at farmers markets (most take EFTPOS), sausage sizzles/ad-hoc fundraisers, fruit honesty boxes on the side of the road, etc. Maybe only 85% would take credit/debit, though. From my experience in sydney/melbourne more places take credit/debit than NZ but also more places are cash only. Not as much penetration for EFTPOS.
- hydrox24 9y ago
  It depends on when you were in Australia. EFTPOS fees for small amounts were essentially outlawed a year or so ago. That has made a big difference to pushing the final hold-out businesses into cashless in the last few months.
LouisSayers 9y ago
In Melbourne there are so many cash only food places that you do need to carry cash - or at least know where the nearest atm is.
- cyberferret 9y ago
  I'd say those businesses will have to evolve or die out. There is a great Japanese place in our town that I stopped frequenting purely because they didn't have an EFTPOS machine, and I often have to cash on me when returning from a customer visit etc. and I wanted a snack to bring home. Since they (finally) installed one after new owners took over, I go back there frequently now. With PayWave becoming so popular for even $1 transactions at the counter by literally waving your debit card at a machine, I haven't carried significant cash in my wallet for years now.
  - sincerely 9y ago
    With all due respect, I'd say this is definitely a product of your specific location/life circumstances. I live in one of the biggest cities in North America and "cash only" is not a hurdle for restaurants here.
    - dorian-graph 9y ago
      > With all due respect, I'd say this is definitely a product of your specific location/life circumstances. Well, we are talking about Australia... I don't think the poster was talking about the whole world.
    - ojm 9y ago
      Thank you for enlightening us on the Australian market from North America.
  - LouisSayers 9y ago
    When they say “cash only” everyone seems to understand it means “we dodge our taxes”. But the food is usually pretty cheap. I’d say they probably won’t evolve unless they start getting prosecuted for tax avoidance...
ojm 9y ago
> Australians generally carry little to no cash around I haven’t had cash in my wallet for a few weeks now. Apple Pay or PayPass/Wave for even small amounts is fine. They just simply lose my business now if they don’t take card. And lots of the population is moving this way. The old cash only to avoid taxes is only good if you actually make a decent income to avoid said taxes.
Andrenid 9y ago
I haven't carried cash or wallet for about a year now. All I use is my phone (CommBank app, which uses PayPass network). Whether it's a coffee, snack for my kid, weekly shopping or a night out, I can barely even remember the times I've been caught out. Maybe twice in a year. Only times I take my wallet out the door is if I'm driving (I live in Melbourne and mostly walk or take trams) or going to the Doctors or something that requires ID/Medicare. Food trucks, weekend markets, everyone has an EFTPOS/MPOS or CommBank tablet in their business now.
- hug 9y ago
  Out of curiosity, where do you keep your myki? It's the one thing that ties me to carrying around a thing that can hold my cards. I don't carry cash, and quite often don't even carry my wallet, but I need somewhere to stash my myki if I'm taking the train & tram to work. Given that it may have anywhere between $100 and $1500 worth of value on it at a time, I don't really just want to throw it in a pocket.
dm8 9y ago
I think your parent poster was stposting. I doubt Ola will allow cash payments in Aus. In India lot of people carry cash hence they allow cash payments from what I've heard.
flukus 9y ago
I think that's just you. Most people I know still pay for anything small (like lunch or a taxi) in cash. I've been using it more lately because it's the only payment form with any type of anonymity.

Really? As someone who has spent a long time in New Zealand it was striking to me how many places you needed cash for in Australia. EFTPOS is not ubiquitous there like it is here.

willbw 9y ago
New Zealand for whatever reason I used cash a lot too. Australia you can pay stuff for small sums like $1 on card almost everywhere so no point to carry cash most of the time
- LouisSayers 9y ago
  You can do the same in NZ - it’s called eftpos / PayPass (PayWave in Aus). Cash is rarely needed in NZ if you’re a local. If you only carry credit cards though you’re going to need some cash.
  - madeofpalk 9y ago
    FWIW, PayPass and PayWave are the trademarked terms used by MasterCard and Visa internationally (respectively) for contactless payment
- HumanDrivenDev 9y ago
  edited parent - I meant EFTPOS wasn't as ubiquitous in AU as it was in NZ.
- sitharus 9y ago
  Australia has regulated interchange rates so credit/debit card acceptance has been higher. Credit cards are capped at 0.8% and debit cards are lower. Mastercard published a list: https://www.mastercard.com.au/en-au/about-mastercard/what-we-do/interchange.html https://www.mastercard.com.au/en-au/about-mastercard/what-we... NZ's government thinks (or thought, it's changed recently) that the market would sort it out so the current rates are up to 3% for credit and 1.5% for debit, again Mastercard's list is here: https://www.mastercard.co.nz/en-nz/about-mastercard/what-we-do/interchange.html https://www.mastercard.co.nz/en-nz/about-mastercard/what-we-... EFTPOS transaction are generally fee-free for all parties.
sitharus 9y ago
I was in Canberra for a week late last year and I never used cash, everywhere took debit cards. Some had a surcharge for using debit over eftpos but I didn't see any shops or restaurants that were cash only. Market stalls were, unlike in NZ where mobile EFTPOS is almost everywhere.
steveh73 9y ago
I would hazard a guess you could make 99.5% of transactions with EFTPOS in NZ - the exceptions might be a few vendors at farmers markets (most take EFTPOS), sausage sizzles/ad-hoc fundraisers, fruit honesty boxes on the side of the road, etc. Maybe only 85% would take credit/debit, though. From my experience in sydney/melbourne more places take credit/debit than NZ but also more places are cash only. Not as much penetration for EFTPOS.
hydrox24 9y ago
It depends on when you were in Australia. EFTPOS fees for small amounts were essentially outlawed a year or so ago. That has made a big difference to pushing the final hold-out businesses into cashless in the last few months.

LouisSayers 9y ago

In Melbourne there are so many cash only food places that you do need to carry cash - or at least know where the nearest atm is.

cyberferret 9y ago
I'd say those businesses will have to evolve or die out. There is a great Japanese place in our town that I stopped frequenting purely because they didn't have an EFTPOS machine, and I often have to cash on me when returning from a customer visit etc. and I wanted a snack to bring home. Since they (finally) installed one after new owners took over, I go back there frequently now. With PayWave becoming so popular for even $1 transactions at the counter by literally waving your debit card at a machine, I haven't carried significant cash in my wallet for years now.
- sincerely 9y ago
  With all due respect, I'd say this is definitely a product of your specific location/life circumstances. I live in one of the biggest cities in North America and "cash only" is not a hurdle for restaurants here.
  - dorian-graph 9y ago
    > With all due respect, I'd say this is definitely a product of your specific location/life circumstances. Well, we are talking about Australia... I don't think the poster was talking about the whole world.
  - ojm 9y ago
    Thank you for enlightening us on the Australian market from North America.
- LouisSayers 9y ago
  When they say “cash only” everyone seems to understand it means “we dodge our taxes”. But the food is usually pretty cheap. I’d say they probably won’t evolve unless they start getting prosecuted for tax avoidance...

ojm 9y ago

> Australians generally carry little to no cash around I haven’t had cash in my wallet for a few weeks now. Apple Pay or PayPass/Wave for even small amounts is fine. They just simply lose my business now if they don’t take card. And lots of the population is moving this way. The old cash only to avoid taxes is only good if you actually make a decent income to avoid said taxes.

Andrenid 9y ago

I haven't carried cash or wallet for about a year now. All I use is my phone (CommBank app, which uses PayPass network). Whether it's a coffee, snack for my kid, weekly shopping or a night out, I can barely even remember the times I've been caught out. Maybe twice in a year. Only times I take my wallet out the door is if I'm driving (I live in Melbourne and mostly walk or take trams) or going to the Doctors or something that requires ID/Medicare. Food trucks, weekend markets, everyone has an EFTPOS/MPOS or CommBank tablet in their business now.

hug 9y ago
Out of curiosity, where do you keep your myki? It's the one thing that ties me to carrying around a thing that can hold my cards. I don't carry cash, and quite often don't even carry my wallet, but I need somewhere to stash my myki if I'm taking the train & tram to work. Given that it may have anywhere between $100 and $1500 worth of value on it at a time, I don't really just want to throw it in a pocket.

dm8 9y ago

I think your parent poster was stposting. I doubt Ola will allow cash payments in Aus. In India lot of people carry cash hence they allow cash payments from what I've heard.

flukus 9y ago

I think that's just you. Most people I know still pay for anything small (like lunch or a taxi) in cash. I've been using it more lately because it's the only payment form with any type of anonymity.