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From what I've seen here in London (UK), mostly tourists use cash. Everybody else uses contactless payments. You can pay with contactless cards or apple/android

From what I've seen here in London (UK), mostly tourists use cash. Everybody else uses contactless payments. You can pay with contactless cards or apple/android pay on the public transport or on your corner grocery store. And with the new fin-tech banks like Monzo, Starling or Revolut the banking apps are light years ahead of traditional banks.

pilsetnieks 8y ago
Because of currency exchange fees that would be incurred by using cards or other options (although Sweden has the same problem.) Within the eurozone I don't even bother taking any extra cash with me.
- brownbat 8y ago
  In the US there are several cards marketed to travelers, so zero fees for intl transactions and competitive exchange rates are becoming common. Even so, most tourists may not know their card's terms, and probably couldn't immediately tell you if the cash advance fee would be preferable to the international transaction fee, and so choose poorly.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    Yeah. I have a couple cards that don't have [foreign transaction] fees but they're both cards I pay for aimed at frequent travelers. I think I pay a fee with any of my free cards. As you say, I expect a lot of casual tourists just feel more comfortable paying cash--even if that does get into the whole "what the heck is this coin anyway?" [UGGH. Fixed a bunch of confusing typos.]
    - EADGBE 8y ago
      The exoticism of a foreign currency also probably has something to do with it.
- mrnobody_67 8y ago
  Haven't found a fee free travel card for canadians... in fact our major bank (TD) just increased FX fees from 2.5% - > 3.5% on foreign transactions, on top of a super unfavourable exchange rate. I usually bring stacks of cash on my trips.
robotmay 8y ago
I was quite an early user of Revolut and I do feel like they're gradually ruining their service at the moment. I would actually say that my bank (NatWest) has a better mobile experience than them right now. Revolut seem to spend all their time coming up with new marketing schemes to shill cheap partnership products, like phone insurance or health insurance, rather than improving their core product. Their interface seems to hide a lot of the useful features, and the language is often confusing or just wrong ("Device Insurance" is actually "Phone Insurance", as you can't insure anything without an IMEI number). I've moved most of my travel purchasing over to TransferWise's new card. It's lacking a few features but it feels less...dodgy, frankly.
- StavrosK 8y ago
  That's exactly why I moved to N26 as well. I referred a bunch of people to Revolut early on as well, but their service feels pretty scammy now.
  - zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 8y ago
    Oh, yeah, the "bank" that is so hip they don't even need the terrible security other incompetent banks have to offer? That sounds like a very good idea! https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money
toyg 8y ago
But there is a jump from there to saying "cash should be eliminated". It's like saying that, because Amazon is light-years ahead of traditional retail, all traditional shops should be made illegal.
- Tijdreiziger 8y ago
  But this is a movement being driven by consumers themselves. In an age where the vast majority of customers pay by card, I can't blame business owners for deciding cash isn't worth it anymore.
randomsearch 8y ago
Anyone in the UK who is not already using Monzo should definitely check it out.
- robotmay 8y ago
  How do they compare to Revolut/Starling? I think a friend of mine uses it but I never see advertisements so I only really heard of it recently :)
draw_down 8y ago
Using Apple Pay is so nice, it's definitely the fastest way to pay for anything, including cash. But it's important for cash to still be available and normal to use.
brownbat 8y ago
I requested a contactless card in the US, it took some pleading, but it was the greatest decision. About half the places I shop support Apple and Google pay, and those systems always seem to take the card, but it's far faster than my phone or watch. Way faster than chip, of course. No idea why it didn't take off here, contactless cards have been the best experience for me by a mile. Maybe people have had better luck with phone payments, but the negotiations with those seem glacial to me now.
- QasimK 8y ago
  Contactless cards aren’t really any faster than Apple Pay secured by your fingerprint, and in fact are the same speed if you prepare your iPhone - supposing your phone is at least as accessible as your contactless card. I’ve never used the Apple Watch for this.
  - tomp 8y ago
    The expected time it takes to pay with a phone is increased by taking into account all the times my fingerprint isn't read successfully on the first (or any) attempt.
  - herbst 8y ago
    My personal issue is that I cant and won't accept that my wallet suddenly needs battery to work in a device that barely holds 2 days. In fact I still don't understand how people think this is a good idea to begin with. As main method that is. I also use BitPay on my phone every once in a while
  - brownbat 8y ago
    > Contactless cards aren’t really any faster than Apple Pay I don't have to unlock my card. Also, the card is much lighter and smaller, and I don't worry about dropping and breaking it, so the cognitive load is lighter. I don't carry a wallet, though, just a card to pay for things, keys, and a license. I also don't carry my phone around unlocked, so those things might make a difference. If you used the phone as the only thing in your pocket, because it had your DL (if you even drive) and unlocked your doors at home with a smart phone app, then I could definitely see the minimalist appeal. I really like having almost nothing in my pockets, and a phone could do that.
camillomiller 8y ago
Which means the amount of control over our movements and transactions is also multiplied nth-fold. This is more of my concern than any mishandling of the payment process, considering that is all information an overreaching State actor can always use to spy on us.
EastLondonCoder 8y ago
I also almost always use contactless payments here. But there is one big exception. When paying in a small business such as on off license or small cafe/restaurant I will go out of my way to use cash because I want the business to keep the full margin instead of paying a visa fee.
- crispyporkbites 8y ago
  But what if it costs the business more than the card margin to handle the cash? Eg they need a physical cash register, have to take the cash to the bank or have someone pick it up, pay for insurance for it, count it, keep change etc
rgbrenner 8y ago
This is one of those things people who pay cashless think (including me, although Im not in the UK) because no one pays attention to how other people pay for things. As of July 2017, 42.3% of transactions used cash in the UK: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/12/cash-contactless-payments-uk-stores-cards-british-retail-consortium https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/12/cash-contactle... The US has a similarly high percentage also.
- Milner08 8y ago
  I think it depends where you are. In London cashless is much easier than in the country where cash & minimum spend on card is much more common
  - Symbiote 8y ago
    I was still caught out at new year, when a Chinese takeaway near Barbican wanted cash for a £4.50 sale. I'm used to paying for that type of transaction with a card in Denmark. (I paid partly in Danish coins, since I didn't have enough sterling and the cashier liked the resemblance to old Chinese coins with a hole in the middle.)
madcaptenor 8y ago
That's because as a tourist, especially an international tourist, you're not hooked up into the local network that people use. I'm reminded of the last night I spent on a trip to Budapest. First I went to a food truck and they would only take cash, and I was out of forints. Then I went to a bar and they would only let me pay with some app that apparently everyone in Hungary has, but I didn't, and I also didn't have a local data plan so I couldn't get it. I said to my wife that I just wanted to pay with present money (credit card), as opposed to past money (cash) or future money (app).

pilsetnieks 8y ago

Because of currency exchange fees that would be incurred by using cards or other options (although Sweden has the same problem.) Within the eurozone I don't even bother taking any extra cash with me.

brownbat 8y ago
In the US there are several cards marketed to travelers, so zero fees for intl transactions and competitive exchange rates are becoming common. Even so, most tourists may not know their card's terms, and probably couldn't immediately tell you if the cash advance fee would be preferable to the international transaction fee, and so choose poorly.
- ghaff 8y ago
  Yeah. I have a couple cards that don't have [foreign transaction] fees but they're both cards I pay for aimed at frequent travelers. I think I pay a fee with any of my free cards. As you say, I expect a lot of casual tourists just feel more comfortable paying cash--even if that does get into the whole "what the heck is this coin anyway?" [UGGH. Fixed a bunch of confusing typos.]
  - EADGBE 8y ago
    The exoticism of a foreign currency also probably has something to do with it.
mrnobody_67 8y ago
Haven't found a fee free travel card for canadians... in fact our major bank (TD) just increased FX fees from 2.5% - > 3.5% on foreign transactions, on top of a super unfavourable exchange rate. I usually bring stacks of cash on my trips.

robotmay 8y ago

I was quite an early user of Revolut and I do feel like they're gradually ruining their service at the moment. I would actually say that my bank (NatWest) has a better mobile experience than them right now. Revolut seem to spend all their time coming up with new marketing schemes to shill cheap partnership products, like phone insurance or health insurance, rather than improving their core product. Their interface seems to hide a lot of the useful features, and the language is often confusing or just wrong ("Device Insurance" is actually "Phone Insurance", as you can't insure anything without an IMEI number). I've moved most of my travel purchasing over to TransferWise's new card. It's lacking a few features but it feels less...dodgy, frankly.

StavrosK 8y ago
That's exactly why I moved to N26 as well. I referred a bunch of people to Revolut early on as well, but their service feels pretty scammy now.
- zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 8y ago
  Oh, yeah, the "bank" that is so hip they don't even need the terrible security other incompetent banks have to offer? That sounds like a very good idea! https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money

toyg 8y ago

But there is a jump from there to saying "cash should be eliminated". It's like saying that, because Amazon is light-years ahead of traditional retail, all traditional shops should be made illegal.

Tijdreiziger 8y ago
But this is a movement being driven by consumers themselves. In an age where the vast majority of customers pay by card, I can't blame business owners for deciding cash isn't worth it anymore.

randomsearch 8y ago

Anyone in the UK who is not already using Monzo should definitely check it out.

robotmay 8y ago
How do they compare to Revolut/Starling? I think a friend of mine uses it but I never see advertisements so I only really heard of it recently :)

draw_down 8y ago

Using Apple Pay is so nice, it's definitely the fastest way to pay for anything, including cash. But it's important for cash to still be available and normal to use.

brownbat 8y ago

I requested a contactless card in the US, it took some pleading, but it was the greatest decision. About half the places I shop support Apple and Google pay, and those systems always seem to take the card, but it's far faster than my phone or watch. Way faster than chip, of course. No idea why it didn't take off here, contactless cards have been the best experience for me by a mile. Maybe people have had better luck with phone payments, but the negotiations with those seem glacial to me now.

QasimK 8y ago
Contactless cards aren’t really any faster than Apple Pay secured by your fingerprint, and in fact are the same speed if you prepare your iPhone - supposing your phone is at least as accessible as your contactless card. I’ve never used the Apple Watch for this.
- tomp 8y ago
  The expected time it takes to pay with a phone is increased by taking into account all the times my fingerprint isn't read successfully on the first (or any) attempt.
- herbst 8y ago
  My personal issue is that I cant and won't accept that my wallet suddenly needs battery to work in a device that barely holds 2 days. In fact I still don't understand how people think this is a good idea to begin with. As main method that is. I also use BitPay on my phone every once in a while
- brownbat 8y ago
  > Contactless cards aren’t really any faster than Apple Pay I don't have to unlock my card. Also, the card is much lighter and smaller, and I don't worry about dropping and breaking it, so the cognitive load is lighter. I don't carry a wallet, though, just a card to pay for things, keys, and a license. I also don't carry my phone around unlocked, so those things might make a difference. If you used the phone as the only thing in your pocket, because it had your DL (if you even drive) and unlocked your doors at home with a smart phone app, then I could definitely see the minimalist appeal. I really like having almost nothing in my pockets, and a phone could do that.

camillomiller 8y ago

Which means the amount of control over our movements and transactions is also multiplied nth-fold. This is more of my concern than any mishandling of the payment process, considering that is all information an overreaching State actor can always use to spy on us.

EastLondonCoder 8y ago

I also almost always use contactless payments here. But there is one big exception. When paying in a small business such as on off license or small cafe/restaurant I will go out of my way to use cash because I want the business to keep the full margin instead of paying a visa fee.

crispyporkbites 8y ago
But what if it costs the business more than the card margin to handle the cash? Eg they need a physical cash register, have to take the cash to the bank or have someone pick it up, pay for insurance for it, count it, keep change etc

rgbrenner 8y ago

This is one of those things people who pay cashless think (including me, although Im not in the UK) because no one pays attention to how other people pay for things. As of July 2017, 42.3% of transactions used cash in the UK: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/12/cash-contactless-payments-uk-stores-cards-british-retail-consortium https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jul/12/cash-contactle... The US has a similarly high percentage also.

Milner08 8y ago
I think it depends where you are. In London cashless is much easier than in the country where cash & minimum spend on card is much more common
- Symbiote 8y ago
  I was still caught out at new year, when a Chinese takeaway near Barbican wanted cash for a £4.50 sale. I'm used to paying for that type of transaction with a card in Denmark. (I paid partly in Danish coins, since I didn't have enough sterling and the cashier liked the resemblance to old Chinese coins with a hole in the middle.)

madcaptenor 8y ago

That's because as a tourist, especially an international tourist, you're not hooked up into the local network that people use. I'm reminded of the last night I spent on a trip to Budapest. First I went to a food truck and they would only take cash, and I was out of forints. Then I went to a bar and they would only let me pay with some app that apparently everyone in Hungary has, but I didn't, and I also didn't have a local data plan so I couldn't get it. I said to my wife that I just wanted to pay with present money (credit card), as opposed to past money (cash) or future money (app).