In order to support a local business, which is constantly clobbered by banks for using a contactless system, I paid for a service in cash today. Even five or six years ago, it would have felt perfectly normal to pay for pretty well anything in cash, but these days, at least in my life, it’s a rarity, so much so that there’s an embarrassment factor drawing out cash from a hole in the wall. But, you say, an embarrassment? Really? Yes, really.
For me, it felt like the equivalent of getting a girlie mag (as we called soft porn at the time) from the top shelf in your local newsagent (one for the teenagers, there) and hoping that no one you knew would see you attempting to buy it. I had a similar experience some years ago when purchasing a tube of Anusol in the local pharmacist and someone I knew very well was standing next to me. But withdrawing cash, this was on another level.
I appreciate that to some people, especially seniors and conspiracy theorists, cash remains king. In fact, in previous lives in my work in the third sector, I accompanied people to do their shopping. Some of them would take their bank card to the cashpoint and withdraw whatever money they needed to do their shopping. “Why not just pay by card?” I would ask. “I’ve always done it this way/I prefer cash/the deep state is trying to get secret information about me” came the replies. But hey, each to their own.
Our local cash machine is situated in an exposed position, just round the corner from Tesco, in full view of passing pedestrian and, potentially worse still, traffic. What if someone I know saw me drawing out cash? Wouldn’t they think I’d lost my mind? I feared the sometime later, perhaps in my local pub, someone would come up and say out loud, “Was that you, drawing out cash from Tesco the other day? You still use cash?” Cue laughter from everyone else.
I exaggerate, of course. Some 10% of transactions today are by cash and only 84% by card or digitally, numbers that have barely changed in the last three years, so plenty of support for the old fashioned way. And we know, because the Bank of England has said so, there will always be cash for as long as people want it. Clearly, no one has told the BofE about the deep state conspiracy to axe cash.
My cash transaction completed, I was greatly relieved that my small card wallet, which contains some cards I never use (because they’re on my phone and that’s even easier to pay with), was empty of cash. It’s just unnecessary bulk that I just don’t need.
Cash really isn’t king. It’s great if you like it, not so good if you, like me, you find it a pain in the arse. There will always be cash, except that someday soon there won’t be. And honestly, when that day comes we don’t need to shed a tear. It will certainly save me future embarrassment.
