Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

Cashless society

I see a lot of businesses that have a sign that says " No Cash Kept on Premises".
Won't be long before the banks have similar signs.
mick
that will cull bank teller jobs , it was bad enough going to the teller and being offered a home loan/car loan etc etc

i wonder how all that cross-selling training is going to be a positive ( maybe those job-training businesses are due for a hit )
 
i don't know if your Post Office is a franchise ( or not ) ( the nearest one is here )

but that smells like a soft default to me ( after all a 'bank' is supposed to have 'secure storage' .. and insurance against overt theft ) while a Post Office is basically protected by federal law

sounds like that bank branch is not a real bank much like a shop counter much like the average Telstra shop
Nah divs a ridgy didge bank that is probably in the thoes of being closed down.
Guess which bank.
PostOffice is the real deal out there but unless you have a card that can be activated by them, then it is the long drive to Moora or Dalwallinu for some kind of service.
 
that will cull bank teller jobs , it was bad enough going to the teller and being offered a home loan/car loan etc etc

i wonder how all that cross-selling training is going to be a positive ( maybe those job-training businesses are due for a hit )
Perhaps Bendigo Community Bank might fill the gap. Certainly worked here when the ones we had in Mundaring shut their doors.
 
Another interesting digital banking moment.

Selling one of our investment properties to our daughter, deal is just about finalised. Wednesday evening, looking at the bank accounts online I found that two accounts had disappeared, not a sign of them to be seen. No point panicking and stressing, we just waited for the following day to contact the bank.

Thursday mid-morning the accounts had returned.

The bank gave a plausible reason. However, it gives food for thought.

If A bank can make accounts disappear without prior notification to its customers, what pandoras box does that open?
 
Well what else is there to do with cash besides hoard it, because most people don’t use it for transactions, 99% of transactions are cashless.

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Wasn't there a rise in cash use 22-23?
Thought I saw an article.

The numbers that are using cash right now for store transactions seems to have really jumped round my area. It's not something that was happening as much a year ago.
 
Wasn't there a rise in cash use 22-23?
Thought I saw an article.

The numbers that are using cash right now for store transactions seems to have really jumped round my area. It's not something that was happening as much a year ago.
Not really, it’s complicated. there was a slight increase in cash used for for in person transactions.

From 2019 to 2022 in person cash payments halved from 32% to 15%, last yeah they rose back to 19%.

but that is only for in person transactions, and it’s counting total number not dollar value.

when it comes to All transactions, the number continued dropping will only 1% of all transactions being in cash. The dollar value of cash transactions is also dropping.
 
Not really, it’s complicated. there was a slight increase in cash used for for in person transactions.

From 2019 to 2022 in person cash payments halved from 32% to 15%, last yeah they rose back to 19%.

but that is only for in person transactions, and it’s counting total number not dollar value.

when it comes to All transactions, the number continued dropping will only 1% of all transactions being in cash. The dollar value of cash transactions is also dropping.
If only folks knew by whom, and by how much the ticket is clipped on the way through.
 
If only folks knew by whom, and by how much the ticket is clipped on the way through.
What do you mean? Are you talking about credit card fees? That can be a lot cheaper than moving the physical cash around.

I mean, if you weigh up the costs of having staff count cash at the end of the day, prepare floats for next day, have armed guards or staff travel to bank the cash etc it all has a cost. I also notice fees on business accounts have dropped, mine in now free, I wonder if this is in part due to reduced cash handling now.

when I owned a shop I used try and get customers to withdraw cash for free even though it cost me money just to save me trips to the bank.
 
What do you mean? Are you talking about credit card fees? That can be a lot cheaper than moving the physical cash around.

I mean, if you weigh up the costs of having staff count cash at the end of the day, prepare floats for next day, have armed guards or staff travel to bank the cash etc it all has a cost. I also notice fees on business accounts have dropped, mine in now free, I wonder if this is in part due to reduced cash handling now.

when I owned a shop I used try and get customers to withdraw cash for free even though it cost me money just to save me trips to the bank.
I estimate in my little one man band, just card transaction fees on both the buy and the sell side to be close to 4.5k pa. Could be more.

Some of that is shared with others businesses on the buy side for sure, but still. Then there is everything else, which probably is best left unsaid.
 
I estimate in my little one man band, just card transaction fees on both the buy and the sell side to be close to 4.5k pa. Could be more.

Some of that is shared with others businesses on the buy side for sure, but still. Then there is everything else, which probably is best left unsaid.
And what are the estimated costs of handling cash, if you and your suppliers had pay for

1. time spent depositing the cash in the bank.

2. counting and handling cash inside the various businesses.

3. costs for armed guards to service the ATMs your customers have to use (which wil be past on to you and your customers in some way)

4. customers time picking up cash from ATM.

——————————

Most cash handling costs arent always as obvious because they don’t appear on a monthly statement. But they are real.

They probably arent as bad in a one man band because small business people just do the extra work and consider the savings worth it.

but for larger businesses where the extra staff labour and services by armed guards are actually cash costs, eftpos has proven to be simpler and cheaper.
 
I estimate in my little one man band, just card transaction fees on both the buy and the sell side to be close to 4.5k pa. Could be more.

Some of that is shared with others businesses on the buy side for sure, but still. Then there is everything else, which probably is best left unsaid.

You're not the only one, my business accepts all cards, and we just build in the cost so that there is no hassle of asking the customer to pay the surcharge. Whereas there is no added cost for cash, take it to the bank when it's time to get a coffee.

Did you know that even if you pay to withdraw your cash from an ATM, you may still end up paying LESS in fees than if you spent the same amount using your card?
Avoiding bank fees might now be about avoiding Eftpos and card surcharges levied by retailers and merchants - and that means using cash. Plus, cash attracts discounts as well.


Shopping with Cash vs Card
Aussies love tapping their phone or their card instore or online. And Aussies hate ATM fees for withdrawing their cash from the bank....

Who is REALLY getting the better deal?​

Aussies love tapping their phone or their card instore or online. And Aussies hate ATM fees for withdrawing their cash from the bank.

So, not surprisingly, Australian consumers have led the world in taking up cashless payments and leaving notes and coins behind. Some journalists have even called for an end to cash on the basis it is -filthy.--

But 76 per cent of Australians do not know how much we spend on bank fees. The average gues by an Aussie as to how much they fork out each year is $328 according to 2019 research released by UBank. But the actual figure is much higher, at $468 according to the Reserve Bank of Australia.

So as more and more Aussies don't cash out their pay at ATMs and spend it via Tap n Go, PayWave or Eftpos, many possibly don't realise how much they paying for the convenience. It could be more than the cost of withdrawing cash ....

Aussies hate ATM fees but ...​

-Why should I pay to access my own cash?-- is a common refrain from Australians tired of the big bank fee slug game.

Since 2017, banks have slashed ATM fees and now most ATM transactions in Australia are fee-free. Even cash withdrawals made at ATMs owned by other banks are fee-free. So a Westpac customer can withdraw their cash from an ANZ Bank ATM for free, for example.

Only independent (non-bank) ATM operators now routinely charge cardholders around $2.50 to $2.90 per withdrawal. Some of these ATM machines charge more, especially if they are located in or near hotels, casinos, convenience shops or in remote areas.

But in this rush to the cashless economy, are we really getting a better deal?

Did you know that even if you pay to withdraw your cash from an ATM, you may still end up paying LESS in fees than if you spent the same amount using your card?

When you pay with a credit or debit card in-store the merchant may add a card surcharge to the final bill. Australian retailers are allowed to surcharge customers for the costs associated with accepting card payments but are not permitted to profit from card surcharges.

  • For Visa and Mastercard credit cards, this is usually around 1.63 per cent.
  • American Express cards are often surcharged more - up to around 2.0 per cent.
  • Visa and Mastercard debit cards are often surcharged at around 0.63 per cent.
  • Eftpos cards may charge the retailer about 20 cents per transaction so for smaller transactions, many retailers may ask for an Eftpos surcharge.

Banks like you tap, tap, tapping away your money ....​

When consumers keep their money in their everyday transaction banking account and use their card for spending, the bank gets your money almost interest-free. And banks are increasingly depending on this cheap source of funding to keep their costs down and profits up.

Over the last decade the proportion of bank funding coming directly from deposits has risen from around 40% to over 55% and continues to trend higher. This chart from the RBA January 2020 Chart Pack shows the trend (yellow line).

news_banking_cash_vs_card_md2.jpg


news_banking_cash_vs_card_md3.jpg
* Based on the average direct charge levied by the Next Payments independent ATM network in October 2019 which was $2.60. The Next Payments average direct charge has increased 9 cents from $2.51 five years ago in October 2014.

Shopping with Cash vs Card vs Phone​

Avoiding bank fees is not just about avoiding an expensive ATM. Even if you pay $2.80 in ATM fees to withdraw your cash you might still be better off than the card user.

Avoiding bank fees might now be about avoiding Eftpos and card surcharges levied by retailers and merchants - and that means using cash. Plus, cash attracts discounts as well.
 
You're not the only one, my business accepts all cards, and we just build in the cost so that there is no hassle of asking the customer to pay the surcharge. Whereas there is no added cost for cash, take it to the bank when it's time to get a coffee.

Did you know that even if you pay to withdraw your cash from an ATM, you may still end up paying LESS in fees than if you spent the same amount using your card?
Avoiding bank fees might now be about avoiding Eftpos and card surcharges levied by retailers and merchants - and that means using cash. Plus, cash attracts discounts as well.
Cash in shops if they charge surcharges (aldi), direct credit for rates ATO and utilities charging for credit card. CC otherwise to get a few points or advantages
 
And what are the estimated costs of handling cash, if you and your suppliers had pay for

1. time spent depositing the cash in the bank.

2. counting and handling cash inside the various businesses.

3. costs for armed guards to service the ATMs your customers have to use (which wil be past on to you and your customers in some way)

4. customers time picking up cash from ATM.

——————————

Most cash handling costs arent always as obvious because they don’t appear on a monthly statement. But they are real.

They probably arent as bad in a one man band because small business people just do the extra work and consider the savings worth it.

but for larger businesses where the extra staff labour and services by armed guards are actually cash costs, eftpos has proven to be simpler and cheaper.
Fair enough for a bigger business. But my view is that one should still facilitate some cash transactions for a host of other reasons, for reasons that were pretty obvious recently.

Some businesses in the Perth Hills were unable to process digital transactions for several days due to a storm taking everything out, including the internet.

Then there was the recent Optus outage.

The potential for much longer outages remains a worry.
 
Cash in shops if they charge surcharges (aldi), direct credit for rates ATO and utilities charging for credit card. CC otherwise to get a few points or advantages
Also if any business refuses to take cash, I walk, even if I can (and do) use a card. I'm not the only one.

Consumer activism is becoming a thing,.
 
Fair enough for a bigger business. But my view is that one should still facilitate some cash transactions for a host of other reasons, for reasons that were pretty obvious recently.

Some businesses in the Perth Hills were unable to process digital transactions for several days due to a storm taking everything out, including the internet.

Then there was the recent Optus outage.

The potential for much longer outages remains a worry.
Well its a personal choice really, but I was just pointing out that cash also has costs.

Personally for me I avoid cash for a host of reasons.

1. I don’t like having to worry about whether I have enough cash in my wallet or finding ATMs

2. I like the points.

3. I like keeping my cash earning interest longer.

4. I hate getting coins as change, especially when travelling.
 
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