Cashless society

Go Figure said:

I was at Service NSW to renew my Driver’s License, I decided to pay my fee by way of Eftpos using my debit card (not a credit card, my wife likes me to use it for the loyalty points, another inflationary transaction but I digress she who must be obeyed always wins ), I asked the gentleman at the counter if there was a fee attributable to the transaction he said yes (btw I always carry cash, I like it and no I don’t have a cash business for tax evasion purposes ) I explained it was my debit card not Credit, he said if I tapped their would be a fee however if I inserted my card into the eftpos machine and proceeded to enter the amount, transaction type and password there would be no fee.

Not sure why this was the case nonetheless it is frustrating to see why this type of penny pinching needs to occur everywhere, not everyone is aware of these options, daily simple transactions ought not be an avenue for padding profits clarity should be availed to all consumers.

Click to expand...

Linfox boss Peter Fox weighs in on Armaguard uncertainty

The big banks have misused their market power to push cash distribution companies to unprofitability, claims Linfox executive chairman Peter Fox, who has called for government intervention to preserve access to notes and coins in Australia.

Speaking in the wake of a breakdown in negotiations between the banking sector and Armaguard, Australia’s biggest cash distribution company, Mr Fox has weighed into the debate.

This comes after months of negotiations between Armaguard, which distributes 90 per cent of cash in the country, and a team headed by the Australian Banking Association.

Mr Fox said the ABA’s ultimatum last week to Armaguard that it accept a $26m rescue deal was an unhelpful intervention, revealing the Linfox group was not keen to be dictated to.

“I’m hopeful common sense will prevail, but we’re happy to sit down and try and resolve it,” he said.

“I think the government has an obligation to tell the Australian community what is the place for cash in our society

The Linfox boss, who chairs the sprawling trucking and logistics empire founded by his father Lindsay Fox, said the deal proposed by the banks was unworkable as it would have forced Armaguard to disclose details of all its current contracts with customers.

He said this was unacceptable as it was clear the banking sector was keen to shift away from cash and towards card use, as the banks profited from electronic payments but were forced to bear the cost of cash use.

As revealed in The Australian’s Margin Call, the banks have engaged consulting firm McKinsey to determine if they can operate the cash in transit business themselves and cut out Armaguard

Mr Fox said the government had to ensure cash remained an acceptable means of payment in businesses, noting many Australians were facing increasing card payment costs from surcharging.

Mr Fox’s intervention comes as the ABA and a consortium of supermarkets, retailers and AusPost secured permission from the competition regulator to set up a working group to game plan a potential failure of Armaguard.

This comes after Linfox injected a further $10m in funding into Armaguard after refusing to sign the ABA’s deal.

Mr Fox said Armaguard was hoping it would renegotiate a number of new cash supply deals with the banks in the coming weeks, noting the big banks had already used their dominant market position to drive $110m in revenue out of the Armaguard business in recent years through aggressive pricing of cash supply deals.

“They’ve driven pricing below cost and below margin,” he said.

“We need to reprice what we’re doing for the benefit of the four major banks to ensure cash in circulation.”

Mr Fox pointed to a number of cash supply deals that saw the banks demand no inflation-adjusted cost price increases.

Mr Fox said Armaguard needed circa $50m extra in funding to cover the cost of the services it supplied to the banks as well as bankroll its costs from its acquisition of cash distribution rival Prosegur.

“All we really want is reasonable pricing for the services we provide,” he said.

Mr Fox said the public statements made by the ABA and the panic from some cash users, including Coles which issued warnings, has done “an enormous amount of damage”.

“I’m not going to hypothesise what happens over the 10 weeks. I’m hopeful there’s sufficient goodwill between our major banks and our customers to get it resolved,” he said.

Click to expand...

​

Banks reveal impact after Aussies try to drain ATMs in cashless protest​

Draw Out Some Cash Day was a grassroots social media movement that wanted to prove Aussies still need and use physical money.​

JohnDe said:

They tell me that there is no surcharge on Debit cards, if you don’t swipe. But what happens when the merchant only has swipe facilities? This is what happens at a capital city airport -

View attachment 174193

Click to expand...

farmerge said:

I don't have an issue with the surcharge when I use my credit card, it's the percentage that gets up my left nostril. 1.4% from $1 and up. Give me a break. It's not a fixed charge.

Click to expand...

Western Australia's King River Tavern dumps electronic payments to ensure cash remains king​

While many businesses across Australia are becoming cashless, this small West Australian pub only accepts cash.

The King River Tavern sits on the edge of its eponymous river, about 20 minutes north-east of Albany on the state's south coast.

For two decades Sam James has run the pub, which has been cash-only for the past 15 years.

Signs highlighting the unique arrangement dot the walls of the pub.

The decision to go cash-only was sparked by a flooded restaurant.

"We had big floods through the restaurant, so we closed it down and we had all these machines costing us a lot of money," Ms James said.

"It cost us hundreds of dollars just to give them back."

Cash remains king at tavern​

The tavern does have an ATM for those caught short without cash.

"If they don't have cash they can get some out or miss out," Ms James said.

But the publican said her stance had the support of a majority of patrons, with only limited grumbles.

"They say it's refreshing and they're glad to use cash over card," she said.

"I'm not against banks by no means. We all need them but we all need to keep cash alive as well."


Ms James said cash was the only way she could operate during blackouts.

"We've had some of our best nights here when the power is out … I can only sell drinks with cash," she said.

She conceded her approach would not work for all businesses.

"Cash works for my business … it's easy for me because we don't serve food," Ms James said.

"A lot of people will say, 'Oh, I wish I could do cash only', but every business is different."

'Businesses don't have to accept cash'​

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission details on its website that businesses should be "clear about the types of payments they accept" and that "businesses don't have to accept cash".

But as banks continue to close regional branches, including Bankwest announcing it will close the doors on all 60 of its branches, there has been growing concern about access to cash.

Following Bankwest's announcement, a "Cash is king" movement has gained support in Western Australia as social media users and businesses post support for coins and notes.

The Australian Banking Association reported ATM withdrawals dropped from 75 million per month in 2008 to 31 million in 2021, a cash decline from $13.6 billion to $8.6 billion.

Electronic payments costly​

Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) chief executive Kristen Pyrz-Brown said the cost of electronic banking for businesses was often passed onto the customer.

She said banking costs added to continuing rising costs across the board for businesses.

"It does put business in a really dichotomous position," Ms Pyrz-Brown said.

"We know that the cost of doing business has been exponentially rising, obviously in a macro-economic level as well," she said.

Click to expand...

JohnDe said:

I’m noticing more businesses preferring cash. This might be a problem for rural communities, as banks shut down their branches.

The decision to go cash-only was sparked by a flooded restaurant.​

​

"We had big floods through the restaurant, so we closed it down and we had all these machines costing us a lot of money," Ms James said.​

​

"It cost us hundreds of dollars just to give them back."​

Click to expand...

wayneL said:

I have a few larger accounts I invoice or trust to do DD. All others are cash, not because I particularly want cash, but because it is the best way to actually get paid without having to damn well chase it up.

It all goes in the bank anyway, why, because I may want the borrowing capacity in the future

Click to expand...

againsthegrain said:

I had a virtual prepaid mastercard on my phone from some rewards, had 2 or 3 bux left so I went to a newsagent and got a $1 scratchie. Trying to fit into my new gen Z role I took out my phone. The guy had a sour expression... is that all your buying? do u have cash? After reading everywhere cash is dead I was caught off guard.. erhm no sorry... ok

As he takes out the terminal he hums in there is a 20c charge.. well yeah fine I just want to finish off my pre-paid card.

So 20% charge wow not too convinient for small purchases on the go

Click to expand...

againsthegrain said:

I had a virtual prepaid mastercard on my phone from some rewards, had 2 or 3 bux left so I went to a newsagent and got a $1 scratchie. Trying to fit into my new gen Z role I took out my phone. The guy had a sour expression... is that all your buying? do u have cash? After reading everywhere cash is dead I was caught off guard.. erhm no sorry... ok

As he takes out the terminal he hums in there is a 20c charge.. well yeah fine I just want to finish off my pre-paid card.

So 20% charge wow not too convinient for small purchases on the go

Click to expand...

Craton said:

Last time (a very long time ago) I gambled on a $1 scratchie, it cost me $1.10 which included the GST component.
Is that still the case?

Click to expand...

Craton said:

Thnx @divs4ever, that $1.10 scratchie has always stuck in my mind, bought at a newsagent with some left over coin shrapnel.
That'd be over 15 or more years ago now, always thought it was odd.

Click to expand...

againsthegrain said:

it doesn't sound right, most things you buy in proper shops gst is included in final price but on the receipt there is a breakdown and shown how much gst is included in the price.

btw I didn't win nothing

Click to expand...

farmerge said:

@againsthegrain well you did give the Govt a donation, isn't that a win, well not for you but only for the money wasters.

Click to expand...

againsthegrain said:

Gave a 20% donation to the credit card processing company/bank too

Click to expand...