You’re right of course. As usual.
Of course . The government needs to keep track of your identity and what you purchase . I have to show my ID when buying alcohol at some stores where i live already .im 45 years older than 21 .
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I’ve paid with my phone since the beginning of the system. Masking made face recognition problematic, but shrug.
Yes I believe this was attempted (PA? Philly?) and was quickly repealed as discriminatory.
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Lots of things are discriminatory. Just because something is discriminatory does not make it illegal.
Only illegal discrimination is illegal. Apologies for the tautology, but could not find a more eloquent way of saying it.
Many restaurants do not accept cash, buying food on an airline is plastic only.
Just because a person does not have a credit card does not mean they cannot use other forms of plastic or non-cash tender, be it debit cards or EBT, to shop at a grocery store.
Going cashless at a grocery store (or, really, at any merchant) really only discriminates against those who do not have a bank account. Because with a bank account, you will and do have access to plastic in the form of a debit card.
In fact, the most discriminatory aspect of shopping these days – be it groceries or other goods – is the often required use of a cell phone. And there’s little, if any, pushback on that. That’s legitimately more discriminatory than going cash-less.
Right or wrong, going cashless at grocery stores is a fait accompli.
Not making a normative judgment, just pointing tp a factual outcome.
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It’s expensive for merchants to handle cash.
Yes, more expensive than the 2-3% handling fee that credit card companies charge merchants.
yes, it’s perfectly legal to refuse cash except when it’s not. around here (S.F) i believe a bill was passed, i want to say 2-3 years ago that requires most businesses to accept cash for exactly the reasons specified – discriminatory against the poor and or bankless. i’m sure there are a few cities that would pass similar legislation but can’t see it becoming that widespread in the headwinds of a cashless economy.
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I don’t believe you quite got the point of my post. But that’s ok.
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I feel sorry for the govt hack whose job it is to analyze my purchases. Life should not be that dull, Of course, there is wine, but so what.
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Except when it does.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/Prohibition-of-Cashless-Establishments.page
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And yet merchants tend to prefer cash, strongly, to credit cards. Not sure what to think.
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There are merchants on both sides of this divide. In one corner: merchants who don’t want to pay credit card fees and thus add a penalty (usually 3ish percent) to the totals of customers who don’t pay in cash. I’ve seen this at the Union Square Greenmarket and at restaurants upstate, where it’s become pretty much SOP. And in the opposite corner, merchants who don’t want to accept cash because it protects them from the theft of said cash. I’ve seen somewhat less of this, usually from very portable vendors, at popups and the like.
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I wonder if this in’t the reason for their massive losses per theft. One day, I went through the elf checkout, finished up, got to the car, and realized there was an item in the cart I hadn’t paid for. Went back scanned it, and paid. Seems like a light tough if someone wanted to swipe 'em blind.
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I love it when people advocate for getting rid of cash. NO WAY IN HELL is that a good idea. Most of my transactions are still cash money. I could not carry on my way of life normally using E payment methods. Not at all. I’m not talking end of the world. I’m talking here and now. Try to force the Amish to get charge cards and that. Good luck. If you’re happy going full E in town, enjoy. The country, at least where I live, goes cash. Pays for my lamb , pork and beef. Pays for all tools, slab firewood. Baking products are much cheaper bought from Amish. Not just the Amish. When I buy my half lamb, I hand over $350 without sliding my card. I’d never use E currency. Have a charge card so I can rack up air miles; but that’s it.
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Where I live, you can pay your property tax bill at a certain bank (I assume the State/County has a deal with this particular chain to accept property tax payments). So I went in to pay my property tax bill and I hand the teller cash. She didn’t know what to do. She said “I don’t know if we accept cash” and called her supervisor over. The supervisor said… “Of course we accept cash, we are a bank”
Apparently this concept was confusing to the teller.
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If that happens, the time for supermarkets by me to go under will be quick and painless. That way people can get their food from farms. We enjoy many restos that won’t accept charge/debit cards. Call it backwards; but not everyone has confidence in E transactions.
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I don’t like it when the checker (materials handler) assumes I am using a card for payment when I’ve been spending the last few minutes writing out ('scuse me!) a check. They look at me like I’m a Martian. Then again, the menu at a restaurant will state, ‘we will assess a 9% fee to every credit or debit transaction’. You’ll what? Before my 20% tip? You mean you’ll take cash or a check?
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So is there a dress code or height limit on that ‘elf checkout’?
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You’re probably ok if your ears and shoes are pointy enough. (Some typos just lend themselves to comedy.)
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I’m 5’ 9", and I didn’t get any side looks or mean mugs.
