A new trend is developing in New Mexico.  Cashless bars and restaurants.  Holdups in Albuquerque restaurants and bars and thefts of safes with cash in them have prompted a trend to cashless transactions.  There are signs in the lobbies of restaurants and bars that cash will not be accepted.   Cards only.

It seems like a good idea.  I don't know if other businesses are going to start this or if it is popular outside New Mexico.  I haven't heard it trending in Roswell (we have no bars per se...only bars in restaurants) but it is a growing trend in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

I do carry cash in my wallet for smaller purchases when I go to the store.  I don't like to use a credit card for purchases under 20 dollars.

Noel

Since my credit card does not give any cash back bonuses, I use my debit card for most shopping purposes.  Other than the $350 debit card I got from the State of Calif., which I am using for gas purchases only, I will use cash for gas and restaurant meals and that's it.

Sounds like a good way to possibly avoid robberies, but if they were hold ups, now the crooks will probably start stealing valuables from the patrons like watches, jewelry, etc.

I never carry cash anyway. Used to be a debit card user but a good friend of mine who was a frequent traveler suggested I get an airline card and start using it for all my expenses. It took me a while, but finally did it. After a few years of using it for every expense that I could I accumulated almost 500,000 miles on it since I rarely cashed in miles. Now when I travel, I typically fly for free on American Airlines or its partners. 

In my case it ended up working out well since I get something in return for my purchases rather than just using a debit card or cash and not getting rewards. 

19 hours ago, birdguy said:

A new trend is developing in New Mexico.  Cashless bars and restaurants.

Yep, this is a positive aspect of electronic-only currency/transactions.  If nobody has cash any more, then that further deters armed robberies, muggings, and theft in general.

Everything will be this way in about 10 years.  Then we'll have digital currency, so no more coins or paper money.

The only downside is that the currency itself will be controllable, that is, some central authority will literally be able to control its usage, or cancel it altogether, as well as have the ability to track the currency as it changes hands after every transaction.  So, for example, if your social credit score drops, you won't be able to use your digital money to travel outside of your country, state, region, or even city.

Dave

19 hours ago, birdguy said:

A new trend is developing in New Mexico.  Cashless bars and restaurants.

This kinda of reminds me of partying in Frankfurt in the early 2000s. The bars/clubs I frequented would hand you a plastic card when you entered. You would use this card through out the night. On the way out, they would collect the card and check the purchases on it. I found this interesting as you could rack up a hefty bill easily once drunk 🤣. I've always paid with a card overseas because it was a pain constantly dealing with exchange rates and different denominations. Over time you have various amounts of cash from different countries that are a pain to exchange so they end up in your "stuff" collection. What I can't remember is if they took cash in those bars with the plastic cards🤔. I do remember restaurants in Europe not accepting cards back then. You would have to hunt around for an ATM. But, I didn't have to worry about robberies either🤔. 

I'm not sure about the legality of that, though...printed on the face of US currency it says "Legal tender for all debts public or private."  If you go in, eat a meal, and either don't have a card or your card is declined for some reason, I don't think they could legally do anything to you if you offer to pay your bill in cash.  If they refuse the cash payment, that's on them...you haven't committed any sort of fraud if you offer to pay them in legal US currency.

I'm not a fan of mandatory electronic money.  It opens up the prospects of manipulation and massive invasion of privacy, whether by governments or criminals (noting that the two groups are not mutually exclusive).

13 minutes ago, Bob Scott said:

I'm not sure about the legality of that, though...printed on the face of US currency it says "Legal tender for all debts public or private." 

I don't know how reliable this website is but it says there is no federal requirement for businesses to accept cash but there may be a state requirement:

https://www.patriotsoftware.com/blog/accounting/can-business-refuse-cash-is-it-legal/

44 minutes ago, G550flyer said:

Over time you have various amounts of cash from different countries that are a pain to exchange so they end up in your "stuff" collection.

After our extended trip to Canada a few years ago I returned home with about 20 dollars worth of Canadian Money.  The banks was going to charge me 15 dollars to exchange it.  So I kept it.

I went home and got the Vancouver BC phone directory on the internet.  I picked a person at random and mailed the money to their address with no return address on the envelope.

I'll bet they were shocked when they opened that envelope from an anonymous person.

Noel  

10 hours ago, cmpbellsjc said:

I get something in return for my purchases rather than just using a debit card or cash and not getting rewards.

I wish they would do away with cash back and rewards cards.  Especially in stores.  Our Ace Hardware store has a rewards system as does out super market.  Why not just do away with rewards and lower prices?

Noel

9 minutes ago, birdguy said:

I went home and got the Vancouver BC phone directory on the internet.  I picked a person at random and mailed the money to their address with no return address on the envelope.

I'll bet they were shocked when they opened that envelope from an anonymous person.

That's awesome!!!!

4 hours ago, Bob Scott said:

I'm not a fan of mandatory electronic money.  It opens up the prospects of manipulation and massive invasion of privacy, whether by governments or criminals (noting that the two groups are not mutually exclusive).

Agreed. I never go online without a VPN and haven't for quite some time. If you want to give yourself a good scare, read the book below. If people only new...

6 hours ago, birdguy said:

I wish they would do away with cash back and rewards cards.  Especially in stores.  Our Ace Hardware store has a rewards system as does out super market.  Why not just do away with rewards and lower prices?

Noel

I don’t ever partake in retailer specific rewards programs that some retailers offer, too much extra hassle for me to remember. For me, always paying with one card to get my miles is enough. I’d rather rack up 1000’s of free airfare miles than get a dollar or a few cents discounted. 

1 hour ago, cmpbellsjc said:

I don’t ever partake in retailer specific rewards programs that some retailers offer, too much extra hassle for me to remember.

Well given the price of gas lately, I am absolutely delighted that Kroger here in Hot Springs has a "points" system that will save me 30 cents per gallon for every 100 points each month.

3 hours ago, n4gix said:

Well given the price of gas lately, I am absolutely delighted that Kroger here in Hot Springs has a "points" system that will save me 30 cents per gallon for every 100 points each month.

That’s actually a good savings. I’d probably do that as well but I haven’t paid for gas in 22 years and don’t plan to pay for gas until I retire. 😂😂

15 hours ago, newtie said:

I never go online without a VPN and haven't for quite some time.

I couldn't agree more. My son is in the cyber-security business and he taught me this long ago. The cyber world is, indeed, a scary place.

Edited November 29, 20223 yr by W2DR
kant spel