Cash Purchases over 1000eur Banned in the EU

[Ben]

I just ran into this Tucker Carlson clip and was completely unaware of it, but they have apparently banned all cash purchases in the EU over 1000eur. I'm gonna telegram my cousin in krautland and ask him how long this has been going on. If the progressives have their way, coming soon to a United States near you.

https://youtu.be/gBYS9km_MEQ

[Hawkmoon]

I didn't realize how widespread the use of debit cards has become until I parked in a downtown parking garage on Friday and paid in cash when I left. The attendant looked like he had never heard of cash, and it took him an inordinately long time to figure out how to deal with it.

[griz]

Yep, I get the impression that a lot of people don't carry cash anymore*.  I've tried to pay with cash at a doctor's office and the receptionist had to go to her purse to make change.

*That does make me wonder if the trend will put robbers out of business.

[HankB]

Neighbor girl game by selling Girl Scout cookies. (Don't like some of what I've heard about GS lately, but I get along with my neighbors, so . . . )

She expected me to use Venmo to pay and had kind of a befuddled look when I paid her with cash. Her daddy - following along - intervened and she took the $5 bill.

I don't use Venmo.

[AZRedhawk44]

This bill provide a nice little bump in value for the various cryptocurrencies.

[Hawkmoon]

Neighbor girl game by selling Girl Scout cookies. (Don't like some of what I've heard about GS lately, but I get along with my neighbors, so . . . )

She expected me to use Venmo to pay and had kind of a befuddled look when I paid her with cash. Her daddy - following along - intervened and she took the $5 bill.

I don't use Venmo.

Seriously? The Girl Scouts use VENMO? What are they thinking?

[HankB]

Seriously? The Girl Scouts use VENMO? What are they thinking?

My guess (and it's only a guess) is that with Venmo, the girl scout organization gets the money right now, instead of having to wait for the little girls to send it in . . . whenever.

[Ben]

My guess (and it's only a guess) is that with Venmo, the girl scout organization gets the money right now, instead of having to wait for the little girls to send it in . . . whenever.

Another guess, especially these days, might be safety. Though I'm sure it also cuts down on boomer sales. I also don't have venmo. I remember when I first got Steve, I signed him up for dog school and the girl would only take electronic payments. We ended up on a big back and forth before she agreed to use paypal, which was the only epayment I had, and that she thought was some kind of boomer thing. 

Personally, and I know much of it is my paranoia, I hate all these epayment systems that you have to link your bank account to, at least for individual transaction stuff. Of course I use epayments for the electric bill, etc. I don't even use my debit card for anything other than getting cash from the ATM.

I supposed a good unintended consequence of so many people no longer carrying cash, is that I run into a lot fewer bums on the street trying to hit me up for money.

[dogmush]

Personally, and I know much of it is my paranoia, I hate all these epayment systems that you have to link your bank account to, at least for individual transaction stuff. Of course I use epayments for the electric bill, etc. I don't even use my debit card for anything other than getting cash from the ATM.

*Link one of your bank accounts to. 

With the advent, and I admit ease, of e-payment apps, I have started putting a gap between my incoming money and savings, and my outgoing transfers.  Google Pay and Paypal go from a CC (although Paypal does have a bank account in it) Venmo, Cashap, Paypal, and Zelle link to a secondary checking account that I move money into or out of as needed.  My Credit Union lets me transfer between accounts free like 5 times a month or so.

It's the same way my parents used to transfer out of checking and into savings accounts back in the day, or how folks were using prepaid Visa's for online safety in the aughts, just electronic, and run from the app on my phone.

[Ben]

*Link one of your bank accounts to. 

With the advent, and I admit ease, of e-payment apps, I have started putting a gap between my incoming money and savings, and my outgoing transfers.  Google Pay and Paypal go from a CC (although Paypal does have a bank account in it) Venmo, Cashap, Paypal, and Zelle link to a secondary checking account that I move money into or out of as needed.  My Credit Union lets me transfer between accounts free like 5 times a month or so.

It's the same way my parents used to transfer out of checking and into savings accounts back in the day, or how folks were using prepaid Visa's for online safety in the aughts, just electronic, and run from the app on my phone.

I guess that's something I could/should look into. I'm not sure if my bank hits me with a fee for a checking account I only keep a few hundred dollars in that's not linked to my other accounts.

I've certainly used Google Pay a good bit, but again, just with businesses. I'd have no problem using it for private stuff, but am not sure if you can?

Otherwise, it still comes down to, while I use my CC a lot to pay for stuff, still wanting to be able to use cash, whether I'm buying something for $1 or $100,000.

[dogmush]

Enjoy it while you can.

Whether or not it's a good idea, the writing is on the wall.  It's going to get progressively harder to use cash over the next 10 or so years, until it's gone in all but name.

Cash is good for a lot of things that liberty minded folks might want to do, but it's good for almost nothing that the folks who make the rules want you to do.  Crypto is still a *expletive deleted*ing nightmare to actually use for day-to-day purchases.

[Ben]

Enjoy it while you can.

Whether or not it's a good idea, the writing is on the wall.  It's going to get progressively harder to use cash over the next 10 or so years, until it's gone in all but name.

Cash is good for a lot of things that liberty minded folks might want to do, but it's good for almost nothing that the folks who make the rules want you to do.  Crypto is still a *expletive deleted*ing nightmare to actually use for day-to-day purchases.

I don't disagree. Even as an old guy, I don't think I'll get through the years I have left before they do it.

And yeah, I keep wanting to look at crypto, but what a charlie foxtrot and extreme valuation bounces. I suppose ammo as currency would be a viable option at some point. 

[MillCreek]

Yep, I get the impression that a lot of people don't carry cash anymore*.  I've tried to pay with cash at a doctor's office and the receptionist had to go to her purse to make change.

*That does make me wonder if the trend will put robbers out of business.

We no longer accept cash at any of our clinics. You can pay your balance, co-pay, or whatever at the time of service with a credit or debit card.  We are not set up for Venmo, etc., and I don't know any local healthcare system that is.  Not taking cash improves safety, in that the front desk is not robbed any more, and greatly simplifies the life of our revenue people in terms of cash handling.

Edited to add: this thread did inspire me to update and configure Venmo on my phone in case I need to use it when I am out and about.  I still prefer to use my REI credit card to pay for purchases and get that sweet dividend at the end of the year.

[RoadKingLarry]

I'm going to have to look into some sort of cash app/pay app thing for my new business. Right now I'll take cash or if it's someone I know I'll take a paper check. I've already had several customers offering to pay with Venmo or credit/debit card. I've already got a Paypal account so I may set that up for business.
Who's got what and are any of you using it for a small business?

[Ben]

Edited to add: this thread did inspire me to update and configure Venmo on my phone in case I need to use it when I am out and about.  I still prefer to use my REI credit card to pay for purchases and get that sweet dividend at the end of the year.

As much as I gripe about Cabela's, getting at least one free gun a year is a reason I use that CC. Otherwise I would use cash a lot more, but between the Cabela's and the Costco card, I get a lot of free money.

I would still like it to be my choice though, versus shoved down my throat. Or since it's the government, shoved up my ass.

[RoadKingLarry]

As much as I gripe about Cabela's, getting at least one free gun a year is a reason I use that CC. Otherwise I would use cash a lot more, but between the Cabela's and the Costco card, I get a lot of free money.

I would still like it to be my choice though, versus shoved down my throat. Or since it's the government, shoved up my ass and then down my throat.

FTFY
 

[dogmush]

As much as I gripe about Cabela's, getting at least one free gun a year is a reason I use that CC. Otherwise I would use cash a lot more, but between the Cabela's and the Costco card, I get a lot of free money.

I would still like it to be my choice though, versus shoved down my throat. Or since it's the government, shoved up my ass.

I use my Amazon card for that.  So far I got my new 75" TV and sound system for free in 2021, and my PS5 and Mrs. Mush's new iPad for free last year.  It is kinda nice to get free stuff.

[HankB]

We no longer accept cash at any of our clinics. You can pay your balance, co-pay, or whatever at the time of service with a credit or debit card . . .

IF I WERE KING . . .

I would issue an edict that any business in my kingdom refusing to accept coin of the realm (including bills of the realm  ) as payment would be deemed to be providing their product or service free of charge.

And my coin of the realm WOULD NOT be some fictitious bits in a computer somewhere since I wouldn't be a total despot.

[Hawkmoon]

Personally, and I know much of it is my paranoia, I hate all these epayment systems that you have to link your bank account to, at least for individual transaction stuff. Of course I use epayments for the electric bill, etc. I don't even use my debit card for anything other than getting cash from the ATM.

I'm paranoid right with you on that. Several years ago, when I had a reason to create a PayPal account, I went to a bank other than my regular bank and I opened a no-fee, senior citizen checking account with the minimum monthly balance level. Since then I think I have used PayPal maybe twice, but the account wasn't hurting anything, so I left it there.

More recently, when I started self-publishing books through Amazon, I needed to link a bank account to the KDP account because Amazon pays royalties through direct deposit. So I linked my Amazon author's account to that account, which has an "air gap" of about a mile from my regular accounts.

[K Frame]

I have my primary credit card linked to my Samsung Wallet so that I can pay just by scanning my phone. It's really convenient.

I rarely use cash anymore, to be honest. I've been running around with $80 in my wallet since before Christmas. I just spent some of it a few days ago.

[Ben]

I have my primary credit card linked to my Samsung Wallet so that I can pay just by scanning my phone. It's really convenient.

That kind of linking I don't worry about, which is why I'm fine with Google Pay and Paypal, even though the latter charges a CC fee (yes, I know I can throw money in a paypal account to avoid the credit card).

My credit card companies have always been on the ball with CC hijacking.

[HeroHog]

We use our PayPal Business Debit Card for most everything as it has Credit Card Protections VS a bank card.

[HankB]

I wonder what the enforcement measure will be - for example, if two private parties meet with one person selling as little as a single 1 oz gold coin and the other one buying, I could see cash being preferred by both. And even as cowed by their governments as they are, at least SOME Europeans may not be particularly interested in their governments inserting themselves in private transactions.

[dogmush]

I wonder what the enforcement measure will be - for example, if two private parties meet with one person selling as little as a single 1 oz gold coin and the other one buying, I could see cash being preferred by both. And even as cowed by their governments as they are, at least SOME Europeans may not be particularly interested in their governments inserting themselves in private transactions.

I imagine it'll be some combination of Banks reporting large withdrawals or a bunch of small ones in close order, banks reporting deposits, and a few high profile seizures of large amounts of cash similar to asset forfeiture here. Make it hard to get or get rid of cash, and risky to have it lying around and most folks won't want to bother.

Like many other prohibitions, it won't be 100% effective, or even 80% effective, but it'll have a chilling effect, and be on the books as a handy hammer to use against anyone that gets too troublesome.

Also, like our ATF, they are unlikely to try and enforce this against actual dangerous criminals like human traffickers or Eastern European Mafia types. This is more a "Throw Andrew Tate in a hole forever" thing than "Lets stamp out drug trafficking from Turkey"

[MechAg94]

I had a Paypal account.  I closed it after they played some games with someone I ordered from.  Withheld money for months until they got a lawyer involved. 

I have not tried any electronic payment other than my VISA.  I haven't run into any reason I needed to start.  IMO, cash is king.  If the FedGov tried to eliminate cash, something else will become the new cash in short order.