POLL: Cash or Credit?

[GilliC]

It's so common to use cards to pay for things here in Norway (typically debit cards, but credit a lot also), and some merchants support the elimination of cash altogether! It's so prevalent that sometimes I'm surprised when I travel elsewhere and cash is more common.

(When I was in LA recently, I felt like things have almost swung the other direction and encountered places where they expected you to pay $75-100 in cash! Even when I lived in the States, I didn't carry more than $100 in my wallet.)

So how common is it to use plastic instead of cash where you live?

What's the smallest thing that you'd typically pay for by card?

Do you use chip-and-pin cards?


This poll brought to you by the following photo posted by a local friend on Facebook:
(Once a year, school kids get together in small groups of 3-4 and sell baked goods to raise money for charity.)

Attachment Deleted

[GilliC]

Here in Oslo, if a place doesn't accept card, most people just assume they're cheating on their taxes! Most people use cards for nearly everything, and if you buy a pack of gum at the convenience store, no one will blink if you pay for it by card.

The only exception I can think of (besides the sketchy places mentioned above) are the buses, which I believe are cash only on board (the ticket machines take card, or you can use your card to buy a ticket on the smartphone app). However, the conductors on the rail system can take cards for on-board ticket purchases. And the spot-check ticket controllers on the local transit accept card to pay the on-the-spot $100+ fine if you're caught without a ticket!

All of the cards are chip-and-pin, and most cards use a secondary verification method for online purchases.

[poisonkisses]

So how common is it to use plastic instead of cash where you live?
Where I am in Germany most people pay with cash. So far every restaurant I've been to (which honestly isn't a ton) doesn't even accept credit cards, only debit or cash (or cash only if it's more of a cafe or deli). I think a fair amount of stores also don't accept credit cards, and small shops are sometimes cash only. Since we get charged every time we use our debit card I try to always pay with cash. Back in Canada I always used my credit card (to get points) and rarely had more than $40 on me, so it's taken a little adjusting to get used to always carrying cash.

What's the smallest thing that you'd typically pay for by card?
Unless it was something I really needed at that moment, I wouldn't use it for less than €10.

Do you use chip-and-pin cards?
Yes.

[frlcb]

I never use cash in the US, ever. I probably have cash on me 5% of the time. It is never an issue.

[dorothyinAus]

So how common is it to use plastic instead of cash where you live? -- very common, other than my MIL and me, I rarely see people paying with cash 

What's the smallest thing that you'd typically pay for by card? -- personally my card limit is $20, DH pays for everything with a card

Do you use chip-and-pin cards? -- In Australia, yes. My US cards are not.

Though I was THAT person in the US who paid for most things with a check.  I rarely used my credit cards, and didn't even have an ATM card.  I budget better with cash than I do with cards, so I tend to use cash most of the time.

[Shreddingbetty]

I'm in the US and use a credit card 99% of the time (the other 1% is when I have to use my debit card at Costo....I never use it otherwise).
Once a month I go to Walmart and buy the 5 cheapest items I can find (and sort of need), preferably around a dollar or less (my record is $0.17 school notebooks on sale). My Wells Fargo checking account is only free if I make 5 cc purchases a month so that is how I fix that .... (and I use the self checkout so I can do the five transactions). I use my united Cc for everything else.

[mrsukyankee]

I sometimes have cash on me, but typically only use it to pay my cleaner and for field hockey subs. Otherwise, most places take a card (some restaurants don't but it's rare). We have chip & pin.

[Deleted]

I usually have at least £100 on me for babysitters and our weekly cleaner.

We use our cards a lot (collect points on them) but I could still use mine more. I feel weird using a card for things under £20 and a lot of places here have a £5 or £10 minimum for card transactions. They are chip and pin cards.

We are budget nerds though and record all of our transactions on an app. So mentally it's like we're paying cash because each time I buy something I enter it on the app and it updates our checking account balance.

I do feel like cash is used more at home (Canada).

[origami]

I use CCs everywhere in actual stores, just like in the US, but here I have more non-store transactions like school stuff, cleaning lady, tours with my women's club, etc. We have chip cards but no pin yet. We don't have checks and we haven't even figured out how to make a login for our online banking, much less pay a bill online. They have a strange set up with making payments by wire transfers at ATMs. Getting approval for a foreign CC and access to online banking has been ridiculously complicated and bureaucratic. I'm guessing the banking website itself will be complicated and full of malfunctions because that's par for the course here.

[Susie]

So how common is it to use plastic instead of cash where you live?  Very common (northeast US)

What's the smallest thing that you'd typically pay for by card?  A cup of coffee.  

Do you use chip-and-pin cards?  I have one for when I travel elsewhere, but here I swipe & sign.

[irish]

So how common is it to use plastic instead of cash where you live? Very common (ireland). I frequently don't have cash on me. Even taxi cabs now take cards. Esp through the Hailo app (used to hail cabs) And paying with a debit card and getting cash back (change) is also common.

What's the smallest thing that you'd typically pay for by card? A few small items in the grocery. Smaller places have minimum spends.

Do you use chip-and-pin cards? Yes and the secondary security validation for online transactions. Though there is also contact less payment for amounts under €15 on debit cards. Can be handy if it works.

[poisonkisses]

So it looks like I'm the only one living in cash land. Awesome.

[GilliC]

Nov 4, 2014 13:32:09 GMT -5 poisonkisses said:

So it looks like I'm the only one living in cash land. Awesome.

A bunch of my colleagues just transferred from Germany, and they all use cash. They keep making comments about how they're not used to paying for everything by card.

[Cicero]

In CH you can use cards everywhere but it's not uncommon for someone to go to pay for groceries with big bills and no one bats an eyelash about making change. I once saw someone use a 1,000 CHF bill for a 40 CHF tab--yeah, it's generally on par with the dollar

In Malaysia you can use cards most places but cash is far more common.

I remember a lot of paper money in Prague but I have no idea if it's still the main mode of payment.