Cash or Card

Turpentine

Turpentine wrote: »

Still not as fast as just handing over the cash.

There isn't much in it to be honest, the rooting around to get your change when you pay with cash slows down cash transactions. Its more of a pain in the hole having to carry around enough cash all the time anyway than entering a pin. Literally the only time I carry a decent amount of cash is a night out.

I always have cash in my pocket (less than 50 euro) but use the card most of the time and keep the cash for places where they don't take cards or don't allow small card transactions.

almostnever

Card when I can, absolutely hate taking out money and breaking it because the change disappears somewhere!

That works out quite well when I'm in college in Dublin where most places take card, when I'm back home though it's hard to find places that accept laser so I use cash then. I'm moving to Paris for a year in August and I'm hoping it's as good as, if not better than, Dublin for accepting card because I'll have to be even more careful with money there!

Turpentine

Sky Few Trainer wrote: »

There isn't much in it to be honest, the rooting around to get your change when you pay with cash slows down cash transactions. Its more of a pain in the hole having to carry around enough cash all the time anyway than entering a pin. Literally the only time I carry a decent amount of cash is a night out.

I always have cash in my pocket (less than 50 euro) but use the card most of the time and keep the cash for places where they don't take cards or don't allow small card transactions.

Some people have their cash ready, some people spend a while getting their change together.

With credit card the transaction is slower across the board. The knobs that fiddle for change at the till will be the knobs that take ages to find their card and struggle to remember their pin on the third attempt. But for people who would hand over the correct change immediately a credit card will take longer as well.

Like I said, it may only be an extra 30 seconds per transaction but that all adds up if there's a queue of people in front of you.

seamus

pickarooney wrote: »

Why do card machines take so long to process in Ireland? Is it some outdated technology or are there extra checks in place? I remember it took almost a minute to pay for something by card last time I was there. It's about 5 seconds here.

Outdated technology. If you ever seen one of those mobile card readers say "dialling" on the screen, it means that they're running over ISDN, and although not super-slow, it's not quick either.

If a company has a lot of terminals and is still using ISDN lines and the tills/technology they're using is ten years old, then it's going to be slow. On the other hand, if the business is using newer tills and running over proper broadband lines, the transaction is much quicker. Paying by card in my local Superquinn, rockets along. It's literally only a matter of 2/3 seconds slower than paying by cash. When you factor in time to sort your cash and the cashier to sort the change, card works out just slightly faster in my experience in that shop.

I'm not sure what the rationale is for a business using ISDN when broadband speeds are incomparable to it. But I imagine eircom tells them, "If your broadband goes down, you won't be able to take payments. But a dedicated ISDN line will ensure that you're always open.". Without telling them that they're being utterly shafted for their ISDN.

seamus

seamus wrote: »

I'm not sure what the rationale is for a business using ISDN when broadband speeds are incomparable to it. But I imagine eircom tells them, "If your broadband goes down, you won't be able to take payments. But a dedicated ISDN line will ensure that you're always open.". Without telling them that they're being utterly shafted for their ISDN.

They can't be always open, all the atms and laser/card machines went down for a day the other week

markpb

bluewolf wrote: »

They can't be always open, all the atms and laser/card machines went down for a day the other week

They can't all have stopped working. They're all operated by different companies and payment networks.

markpb

markpb wrote: »

They can't all have stopped working. They're all operated by different companies and payment networks.

All the ones in the village did anyway, all the shops and people were annoyed about it
they might all somehow be on the same network

Snowie

Cash always !

Nothingbetter2d

Gee Bag wrote: »

Neither, I barter beg & steal.

fyp

pickarooney

seamus wrote: »

Outdated technology. If you ever seen one of those mobile card readers say "dialling" on the screen, it means that they're running over ISDN, and although not super-slow, it's not quick either.

If a company has a lot of terminals and is still using ISDN lines and the tills/technology they're using is ten years old, then it's going to be slow. On the other hand, if the business is using newer tills and running over proper broadband lines, the transaction is much quicker. Paying by card in my local Superquinn, rockets along. It's literally only a matter of 2/3 seconds slower than paying by cash. When you factor in time to sort your cash and the cashier to sort the change, card works out just slightly faster in my experience in that shop.

I'm not sure what the rationale is for a business using ISDN when broadband speeds are incomparable to it. But I imagine eircom tells them, "If your broadband goes down, you won't be able to take payments. But a dedicated ISDN line will ensure that you're always open.". Without telling them that they're being utterly shafted for their ISDN.

Does Eircom not have card payments via broadband either or do they just not tell the businesses this?

Dravokivich

Plazaman wrote: »

This always struck me as strange one of my local shops won't allow me to use my debit card for purchases under €10 but the other one will take any amount. What's the downside for the shop? Surely they are encouraged to use a cashless system (although what the banks will and will not do nowadays leaves me baffled, you'd swear they hate cash).

Shops get charged a fee for credit card transactions (as well as other fees for the machines such as line rental). Its worthless to them when the transaction is less than €10. Not all of them can afford to obsorb it and they'll lose money on it as that transaction will end up costing them more than they are likely to get from it.

Its been referenced quite a bit around here before.

With regards to the topic, I mainly use cash and only use a card for bigger transactions myself. Don't see the point in having them for anything small.

pickarooney

The small shop across the road from me will take a card for a 50c transaction but LIDL will not take one for less than a tenner. I don't understand this.

optimistic_

Card. Don't like carrying cash.
Although i've a wallet full at the moment - hitting the pub later on.

Dravokivich

pickarooney wrote: »

The small shop across the road from me will take a card for a 50c transaction but LIDL will not take one for less than a tenner. I don't understand this.

Probably depends on the rates they get charged by who ever supplies them with the ability for credit card transactions. That's what it comes down to in the end.

johnsonbrown

A leader in near field communication technology, NCR Corporation has launched a new application which will allow consumers to initiate cash withdrawals from their banking accounts using mobile devices. After that you have to complete this transaction at an ATM by scanning a 2D barcode. This application is known as NCR Mobile Cash Withdrawal. The application will make ATM transactions faster and more secure, by removing cards and PINs from the process at the ATM. This transaction will take less than 10 seconds. Any iOS or Android smart phone can be used by the consumers at any location and at any time - whether at work, on the metro or while in line at the ATM - and then choose the amount of their transaction.:cool::P:confused:

http://gm.kochar.com/post/smartphonee28099s-could-soon-replace-atm-cards-too.aspx

Hooked

Cash is king. Im 34 next month and dont own a credit/debit or laser card. Just a plain old pass card for the ATM. is that odd? PS - I love to haggle.

Hooked

Cash is king. Im 34 next month and dont own a credit/debit or laser card. Just a plain old pass card for the ATM. is that odd? PS - I love to haggle.

Oranage2

Mostly card for the reason that it's like an instant loan at the push of a button that you dont have to worry about until the end of the following month.

Pushtrak

Way too variable. Some weeks I might go all cash, and some weeks it might be all card.

Best username ever

The sooner AIB move to visa debit the better, I would use cash before I would use laser. They say it can take up to 3 days for laser transactions to come out of your account......it does in it's bollocks..some transactions take a week to appear.

OneArt

Cash all the way. If I used a card all the time I would have to keep counting how much I had in my bank account in my head and being sh!t at maths, I'd end up homeless in a day.