imutual.co.uk

Sarah wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 04 2021 10:20am

Do the majority of parents still give pocket money to their children in cash?...

It's easy to forget that kids are smart and don't get hung up on having always done things a certain way. I guess much of their spend will now be online. Most will be used to cashless spending - for example using their thumbprint to pay for school dinners against a balance topped up online.

Recent overview of some debit cards available for children:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/ ... end-safely

Cashless is great------ until it stops working.

pabenny wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 04 2021 2:22pm

Most will be used to cashless spending - for example using their thumbprint to pay for school dinners against a balance topped up online.

Sorry , the thumbprint scanner is not working - no dinners today .

Obviously if that happens, schools would let the kids go hungry and the dinners go to waste.

...... or they could use some form of token to pay for the meal, maybe some metal discs or something. The problem would be agreeing the value ...... but perhaps some mutually acceptable paper documents could be designed........

expressman33 wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 04 2021 10:36pm

Cashless is great------ until it stops working.

Presumably you also don't use a car because they sometimes breakdown, you wash clothes by hand because washing machines sometimes stop working, light your home with candles because sometimes there are power cuts or bulbs fail.

macliam wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 05 2021 8:35am

...... or they could use some form of token to pay for the meal, maybe some metal discs or something. The problem would be agreeing the value ...... but perhaps some mutually acceptable paper documents could be designed........

Whooa, steady on... that system sounds cumbersome and costly. Not to mention unhygienic, especially during a pandemic.

Cash is king for the poorest in society. No worry about going overdrawn and cannot see how much is in the account because a) they do not have a smartphone or b) they do not want to use one. I had a friend who was far from poor but found techie things just increased his anxiety levels which was not good for someone suffering from severe anxiety anyway. Something as simple as not finding something amongst all the stuff in his trouser pockets could trigger an attack.

Supermarkets etc are happy to subsidise the cost of online shopping so what is wrong with them doing the same for those who want to pay by cash.

We save up the winnings from our National Lottery scratchcards until we have £20 or if in the bank get some £5 and £10 notes for church collection plate and some extra for our corner shop. Swop them for the £20 notes in the till hence saving them bank charges.

Too many people come in with a £20 note as that is what they got from the atm or when withdrawing their pension from the Post Office though the Govt is putting a stop to that. You must get the money into your bank account whether or not that is your preferred way. And, yes, it is cheaper for the Govt. but as most pensioners etc get their money into the bank anyway the cost is so negligible when you think how much money is wasted in one way or another by the Govt.

blythburgh wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 05 2021 11:02am

Cash is king for the poorest in society. No worry about going overdrawn and cannot see how much is in the account because a) they do not have a smartphone or b) they do not want to use one.

Based on OFCOM data from the first quarter of 2020, 82% of the population use a smartphone - and much higher proportion amongst under-55s. If we're talking about lower income people, remember that Universal Credit has to be applied for and managed online and is paid into a bank account.

So 18% do not have a smartphone. Universal Credit is applied for and managed online but how many people are using a library or a support place to do be able to do that.

And like the sky dish on the side of the house, owning a smartphone does not mean you can afford to use it.

blythburgh wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 06 2021 8:29am

Universal Credit is applied for and managed online but how many people are using a library or a support place to do be able to do that.

Probably none during much of the last 18 months.

Just because people have low income doesn't mean they don't use a smartphone - for Facebook, Twitter, What'sApp, etc.