Heads up - no cash accepted

Just a heads up. I’ve seen more than a dozen restaurants and stores post that they are not currently accepting cash (because it’s dirty and contaminated).
So, bring your cards and wipes.

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You know, I've run into the same thing SCM. It's unsettling.

It’s almost to the point now where Apple Pay is the standard in my neighborhood; cashiers don’t want to touch credit cards, etc.

That's awesome. I hope it becomes a norm. Cash is highly contaminated and dirty. With contractless pay methods, there is little room for error.

If a store only accepts cash, I go somewhere else.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

I'd be hesitant to support/shop at a store that would not accept cash. That doesn't mean I'd want to use cash but there are many people who, for a variety of reasons, do not have credit cards, never mind things like Apple Pay. I don't believe a business should be allowed to refuse cash (COVID or no COVID).

I have seen bins that carry payment method to cashier and receipt/change back to customer. Cashiers wear masks and gloves. Is the bin cleaned between customers? Can they keep the registers clean? If so, there should be no issue for anyone.

Contact-less payment is good-- as long as everyone remembers how much they are spending. If you spend your little bit of limited cash and touch it, you might be more likely to know how much you spent and when you spent it. For some people, this is easy. For others, not so much.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

@Bena wrote:

I'd be hesitant to support/shop at a store that would not accept cash. That doesn't mean I'd want to use cash but there are many people who, for a variety of reasons, do not have credit cards, never mind things like Apple Pay. I don't believe a business should be allowed to refuse cash (COVID or no COVID).

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Many stores aren't taking returns currently, either.

@MisterBill wrote:

Many stores aren't taking returns currently, either.

Most of our stores aren't accepting returns either and it's not just for fear of contamination. One store manager told me their main reason was because at the beginning people were buying loads of anything and everything and now that the panic buying is over they are wanting to return all their over-buying. He said accepting all those returns would put too much of a strain on the business.

I always use a credit card for shops when I can. That way I ger points, miles or cash back.

@Bena wrote:

I'd be hesitant to support/shop at a store that would not accept cash. That doesn't mean I'd want to use cash but there are many people who, for a variety of reasons, do not have credit cards, never mind things like Apple Pay. I don't believe a business should be allowed to refuse cash (COVID or no COVID).

They can't stop accepting cash forever. It discriminates against the poor and homeless (or as Los Angeles calls these people, "Angelenos temporarily unsheltered."

It's a temporary thing. I just wanted shoppers to keep that in mind so that they don't get stuck on a shop. I have the opposite issue at the "old people USPS" location. They will kick you off the front counter if you try to pay with a card and walk you to the SSK even at time of payment. No lie. If you want your transaction to happen at the counter, it must be cash.

When I return home from shopping I wash my credit card or the cash in hot soapy water.
Mostly I use a credit card.

Washing cash in hot, soapy water? Will think about that, though I rarely use cash. I don't let a store associate touch my credit card, or hand me the receipt. I tear it off the printer myself, or I have pre-selected the email option via membership card. I use sanitizing wipes from my purse, on my way out, soap and water wash down when I get home.

I never thought of washing money but why not?

If I have to handle cash these days I do it with gloves on and place the money in a separate envelope where it remains for a 4-5 days. I figured that after that time anything deadly that might have been on it has probably died.

Not realizing there was cash in my pocket, it once got laundered in the washing machine. Survived nicely. I flattened the bills out to air dry.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@Bena wrote:

I'd be hesitant to support/shop at a store that would not accept cash. That doesn't mean I'd want to use cash but there are many people who, for a variety of reasons, do not have credit cards, never mind things like Apple Pay. I don't believe a business should be allowed to refuse cash (COVID or no COVID).

They can't stop accepting cash forever. It discriminates against the poor and homeless (or as Los Angeles calls these people, "Angelenos temporarily unsheltered."

Most of the "temporarily unsheltered" and those with "questionable immigration status" in L.A. have been issued VISA debit cards with around $600 credit....so they are OK with contactless pay in many cases.

I am all about not having deal with cash and much happier to do business where cash is not being handled around my food. Few are changing gloves between cash handling and food service....

I left my home overnight for the second time since the onset of the pandemic this week and the experience was wildly different from last time. Safety practices have been put into place almost everywhere in CA and people seem to be doing their part to help the spread. Apple Pay is now standard in national parks!

I've been using cash directly because years ago someone somehow got my debit card number from a Walmart. Had to file a police report and everything. So now, I get the cash I need from the ATM and shop with that. Mainly for groceries.

Yup. This is the downside of cashless. Just now, I am questioning $2400 in charges on one of my cards. I believe that those were made fraudulently, and my shopping behavior shows it. Fortunately, the issuer does not require me to pay for any fraudulent charges. They will investigate, and I can stick with my planned budget. It was jarring to find out that my balance nearly tripled, practically overnight! How did my budget plan go so awry?! Anyway, I understand about your situation. Good luck and stay safe. Cash is still good. The world is still toxic, and we are still here...

@guysmom wrote:

I've been using cash directly because years ago someone somehow got my debit card number from a Walmart. Had to file a police report and everything. So now, I get the cash I need from the ATM and shop with that. Mainly for groceries.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@SoCalMama wrote:

@Bena wrote:

I'd be hesitant to support/shop at a store that would not accept cash. That doesn't mean I'd want to use cash but there are many people who, for a variety of reasons, do not have credit cards, never mind things like Apple Pay. I don't believe a business should be allowed to refuse cash (COVID or no COVID).

They can't stop accepting cash forever. It discriminates against the poor and homeless (or as Los Angeles calls these people, "Angelenos temporarily unsheltered."

Most of the "temporarily unsheltered" and those with "questionable immigration status" in L.A. have been issued VISA debit cards with around $600 credit....so they are OK with contactless pay in many cases.

I am all about not having deal with cash and much happier to do business where cash is not being handled around my food. Few are changing gloves between cash handling and food service....

I left my home overnight for the second time since the onset of the pandemic this week and the experience was wildly different from last time. Safety practices have been put into place almost everywhere in CA and people seem to be doing their part to help the spread. Apple Pay is now standard in national parks!

It's going to hit the fan when the extra $600 ends.

Prior to COVID, I had a shop at a gas station convenience store. I had to buy a sandwich. The dude who made my sandwich also worked the register. He went from the sandwich line to the register to handle a cash transaction. He then returned to the sandwich line and continued to make sandwiches. Not once did he change gloves.

That couldn't go in the report fast enough.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I am all about not having deal with cash and much happier to do business where cash is not being handled around my food. Few are changing gloves between cash handling and food service....

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

That was even yuck before covid 19!
I used cash twice yesterday but did not ask for or get my small change. I like to use cash for small amts. The cashier in both cases did not seem to mind.
And So cal MaMA you educated me...i did not know that we in my city call the homeless temporarily unsheltered. I do know that someone who arrived here in LA last week from (insert other state here) is considered a resident. Evidently those who have lived on the beach for 3 days have to be housed in prime areas near the beach while those who lose their house after 50 years can only afford to move far away from their true neighborhood..

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Prior to COVID, I had a shop at a gas station convenience store. I had to buy a sandwich. The dude who made my sandwich also worked the register. He went from the sandwich line to the register to handle a cash transaction. He then returned to the sandwich line and continued to make sandwiches. Not once did he change gloves.

That couldn't go in the report fast enough.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I am all about not having deal with cash and much happier to do business where cash is not being handled around my food. Few are changing gloves between cash handling and food service....

Yes, it was gross. I'm happy I got to see it first hand.

I used to go running at Venice Beach on Sunday mornings. I would park on the side streets and walk the short distance to the water. There was a homeless camp set up in the empty parking lot of a business. By the time I finished my run, they were camped out on the beach. One Dude lived in his Rolls Royce.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

A rolls is probably much more comfortable for sleeping...cushy seats, better sealed against the elements and maybe less likely to be looked at when parked on the street as a homeless persons car to be reported.
Maybe the city should provide all homeless people with a Rolls Royce.
Well in future there will be a lot of empty office space that hopefully can be converted into studios or 1 bedrooms.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Yes, it was gross. I'm happy I got to see it first hand.

I used to go running at Venice Beach on Sunday mornings. I would park on the side streets and walk the short distance to the water. There was a homeless camp set up in the empty parking lot of a business. By the time I finished my run, they were camped out on the beach. One Dude lived in his Rolls Royce.

@Bena wrote:

I never thought of washing money but why not?

If I have to handle cash these days I do it with gloves on and place the money in a separate envelope where it remains for a 4-5 days. I figured that after that time anything deadly that might have been on it has probably died.

I hold my cash given back to me, stick one finger inside the disposable glove, invert it around the cash and tie it in a knot. Saves the step of transferring it to something else and a potential contamination. I'm going to toss the glove anyway. Receipt gets the same attention. I've also inadvertently washed bills in the past. They still spent.

In China, all monetary transactions are processed through a cell phone. Every person is required to have a cell phone. No currency, except maybe in the far remote places. This morning, I heard that in Beijing, China where almost all 11 million residents have been tested for COVID-19 at least once, the results are color-coded (red, yellow, green) in a phone app. The person must show the "green" result before entering grocery stores, subway stations, etc.

@Dandydew wrote:

In China, all monetary transactions are processed through a cell phone. Every person is required to have a cell phone. No currency, except maybe in the far remote places.

Unless this is a recent occurrence it does not reflect my experiences. I have been in China twice in recent years, including Beijing and Shanghai and other large cities. In none of them was I required to use a cellphone to make purchases. I have always been able to use cash everywhere.

New signs here encourage but do not require cashless transactions.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Our drive thru coffee shops don't accept cash for the last three months. Good thing I had a debit card.

@Bena wrote:

@Dandydew wrote:

In China, all monetary transactions are processed through a cell phone. Every person is required to have a cell phone. No currency, except maybe in the far remote places.

Unless this is a recent occurrence it does not reflect my experiences. I have been in China twice in recent years, including Beijing and Shanghai and other large cities. In none of them was I required to use a cellphone to make purchases. I have always been able to use cash everywhere.

I think it's safe to say that any expectations based on travel prior to 2020 have to be put aside. Dandydew is referring to the current situation in China....and many places here are following suit. I'm not sure if it's all national parks, but Yosemite has a 'No Cash' policy now, and they are encouraging the use of Apple Pay for contactless transactions.

I don't know here the phrase originates, but it certainly applies:

"It's a brave, new world"

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I don't know here the phrase originates, but it certainly applies:

"It's a brave, new world"

It is a novel by Aldous Huxley....

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