5 reasons why you should go cashless

More and more businesses are making the call to go totally cashless, and it totally makes sense.

Once upon a time a business that was totally cashless would have been some sort of weird concept store designed for techno-hipsters, but now it’s just about catering to an increasing demand.

People are now comfortable making everyday purchases using non-cash methods, like credit cards or near-field communication (NFC) technologies such as Tap n’ Go or Apple and Samsung Pay.

Like it or not, the world’s just going that way because paying with methods other than cash is just so much more convenient for customer and vendor.

Still not convinced? Here are some more reasons for you.

1. People are tap-happy anyway

People are already happy to ditch the wallet and pay exclusively by card or NFC technologies such as Apple and Samsung Pay.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has been looking at the payment habits of Australians for quite a few years and has noticed the trend.

Its research team found that in 2007 cash payments made up 69 percent of payments while just 26 percent were from credit/debit cards.

In 2016 that ratio had flipped to 37 percent and 52 percent respectively.

2. You become less of a robbery target

Businesses that have made the move to go completely cashless have reported that part of the move was to make themselves safer.

They reason that having no cash around makes it more difficult to be robbed.

Think about all the cash a store has to hold overnight, and then transport to the bank every day to deposit a day’s take and do a float each morning.

It’s still a rare occurrence to be robbed (thankfully), but holding nothing on premises to actually steal (and making that point clear) lessens the risk still.

3. Have you ever considered how dirty money actually is?

We’re lucky in Australia and NZ that we have polymer notes, but purely from a hygiene point of view, money is still positively filthy.

Melbourne-based butchers Cannings has been cashless for three years on the back of concerns about all the germs and general nasty stuff a banknote can accumulate after several years in circulation.

Shop vendors working in a blazing Australian summer would be all-too familiar with somebody pulling a $20 note from their socks and expecting to pay with it.

Ew.

4. There’ll be fewer places to get cash in the future anyhow

It turns out that the love of paying with anything other than cash has forced the big banks to re-think the need for ATMs.

Fairfax recently reported that the big banks were discussing ways they could consolidate the number of ATMs in the market.

The thinking goes that per machine, people are using ATMs less frequently, making the cost of maintaining them outweigh the benefit of having them.

Think it won’t happen? When was the last time you saw a phone box?

5. No more jingling pants

Ever walked around with just a mass of change literally weighing you down?

It’s not pleasant, and makes you rather conspicuous – as people can hear you coming from blocks away.

It’s not pleasant for a vendor who is paid with a whole bunch of coins either, as they have to take the time to count each one to make sure the correct amount has been presented.