Australia to ban the refusal of cash payments?

[Fluffy]

Well, wow, I was actually expecting some kind of opposite in the future, not a ban on refusal to accept cash as payment.

For now it’s only concerning what is deemed as essential items, and it looks like this might expand to other items if the people have their say..

I’m so suspicious, this doesn’t line up with an imposition of digital ID at all, clearly I don’t trust the government..

opinions anyone??

 

[Ruth]

Yes, I don't trust them either! To exclude more things than you include? It's disingenous. We are seeing more and more instances of businesses refusing to take cash, such as entertainment, like shows and plays. Also at intermission, if you want to buy something, you need to use a card because they don't run a till. This means that these businesses are saving on the human costs of running a till (money handling and time and accuracy involved. etc).

I see the option of having and using cash as an important choice. It is legal tender afterall, and I'm tired of being pushed into a situation where sellers needs and convenience are more important than the needs and convenience of the consumers. This is totally the wrong way around in my opinion. Businesses should exist to serve their customers, not themselves, or the government!

 

[stellar]

Well, wow, I was actually expecting some kind of opposite in the future, not a ban on refusal to accept cash as payment.

For now it’s only concerning what is deemed as essential items, and it looks like this might expand to other items if the people have their say..

I’m so suspicious, this doesn’t line up with an imposition of digital ID at all, clearly I don’t trust the government..

opinions anyone??

A lot of ATM's have been removed and many remaining only allow a couple of hundred buck withdrawal. So, yeah, they tried but I don't think they have the clout to ban cash.
More and more places are selling cigs and tobacco for cash, for example, at less than half price of the tobacco stores. People are resisting and I don't see how they can ban legal tender although they can add hidden charges etc I suppose.
The comm bank profited 5.6 billion this year. How much of that was from withdrawal fees and pay-wave/eftpos charges, I wonder. Thieves.

 

[axj]

Yes, I don't trust them either! To exclude more things than you include? It's disingenous.

Exactly. "Your legal tender is only guaranteed for essential items, and we decide what those essential items are." It's a complete farce that is being presented as protection of cash - maybe to get people to accept cash restrictions in all other areas more quickly.

People are resisting and I don't see how they can ban legal tender although they can add hidden charges etc I suppose.

For now it is about restricting the use of cash, eg. all transactions above a certain amount are not allowed in cash. And those limits are being decreased step by step.

 

[forest_light]

Sounds like it's just the Aussie 'guvmint' doing the slow creep to a cashless society, but for now they are 'keeping cash' for 'essential' items to placate those who can see the writing on the wall.

I was thinking that all the big storms/flooding in Queensland and problems with people not being able to get food / transfer money etc because there is no power / signal might possibly be connected to their announcement. Every time storms take out the systems where I live (happened last week for 2 days) cash is like the freaking holy grail!

I see the option of having and using cash as an important choice. It is legal tender afterall, and I'm tired of being pushed into a situation where sellers needs and convenience are more important than the needs and convenience of the consumers. This is totally the wrong way around in my opinion. Businesses should exist to serve their customers, not themselves, or the government!

Ditto.

In my nearest town, so many people intentionally and actively use cash for everything (and have for years because they are well aware of the agenda) that a big chain supermarket had to change more of their self serve machines to accept cash. There was constantly this huge line of people standing looking very very VERY annoyed that there were only 2 machines that took cash. They thought we would eventually break, but the lines just got longer; the supermarket ended up putting more 'cash accepted' machines in.

Local shops also have signs up encouraging the use of cash. Many customers end up bonding with others in the store / getting chatty about how important it is to keep cash flowing... natural networking!

 

[stellar]

Local shops also have signs up encouraging the use of cash. Many customers end up bonding with others in the store / getting chatty about how important it is to keep cash flowing... natural networking!

That's the way to go, I think.

 

[Ricardo]

On the surface it looks , positive , overall though it seems to exclude "non-essentials" from such , which is somewhat a departure from what it should be up to now ? , perhaps risk is for the negative examples to be used as a mean to over time curtail and negate the explicitly legally mandated ? ( ie a sort of a negative precedent that could be socially engineered for so )

 

[Fluffy]

One major problem to me is someone else making decisions for each individual on what is deemed essential and what is not.

Grocery items, for example, they said bread and milk are essential, are meat and vegetables? Baby clothes are essential, what about protective workwear and uniforms, trade tools, therapies (I get a discount if i pay with cash at my masseuse), what about if you’re a diabetic and out in public and having a hypo and need a cookie for a sugar hit, or what if you just need a frikken cupcake coz you’re miserable and want to jump off a bridge? I mean, I could go on for hours about what is deemed essential to one person and the next.
At first glance this looks at appeasing the masses who refuse to give up cash, especially the elderly who don’t want to transition to a credit only system and many of them can’t use a phone to send a text let alone pay bills and set up a pay pass or keychain or whatever it is- I dunno really, I don’t use it, then on second glance it’s a tightening of what CAN be purchased with cash, and everything else will be under the credit system, checked and approved against our ID by our friendly folk who call the shots.
Sneaky dirty trickery as usual! I want to use some good ole Aussie approved profanities, but I’ll save it for the gutter!

 

[stellar]

I wonder if we will ever find someone to create an Aussie version of DOGE to see where our money has been squandered and laundered. Honestly, I cannot think of one person competent enough to run it.