Quote from: The Pharmacist on January 27, 2020, 02:51:30 PM

Exactly. That population is by no means negligible. Some people beg for their meals or collect pocket change, and how are they supposed to pay for things if society goes completely cashless?

They might actually be better off with a cashless society.
I found myself sometimes willing to give a few euros to some beggers which were clearly not "professional" ones but I didn't have small change, so:

And it's not just China or Sweden but also the UK

Quote from: The Pharmacist on January 27, 2020, 02:51:30 PM

Not only is it cheaper for the merchant but it's sometimes more convenient for some people, plus you have to deal with problems like the power going out or not being able to connect to the payment processor. What do you do in situations like that--not make sales? That's crazy.

Let me see how can I reply to shit without making one novel out of it.
Both systems are a pain in the ass !!!

My family has kept s a small shop for out products (meat) because of the ambition of my father to still sell to the average joe customer and not only to a big reseller
Of course, since most of the customers in that small shop are elderly people who want to buy fresh products they deal obviously with cash, and here comes the shitload of problems.

You must ensure that you have change and a lot of change because if it's the first month after the pension payments you will get only big bills so be ready to have small bills equivalent to almost all your merchandise.
Second, you need a camera because always there will be at least two or three arguings that they didn't receive the right change or you might end with the cashier taking a few bills (not even mentioning if she takes all the money at the end of the shift, and yeah that shit happened and imagine in one day losing close to 2000 euros, having to file police complaints, having to see a judge, a prosecutor and then closing shop till you find a new cashier...)
And, if you think you're avoiding banks, no you must deposit all the income for the day to a bank or if you don't want your employee to wonder to the other side of town with that bunch of bills get ready for a 200euro/month plan for cash pick-up.
Yeah, without cash probably we would close it down altogether with at best 10% of the clients switching to a card but no, dealing with cash is not as easy as it might seem.

Quote from: alyssa85 on January 27, 2020, 01:13:47 PM

No - they're banning cashless retailers because of the very real risk that if credit card terminals are hacked, or the electricity grid is hacked, the whole economy goes down.

If the electricity goes down you will stop selling even when dealing with cahs because your cash register will go down also and I would be risking a 5000 euros fine for selling without a receipt.