Something I observed on my vacation: The Netherlands are quickly becoming a cashless society. Many places don’t ask how you want to pay and immediately pass you the credit card terminal.

@maique @jeroensangers I’m out traveling and it’s quite notably how we have gotten used to pay with the phone or card. It’s has been quite an eye opener since some of the places I’ve visited are so small that shops can’t afford card readers, and the choices are Swish (Swedish way to paying via phone) or cash. Unfortunately, I don’t have much cash on my and I haven’t started to use Swish. So sometimes someone else have to pay for me 😳

@maique What surprised me is how quickly elderly people have adapted. Most of them only carry their bank card or mobile.

@jemostrom That’s a great excuse 😜

@jeroensangers 😂

@pimoore The main reason I keep money in my wallet is for helping small businesses who pay relative large commissions to the banks.
In larger stores and franchises I always pay with a card.

@pimoore @jeroensangers @maique @jemostrom There’s something comforting about buying something and having no one else know about it. “No thanks, I don’t need a receipt.” :).

@maique I fear the battle for privacy/anonymity has been lost for a while. Paying with cash is almost nostalgia at this point. Weird.

@jack @maique I used to not care about being tracked, but with authoritarian rule more of a prospect than I ever would have imagined, I am reconsidering.

@jack @maique Funnily enough I read this while waiting for a haircut. I just got extra cash out at the supermarket because it’s the only way I can pay my hairdresser.

@jeroensangers I’m actually planning to go back to paying with cash whenever I can. I find I spend more when I pay with my card/phone. I think because I don’t physically see the money disappear.

@jeroensangers I overcome this with notifications. Having lots pop up, makes me stop and see where money is being spent.

@Pilchuck Poor Dan Jansen!

@jeroensangers pity about the unbanked population

@Pilchuck You can still be anonymous. Prepaid cards, and gift cards work for that. Of course this assumes you’re going into a store and picking them up, not buying them online. You can’t pay with cash online anyway.

@JohnPhilpin Yes, that, and potential crisis is why we still need money. We can stop using big notes though.

@Pilchuck Yes, that’s who I though of. I have only the first season on DVD, but used to watch it on TV in the 90s. No wonder they’re after him, he looks so guilty! I read on IMDB that The Fugitive was the first TV series where they had made a final episode in advance, not knowing how long the series would run.

@ladyhope That’s the point I was going to make, so +1 from me.

@jeroensangers I’m not sure I’ve carried cash with me the last ten years. At least not here in Norway.

Going on vacation I have though.

@furstenberg I have one more reason to take cash with me on this vacation: after ordering a new iMac, I’m afraid I’m going to reach my credit card limit this month.

@pimoore It’s more than “privacy” in the abstract. Once we let apps mediate our access to goods and services, they can make buying anything like buying a plane ticket (with variable pricing, putting customers into tiers, charging extra for this or that, etc.). See here: reallifemag.com/subscribe…

I figure I’m doing a public service by reverting back to spending cash. As long as there’s enough people like me that insisting on cards/devices would hurt business, everyone is somewhat protected.

@mbkriegh You probably should’ve reconsidered that one 8 years ago, but it’s certainly a good thing that you’re doing so now.

@pimoore Digging for cash is so inconveneint for me. I’m totally blind, so it’s hard for me where to remember where I put the cash in the wallet. No, I’m not very organized lol. I do have a decent amount of cards, but all I have to remember, is that my bank card is on top.

@jeremycherfas I mean I suppose if you really wanted to be anonymous, you could go into the store with a mask covering your face lol. Double points if you cover your eyes, which I do. I don’t use them anyway. They’re just there for looks, I guess lol.

@philipbrewer I never pay with my phone for anything. Just a bank/debit card.

@jeroensangers Elderly Dutch here. We have had several monetary transactions now, so going from analog to digital is no biggie. Many use a debit card, though, since credit cards used to be for people above a certain income here, and debt is still frowned upon by my age peers.

@ladyhope I know.

@ladyhope Right. And of course you have to buy the card with cash too.

@odd I think 100 is biggest US note - takes a couple those fir a weeks shopping

@pimoore Lol I have crap all over my desk hah.

@pimoore Usually nothing gets put back in exactly the same place, except the bank card, because if I can’t find it, I’ll loos my stuff in the store big time, and not being able to pay for something would not be fun.

@pimoore I don’t think my desk has ever looked good lol.