Best Of

I've been into a bank branch maybe twice since covid. Banks just don't want to encourage people or businesses to use them, other than depositing cash, there's little need for them now.

If you need a loan, branch staff will help you fill in a form or give you the details of how to apply, but won't be able to process it themselves.

Loss of a bank branch is a big thing in rural areas, particularly for elderly users. I feel sorry for them, its just a society change we need to get used to. Also feel sorry for small business who incur large percentage processing fees for small value transactions. The upside should be to make working with card payments much easier and cheaper than depositing cash in a bank several times a week

I think cash will still be around for a while yet but cheques will disappear in a few years time, the decline in use is more than 15% year on year

Banks no longer accept cash. They direct you to the Post Office which still accepts it.

Not true. All the major high street banks accept cash deposits as a matter of policy.

Interesting. My HSBC doesn't having taken away the tellers but it seems you can deposit cash in the ATM. Not much help to cash businesses though.

I would suggest it is almost certain (since they are generally all built on the same model) that your HSBC, like the one in Newark, has an ATM for taking cash deposits. The move away froim tellers is unrelated to the move away from cash. It is just part as the longterm trend towards more automation, fewer staff and poorer customer service.

Family member worked for a multi-site (50-60) leisure related company which took in millions in cash at the bars, restaurants and events. It cost a lot to have G4 collect, process and insure the collections. During Covid when the takings dropped, they cancelled the G4 contract and have been cashless since. Covid has had a transforming effect for cash businesses both good and bad.

Norway and Sweden have recently introduced legislation stipulating that businesses must accept cash, because they decided the move towards an almost totally cashless society was a security risk.

Interesting, but I can't say I agree with such a broad mandate.

I might be supportive of a similar requirement from the parts of the high street you could reasonably describe as 'utilities' such a supermarkets. A cardless person should be able to buy groceries.

But extending that requirement to every business? Strikes me as adding regulatory burden for businesses where in many cases there is no demand for using cash. For example, an upmarket coffee shop in the city of London is going to have practically zero customers who don't have cards or digital payments. Why force them to add risk and cost for the 1 in 100 customers who want to?

Equally I have no issues with businesses being cash only, even if it means I'm unable to buy from them as I don't even carry a debit card with me to get cash. In practice, that's no longer an issue where I live outside fruit stands at the local market.

Will the UN survive?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr579mdv4m7o

The United Nations is at risk of "imminent financial collapse" due to member states not paying their fees, the body's head has warned.

António Guterres said the UN faced a financial crisis which was "deepening, threatening programme delivery", and that money could run out by July.

Wait! But that will only leave us with the Board of Peace!

Drat, drat and double drat.

Surely a typo, isnt it for the Bored of Peace?

That cartoon libels Darth Vader, Mr Burns and The Joker. For a start.

The Joker, for instance, quite categorically won't work with Fascists.

Dick Dastardly seems about right for Trump though.