Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
Banks, and any other business should be able to say no, we don't what you as a customer,
e.g.
IF Barkleys sead they did not what Nike Griffin, or George Galloway as customers, I might be more incline to bank with Barkleys.
So there you have an impasse. If the Government does not get involved at all, and leaves it entirely to the market, then you can potentially create a situation where a minority section of society cannot access bank accounts and therefore potentially have to rely on cash, but cannot purchase goods or services because businesses have across the board moved away from cash.
In a society where the vast majority of businesses continue to accept cash this is not an issue. But it is IMO clearly something that the Government has to consider getting involved in should businesses "exercising their right to operate in their own pure financial interests" result ultimately in social and financial exclusion for some through little fault of their own.
Which was the nub of me taking issue with PT on this. Fine he can call it "authoritarian". But ultimately almost all legislation can on some level be considered 'authoritarian'. My issue was with the use of the word "disgusting". Nothing that attempts to take action to meet a genuine societal problem or need should ever be considered "disgusting". It may be an excessive solution to the potential problem, and there are far better solutions. But it is a debate that can be legitimately had.
In France, every bakery must, by law, offer a basic bread product at a fixed price. A price which in effect makes it a loss leader. It dates back to the French revolution. Pretty authoritarian. But one can see why the law exists.
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
More than seven million consumers registered to use phones and smart watches to make payments last year, new figures from Britain's banking industry show.
Mobile payments - unlike the wider use of contactless cards - are notably more popular among young people with just over 50% of 16 to 34 year olds registered compared to 11% of over-65s.
The figures from industry body UK Finance showed that overall 17.3 million people, or 32% of the adult population were using them by the end of last year, up by 7.4 million from 2019.
They also showed that lockdowns had resulted in the overall number of payments made in the UK falling last year for the first time in six years, by 11% to 35.6 billion.
In 2020, contactless represented 27% of all payments, up from 7% just four years earlier, the figures showed, with 83% of people now using this method - popular across all age groups and regions.
The increase was encouraged by the upper limit on the value of such transactions being increased from £30 to £45.
Meanwhile there was a sharp fall in the use of cash, which was used for only 17% of payments in the UK, while there were 13.7 million people who used cash only once a month or not at all.
I'd like to stress my father loves paying for stuff on his watch, so it just isn't the youff that use their smartphones and smartwatches.
Most ordinary people don't want to see the end of cash. It's another elite project which leaves most people cold.
This is interesting:
"£125 BILLION OF EXTRA CASH SAVINGS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Research from the Bank of England has shown that many people have built up excess cash savings during the pandemic."
Would necessitate the rounding of all prices to the nearest five pence though. Problems:
1. Potentially injurious to the finances of the dirt poor - frankly, copper coinage is worth so little now that you wouldn't have thought it would make much difference even to them, but I'm not that hard up so not in the best position to comment 2. Another blow to crippled charities already suffering from the effects of the pandemic - because I think that's where most copper coinage ends up going, if it's not stored in jars or simply thrown away as rubbish 3. Aversion amongst those with a sense of history to the abolition of the penny
Could Corbyn even vote for her given that he's currently suspended as a Labour MP?
I had this discussion earlier with someone.
They reckon Corbyn would have the vote in this election because Theresa May gave Charlie Elphicke a vote in the 2018 vote of confidence despite him being whipless due facing several allegations of sexual assault.
Didn’t May return the whip in exchange for his vote? SKS couldn’t rely on that bargain with Corbyn
More than seven million consumers registered to use phones and smart watches to make payments last year, new figures from Britain's banking industry show.
Mobile payments - unlike the wider use of contactless cards - are notably more popular among young people with just over 50% of 16 to 34 year olds registered compared to 11% of over-65s.
The figures from industry body UK Finance showed that overall 17.3 million people, or 32% of the adult population were using them by the end of last year, up by 7.4 million from 2019.
They also showed that lockdowns had resulted in the overall number of payments made in the UK falling last year for the first time in six years, by 11% to 35.6 billion.
In 2020, contactless represented 27% of all payments, up from 7% just four years earlier, the figures showed, with 83% of people now using this method - popular across all age groups and regions.
The increase was encouraged by the upper limit on the value of such transactions being increased from £30 to £45.
Meanwhile there was a sharp fall in the use of cash, which was used for only 17% of payments in the UK, while there were 13.7 million people who used cash only once a month or not at all.
I'd like to stress my father loves paying for stuff on his watch, so it just isn't the youff that use their smartphones and smartwatches.
Most ordinary people don't want to see the end of cash. It's another elite project which leaves most people cold.
This is interesting:
"£125 BILLION OF EXTRA CASH SAVINGS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Research from the Bank of England has shown that many people have built up excess cash savings during the pandemic."
Would necessitate the rounding of all prices to the nearest five pence though. Problems:
1. Potentially injurious to the finances of the dirt poor - frankly, copper coinage is worth so little now that you wouldn't have thought it would make much difference even to them, but I'm not that hard up so not in the best position to comment 2. Another blow to crippled charities already suffering from the effects of the pandemic - because I think that's where most copper coinage ends up going, if it's not stored in jars or simply thrown away as rubbish 3. Aversion amongst those with a sense of history to the abolition of the penny
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
They have.
There is an interesting disconnect between Europe and the US on this. With the rise of the alt-banks in Europe, the general situation is that anyone can get a bank account - without credit. Revolut, for example give free setup - and then charge a small amount for issuing an actual card...
When one of these companies wanted to setup in the US, they were hammered at politically. From the left. A bit puzzled, they talked to some political consultants. Who pointed out that, in the US, banking without lots of charges sounded incredible. And that they would be treading on the toes of lots of local activists with credit unions etc.
Yeah, the concept of free banking seems alien to so many countries.
FWIW - I think free banking as we know it in the UK will end in the future, but with some benefits to offset that.
Benefits? Some shitty loyalty card scheme that's of no practical use for anything, I should imagine. To add insult to the injury of their 0.01% interest rates.
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
They have.
There is an interesting disconnect between Europe and the US on this. With the rise of the alt-banks in Europe, the general situation is that anyone can get a bank account - without credit. Revolut, for example give free setup - and then charge a small amount for issuing an actual card...
When one of these companies wanted to setup in the US, they were hammered at politically. From the left. A bit puzzled, they talked to some political consultants. Who pointed out that, in the US, banking without lots of charges sounded incredible. And that they would be treading on the toes of lots of local activists with credit unions etc.
I do a fair amount of translation for paysafecard, whose business model is that people without bank accounts or credit cards can buy a prepaid card for cash in a local corner shop and use it as a pseudo-credit card - they also appeal to people who are nervous of giving babnk details online. I'd have thought it was a model without a future, but they have hundreds of thousands of shops signed up and there seems to be an appetite for it in countries where it's harder to get a credit card - eastern Europe and South America especially.
Mind you, I got turned down for a savings account with Virgin, inexplicably - I was trying to stay under the guaranteed savings limit per bank so thought I'd open another savings account. Why it should be a credit risk to accept someone's money I still can't work out. I put the money in premium bonds instead, whose average 1% interest is quite nice these days.
At the next PB drinks, I will tell you why I think that you working with Paysafe is a LOL.
Andrew Marr's anecdotal experience of Covid post double vaccination confirms it's basically a cold for your immune system at that point. Now some people get heavier normal colds than others, but we don't stop anything for heavy cold sufferers.
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
They have.
There is an interesting disconnect between Europe and the US on this. With the rise of the alt-banks in Europe, the general situation is that anyone can get a bank account - without credit. Revolut, for example give free setup - and then charge a small amount for issuing an actual card...
When one of these companies wanted to setup in the US, they were hammered at politically. From the left. A bit puzzled, they talked to some political consultants. Who pointed out that, in the US, banking without lots of charges sounded incredible. And that they would be treading on the toes of lots of local activists with credit unions etc.
Yeah, the concept of free banking seems alien to so many countries.
FWIW - I think free banking as we know it in the UK will end in the future, but with some benefits to offset that.
Actually, it will expand. The alt-banks are built around making a much smaller profit per customer, using streamlined processes and no branches. It will be quite difficult to persuade the next generation to not use them....
The end of cash will be the retreat of the traditional high street banks - once they close their branches, the ATMs are next....
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
They have.
There is an interesting disconnect between Europe and the US on this. With the rise of the alt-banks in Europe, the general situation is that anyone can get a bank account - without credit. Revolut, for example give free setup - and then charge a small amount for issuing an actual card...
When one of these companies wanted to setup in the US, they were hammered at politically. From the left. A bit puzzled, they talked to some political consultants. Who pointed out that, in the US, banking without lots of charges sounded incredible. And that they would be treading on the toes of lots of local activists with credit unions etc.
Yeah, the concept of free banking seems alien to so many countries.
FWIW - I think free banking as we know it in the UK will end in the future, but with some benefits to offset that.
Benefits? Some shitty loyalty card scheme that's of no practical use for anything, I should imagine. To add insult to the injury of their 0.01% interest rates.
For example LBG and Barclays are offering cash backs of up to 10% with certain retailers.
I know one banking group is thinking offering free AA membership for all current account members in exchange for a small fee a month which would be cheaper than getting the AA membership.
I think it's time for a law telling businesses that they must accept cash.
Does anyone agree?
Good luck with that - trying to force small business to take £50 notes would be... interesting.
Not all cash.
There was a Moneybox special on it this weekend. Not everyone has easy access to electronic payments
I was followed by a man who came out of a hostel into Cafe Nero on Thursday morning. He asked for a coffee but was told that they would only accept the electronic payment and he clearly couldn't do that. He had the money but in coins. I bought his coffee. No wonder I was rushed into hospital that night. No good deed etc.
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
They have.
There is an interesting disconnect between Europe and the US on this. With the rise of the alt-banks in Europe, the general situation is that anyone can get a bank account - without credit. Revolut, for example give free setup - and then charge a small amount for issuing an actual card...
When one of these companies wanted to setup in the US, they were hammered at politically. From the left. A bit puzzled, they talked to some political consultants. Who pointed out that, in the US, banking without lots of charges sounded incredible. And that they would be treading on the toes of lots of local activists with credit unions etc.
Yeah, the concept of free banking seems alien to so many countries.
FWIW - I think free banking as we know it in the UK will end in the future, but with some benefits to offset that.
Benefits? Some shitty loyalty card scheme that's of no practical use for anything, I should imagine. To add insult to the injury of their 0.01% interest rates.
For example LBG and Barclays are offering cash backs of up to 10% with certain retailers.
I know one banking group is thinking offering free AA membership for all current account members in exchange for a small fee a month which would be cheaper than getting the AA membership.
They don't do these things out of the goodness of their heart...
Andrew Marr's anecdotal experience of Covid post double vaccination confirms it's basically a cold for your immune system at that point. Now some people get heavier normal colds than others, but we don't stop anything for heavy cold sufferers.
Those of us with hayfever are going to death glares when we sneeze in public for the next few years?
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
I think it's unfair to say that this is a "male" minority. There are plenty of women involved in the "anti-bigotry" movement.
The interesting thing about this particular debate is that i think it is one which men, in general, are often very happy to stay out of. Perhaps that is mistaken, but they are certainly happy to let women make the running on it...
Men try to get involved and get called "pig ignorant, supercilious bigots".
It's happened to me.
There are real issues to be resolved if it's made easier to change gender. Especially around M to F.
There is also no end of scaremongering and prejudice masquerading as "commonsense" and cheap-as-chips "humour".
I try my best to separate one from the other and respond accordingly.
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
They have.
There is an interesting disconnect between Europe and the US on this. With the rise of the alt-banks in Europe, the general situation is that anyone can get a bank account - without credit. Revolut, for example give free setup - and then charge a small amount for issuing an actual card...
When one of these companies wanted to setup in the US, they were hammered at politically. From the left. A bit puzzled, they talked to some political consultants. Who pointed out that, in the US, banking without lots of charges sounded incredible. And that they would be treading on the toes of lots of local activists with credit unions etc.
Yeah, the concept of free banking seems alien to so many countries.
FWIW - I think free banking as we know it in the UK will end in the future, but with some benefits to offset that.
Benefits? Some shitty loyalty card scheme that's of no practical use for anything, I should imagine. To add insult to the injury of their 0.01% interest rates.
For example LBG and Barclays are offering cash backs of up to 10% with certain retailers.
I know one banking group is thinking offering free AA membership for all current account members in exchange for a small fee a month which would be cheaper than getting the AA membership.
They don't do these things out of the goodness of their heart...
The logic, as I understand it, will be it will be standard AA cover, and the profit will be for AA when people upgrade to the higher levels of cover.
Could Corbyn even vote for her given that he's currently suspended as a Labour MP?
I had this discussion earlier with someone.
They reckon Corbyn would have the vote in this election because Theresa May gave Charlie Elphicke a vote in the 2018 vote of confidence despite him being whipless due facing several allegations of sexual assault.
Didn’t May return the whip in exchange for his vote? SKS couldn’t rely on that bargain with Corbyn
Nah, him voting for her or not voting for her wouldn't have impacted the result.
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
The "it" being pig ignorant, supercilious bigotry.
I'll bite.
Do you think that a man should be allowed to do this?
I think you are approaching this from the wrong end (ahem, as it were)
I would say that women have a reasonable right to privacy. But there should also be unisex facilities (with individual cubicles) where both sexes plus people in transition can go
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Penalties between these 2 are going to be hilarious. First to score one wins?
never really watched VAR in action in the premier league as no Sky or BT but I can see why many say it is ruining the game . This is turgid caused by 3 minute long stoppages for repeated VAR .I am not even sure the correct decision re the red card was then made or what caused the ref to change his mind given he clearly saw the original to give a yellow card
For example would you let someone pay a car dealership £16,000 in £50 notes for a car they are purchasing?
There's so many issues with that
1) Dealerships wouldn't like having that much cash on site, plus there'd be additional costs in hiring someone like G4S to take the the cash to the banks
2) There's AML regs that would probably be violated with such a large cash transaction (especially on a regular basis)
3) What happens if the money turns out be fake notes, not everyone can afford the machines that check
In Germany you can pay up to €50k in cash for a car. It’s part of the money laundering system with Marbella
Andrew Marr's anecdotal experience of Covid post double vaccination confirms it's basically a cold for your immune system at that point. Now some people get heavier normal colds than others, but we don't stop anything for heavy cold sufferers.
Those of us with hayfever are going to death glares when we sneeze in public for the next few years?
Already happening, my friend. I cough a little as well and that is a definite no-no.
Sneezing inside a mask isn't a lot of fun.
Once again, the level of public health awareness and public health information in this country is embarrassing.
Andrew Marr's anecdotal experience of Covid post double vaccination confirms it's basically a cold for your immune system at that point. Now some people get heavier normal colds than others, but we don't stop anything for heavy cold sufferers.
Those of us with hayfever are going to death glares when we sneeze in public for the next few years?
I wonder if everyone was urged to get tested for rhinoviruses, coronaviruses (Outside SARS-Cov-2), adenoviruses, rsv what the daily figures would look like. You'd have deaths within 28 days amongst the very elderly and/or infirm too of course.
Penalties between these 2 are going to be hilarious. First to score one wins?
never really watched VAR in action in the premier league as no Sky or BT but I can see why many say it is ruining the game . This is turgid caused by 3 minute long stoppages for repeated VAR .I am not even sure the correct decision re the red card was then made or what caused the ref to change his mind given he clearly saw the original to give a yellow card
To be honest, that was one of the better reviews. Clear red that I called in real time, typical ref bottling the big decision.
For example would you let someone pay a car dealership £16,000 in £50 notes for a car they are purchasing?
There's so many issues with that
1) Dealerships wouldn't like having that much cash on site, plus there'd be additional costs in hiring someone like G4S to take the the cash to the banks
2) There's AML regs that would probably be violated with such a large cash transaction (especially on a regular basis)
3) What happens if the money turns out be fake notes, not everyone can afford the machines that check
In Germany you can pay up to €50k in cash for a car. It’s part of the money laundering system with Marbella
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
I think it's unfair to say that this is a "male" minority. There are plenty of women involved in the "anti-bigotry" movement.
The interesting thing about this particular debate is that i think it is one which men, in general, are often very happy to stay out of. Perhaps that is mistaken, but they are certainly happy to let women make the running on it...
Not sure your last para is right. My experience of this debate is that men are very prominent in it, especially on the anti-trans side. In general, women are more supportive. Or so the surveys say.
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
I think it's unfair to say that this is a "male" minority. There are plenty of women involved in the "anti-bigotry" movement.
The interesting thing about this particular debate is that i think it is one which men, in general, are often very happy to stay out of. Perhaps that is mistaken, but they are certainly happy to let women make the running on it...
Men try to get involved and get called "pig ignorant, supercilious bigots".
It's happened to me.
There are real issues to be resolved if it's made easier to change gender. Especially around M to F.
There is also no end of scaremongering and prejudice masquerading as "commonsense" and cheap-as-chips "humour".
I try my best to separate one from the other and respond accordingly.
I posted a tweet from the US about a "woman" with a penis flaunting it in front of young girls in a women only area, with the comment that I expect this sort of thing is coming to the UK.
And from that, you "detected" pig-ignorant, supercilious bigotry.
Mrs Stodge and I are in Barking for lunch and I am dispatched to the paper shop to purchase the Mail for her and the Racing Post for serious weekend reading.
There's a man who wants to buy the Mail (soft, strong and highly absorbing I'm told) but wants to pay by card - the shopkeeper refuses to serve him claiming a £5 minimum for card purchases.
Is there a minimum level where it becomes uneconomic or impractical for card purchases?
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
Banks, and any other business should be able to say no, we don't what you as a customer,
e.g.
IF Barkleys sead they did not what Nike Griffin, or George Galloway as customers, I might be more incline to bank with Barkleys.
So there you have an impasse. If the Government does not get involved at all, and leaves it entirely to the market, then you can potentially create a situation where a minority section of society cannot access bank accounts and therefore potentially have to rely on cash, but cannot purchase goods or services because businesses have across the board moved away from cash.
In a society where the vast majority of businesses continue to accept cash this is not an issue. But it is IMO clearly something that the Government has to consider getting involved in should businesses "exercising their right to operate in their own pure financial interests" result ultimately in social and financial exclusion for some through little fault of their own.
Which was the nub of me taking issue with PT on this. Fine he can call it "authoritarian". But ultimately almost all legislation can on some level be considered 'authoritarian'. My issue was with the use of the word "disgusting". Nothing that attempts to take action to meet a genuine societal problem or need should ever be considered "disgusting". It may be an excessive solution to the potential problem, and there are far better solutions. But it is a debate that can be legitimately had.
In France, every bakery must, by law, offer a basic bread product at a fixed price. A price which in effect makes it a loss leader. It dates back to the French revolution. Pretty authoritarian. But one can see why the law exists.
As so often, you are requiring a low for a problem that does not exit, the overwhelming majorly of businesses accept cash and will continue until, there is no demand, and banks will offer bank accounts to people unless there is a real reason why not, because terming way business is not nonmail good for business.
And Yes I agree all regulation to a greater or lesser extent is authoritarian, and therefor involves taking away the freedom of others, that's why I'm an Anarchist, a very gradualist anarchist, and hopefully and resound and rational one.
If you force backers to sell products at a loss, some will find ways around it, as they did in Zimbabwe when they tried, and if they cant, then in poor areas there will be less or no backers, forcing there potential customers to travel to buy bred, while not the end of the would, that may not be of net benefit to the customers, even if it makes the people who support the law fell better.
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
They have.
There is an interesting disconnect between Europe and the US on this. With the rise of the alt-banks in Europe, the general situation is that anyone can get a bank account - without credit. Revolut, for example give free setup - and then charge a small amount for issuing an actual card...
When one of these companies wanted to setup in the US, they were hammered at politically. From the left. A bit puzzled, they talked to some political consultants. Who pointed out that, in the US, banking without lots of charges sounded incredible. And that they would be treading on the toes of lots of local activists with credit unions etc.
Yeah, the concept of free banking seems alien to so many countries.
FWIW - I think free banking as we know it in the UK will end in the future, but with some benefits to offset that.
Benefits? Some shitty loyalty card scheme that's of no practical use for anything, I should imagine. To add insult to the injury of their 0.01% interest rates.
For example LBG and Barclays are offering cash backs of up to 10% with certain retailers.
I know one banking group is thinking offering free AA membership for all current account members in exchange for a small fee a month which would be cheaper than getting the AA membership.
Hmmm... I suppose those benefits are potentially useful, provided that the retailers in question are both ones that you'd actually want to buy things from, and do so more than once every couple of years. And needless to say AA membership is completely useless to non-motorists.
Still sounds like baubles to disguise the fact that they want to soak you for service charges and pay effective zero interest.
Mrs Stodge and I are in Barking for lunch and I am dispatched to the paper shop to purchase the Mail for her and the Racing Post for serious weekend reading.
There's a man who wants to buy the Mail (soft, strong and highly absorbing I'm told) but wants to pay by card - the shopkeeper refuses to serve him claiming a £5 minimum for card purchases.
Is there a minimum level where it becomes uneconomic or impractical for card purchases?
Yes, as a general rule the card processing firm charge something like 35p per debit card transaction and 1.5%- 2.5% of the transaction value for credit cards.
More than seven million consumers registered to use phones and smart watches to make payments last year, new figures from Britain's banking industry show.
Mobile payments - unlike the wider use of contactless cards - are notably more popular among young people with just over 50% of 16 to 34 year olds registered compared to 11% of over-65s.
The figures from industry body UK Finance showed that overall 17.3 million people, or 32% of the adult population were using them by the end of last year, up by 7.4 million from 2019.
They also showed that lockdowns had resulted in the overall number of payments made in the UK falling last year for the first time in six years, by 11% to 35.6 billion.
In 2020, contactless represented 27% of all payments, up from 7% just four years earlier, the figures showed, with 83% of people now using this method - popular across all age groups and regions.
The increase was encouraged by the upper limit on the value of such transactions being increased from £30 to £45.
Meanwhile there was a sharp fall in the use of cash, which was used for only 17% of payments in the UK, while there were 13.7 million people who used cash only once a month or not at all.
More than seven million consumers registered to use phones and smart watches to make payments last year, new figures from Britain's banking industry show.
Mobile payments - unlike the wider use of contactless cards - are notably more popular among young people with just over 50% of 16 to 34 year olds registered compared to 11% of over-65s.
The figures from industry body UK Finance showed that overall 17.3 million people, or 32% of the adult population were using them by the end of last year, up by 7.4 million from 2019.
They also showed that lockdowns had resulted in the overall number of payments made in the UK falling last year for the first time in six years, by 11% to 35.6 billion.
In 2020, contactless represented 27% of all payments, up from 7% just four years earlier, the figures showed, with 83% of people now using this method - popular across all age groups and regions.
The increase was encouraged by the upper limit on the value of such transactions being increased from £30 to £45.
Meanwhile there was a sharp fall in the use of cash, which was used for only 17% of payments in the UK, while there were 13.7 million people who used cash only once a month or not at all.
More than seven million consumers registered to use phones and smart watches to make payments last year, new figures from Britain's banking industry show.
Mobile payments - unlike the wider use of contactless cards - are notably more popular among young people with just over 50% of 16 to 34 year olds registered compared to 11% of over-65s.
The figures from industry body UK Finance showed that overall 17.3 million people, or 32% of the adult population were using them by the end of last year, up by 7.4 million from 2019.
They also showed that lockdowns had resulted in the overall number of payments made in the UK falling last year for the first time in six years, by 11% to 35.6 billion.
In 2020, contactless represented 27% of all payments, up from 7% just four years earlier, the figures showed, with 83% of people now using this method - popular across all age groups and regions.
The increase was encouraged by the upper limit on the value of such transactions being increased from £30 to £45.
Meanwhile there was a sharp fall in the use of cash, which was used for only 17% of payments in the UK, while there were 13.7 million people who used cash only once a month or not at all.
Mrs Stodge and I are in Barking for lunch and I am dispatched to the paper shop to purchase the Mail for her and the Racing Post for serious weekend reading.
There's a man who wants to buy the Mail (soft, strong and highly absorbing I'm told) but wants to pay by card - the shopkeeper refuses to serve him claiming a £5 minimum for card purchases.
Is there a minimum level where it becomes uneconomic or impractical for card purchases?
Yes, as a general rule the card processing firm charge something like 35p per debit card transaction and 1.5%- 2.5% of the transaction value for credit cards.
I think the debit card fee is possibly not as much. Our corner shop allows tap purchases on £1 up.
It's difficult to know what Labour's brand looks like at the moment. I don't recognise their spokespeople or find them impressive. Even though Corbyn was a dreadful leader at least he was visible and had an amiable sidekick in John McDonnel.
Whatever happens in B+S I'm struggling to see how Labour find a USP that gets them noticed. Nick P wrote a heart warming post on the last thread about Jess Phillips popularity as a speaker at Labour events.
She might not have the intellectual heft of past leaders but neither has Johnson and she's funnier more attractive and all round a more complete human being .
Unfortunately for SKS I fear he's timed out on the old 'Head and shoulder's' strapline 'You don't get a second chance to make a first impression'
Mrs Stodge and I are in Barking for lunch and I am dispatched to the paper shop to purchase the Mail for her and the Racing Post for serious weekend reading.
There's a man who wants to buy the Mail (soft, strong and highly absorbing I'm told) but wants to pay by card - the shopkeeper refuses to serve him claiming a £5 minimum for card purchases.
Is there a minimum level where it becomes uneconomic or impractical for card purchases?
Yes, as a general rule the card processing firm charge something like 35p per debit card transaction and 1.5%- 2.5% of the transaction value for credit cards.
I think the debit card fee is possibly not as much. Our corner shop allows tap purchases on £1 up.
Penalties between these 2 are going to be hilarious. First to score one wins?
never really watched VAR in action in the premier league as no Sky or BT but I can see why many say it is ruining the game . This is turgid caused by 3 minute long stoppages for repeated VAR .I am not even sure the correct decision re the red card was then made or what caused the ref to change his mind given he clearly saw the original to give a yellow card
Yes, it takes too long. That's ok in cricket but not in football. It needs to be speeded up. And the nonsense of being offside because your elbow was sticking out has to go.
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
So have you gone from one extreme to the other?
ie, you used to believe that gender should be a matter of self-Id, but you now believe it should be forever fixed at birth according to biology?
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
Sorry… have I understood that correctly…
If a man self-identities as a woman, lesbians are supported to sleep with her?
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
Banks, and any other business should be able to say no, we don't what you as a customer,
e.g.
IF Barkleys sead they did not what Nike Griffin, or George Galloway as customers, I might be more incline to bank with Barkleys.
So there you have an impasse. If the Government does not get involved at all, and leaves it entirely to the market, then you can potentially create a situation where a minority section of society cannot access bank accounts and therefore potentially have to rely on cash, but cannot purchase goods or services because businesses have across the board moved away from cash.
In a society where the vast majority of businesses continue to accept cash this is not an issue. But it is IMO clearly something that the Government has to consider getting involved in should businesses "exercising their right to operate in their own pure financial interests" result ultimately in social and financial exclusion for some through little fault of their own.
Which was the nub of me taking issue with PT on this. Fine he can call it "authoritarian". But ultimately almost all legislation can on some level be considered 'authoritarian'. My issue was with the use of the word "disgusting". Nothing that attempts to take action to meet a genuine societal problem or need should ever be considered "disgusting". It may be an excessive solution to the potential problem, and there are far better solutions. But it is a debate that can be legitimately had.
In France, every bakery must, by law, offer a basic bread product at a fixed price. A price which in effect makes it a loss leader. It dates back to the French revolution. Pretty authoritarian. But one can see why the law exists.
As so often, you are requiring a low for a problem that does not exit, the overwhelming majorly of businesses accept cash and will continue until, there is no demand, and banks will offer bank accounts to people unless there is a real reason why not, because terming way business is not nonmail good for business.
And Yes I agree all regulation to a greater or lesser extent is authoritarian, and therefor involves taking away the freedom of others, that's why I'm an Anarchist, a very gradualist anarchist, and hopefully and resound and rational one.
If you force backers to sell products at a loss, some will find ways around it, as they did in Zimbabwe when they tried, and if they cant, then in poor areas there will be less or no backers, forcing there potential customers to travel to buy bred, while not the end of the would, that may not be of net benefit to the customers, even if it makes the people who support the law fell better.
I wasn't advocating it. And i said that i don't think we are anywhere near a situation where the refusal of businesses to take cash is a significant issue (notwithstanding some of the posts above).
And France DOES force bakers to sell their basic product at an effective loss. I don't think they generally try to circumvent it and I don't think that it leads (in this specific instance) to the outcome you give. Of course in general it is a completely unconscionable idea. But i suspect it lingers in France with widespread support. Because it is a law which almost represents something fundamental about founding of the modern French state.
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
Banks, and any other business should be able to say no, we don't what you as a customer,
e.g.
IF Barkleys sead they did not what Nike Griffin, or George Galloway as customers, I might be more incline to bank with Barkleys.
So there you have an impasse. If the Government does not get involved at all, and leaves it entirely to the market, then you can potentially create a situation where a minority section of society cannot access bank accounts and therefore potentially have to rely on cash, but cannot purchase goods or services because businesses have across the board moved away from cash.
In a society where the vast majority of businesses continue to accept cash this is not an issue. But it is IMO clearly something that the Government has to consider getting involved in should businesses "exercising their right to operate in their own pure financial interests" result ultimately in social and financial exclusion for some through little fault of their own.
Which was the nub of me taking issue with PT on this. Fine he can call it "authoritarian". But ultimately almost all legislation can on some level be considered 'authoritarian'. My issue was with the use of the word "disgusting". Nothing that attempts to take action to meet a genuine societal problem or need should ever be considered "disgusting". It may be an excessive solution to the potential problem, and there are far better solutions. But it is a debate that can be legitimately had.
In France, every bakery must, by law, offer a basic bread product at a fixed price. A price which in effect makes it a loss leader. It dates back to the French revolution. Pretty authoritarian. But one can see why the law exists.
As so often, you are requiring a low for a problem that does not exit, the overwhelming majorly of businesses accept cash and will continue until, there is no demand, and banks will offer bank accounts to people unless there is a real reason why not, because terming way business is not nonmail good for business.
And Yes I agree all regulation to a greater or lesser extent is authoritarian, and therefor involves taking away the freedom of others, that's why I'm an Anarchist, a very gradualist anarchist, and hopefully and resound and rational one.
If you force backers to sell products at a loss, some will find ways around it, as they did in Zimbabwe when they tried, and if they cant, then in poor areas there will be less or no backers, forcing there potential customers to travel to buy bred, while not the end of the would, that may not be of net benefit to the customers, even if it makes the people who support the law fell better.
I thought there was such a thing as a "simple bank account" which banks are obliged to offer. They have zero credit so are safe. Banks of course don't market them.
Mrs Stodge and I are in Barking for lunch and I am dispatched to the paper shop to purchase the Mail for her and the Racing Post for serious weekend reading.
There's a man who wants to buy the Mail (soft, strong and highly absorbing I'm told) but wants to pay by card - the shopkeeper refuses to serve him claiming a £5 minimum for card purchases.
Is there a minimum level where it becomes uneconomic or impractical for card purchases?
It depends upon the company and the contract they have with their card handler.
In the past it used to be quite typical to have a hefty authorisation charge as well as a percentage fee, but nowadays costs are increasingly a lot lower than they used to be which is one reason its more attractive now for many businesses to prefer cards.
Its possible nowadays to have card handling with authorisation charges as low as a penny per transaction, which means that there's little reason to have minimum transaction fees if so.
Some companies even have minimum transaction fees because it used to be uneconomic without one and now having a minimum provides an opportunity to 'upsell' so the minimum has been left in place.
More than seven million consumers registered to use phones and smart watches to make payments last year, new figures from Britain's banking industry show.
Mobile payments - unlike the wider use of contactless cards - are notably more popular among young people with just over 50% of 16 to 34 year olds registered compared to 11% of over-65s.
The figures from industry body UK Finance showed that overall 17.3 million people, or 32% of the adult population were using them by the end of last year, up by 7.4 million from 2019.
They also showed that lockdowns had resulted in the overall number of payments made in the UK falling last year for the first time in six years, by 11% to 35.6 billion.
In 2020, contactless represented 27% of all payments, up from 7% just four years earlier, the figures showed, with 83% of people now using this method - popular across all age groups and regions.
The increase was encouraged by the upper limit on the value of such transactions being increased from £30 to £45.
Meanwhile there was a sharp fall in the use of cash, which was used for only 17% of payments in the UK, while there were 13.7 million people who used cash only once a month or not at all.
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
They have.
There is an interesting disconnect between Europe and the US on this. With the rise of the alt-banks in Europe, the general situation is that anyone can get a bank account - without credit. Revolut, for example give free setup - and then charge a small amount for issuing an actual card...
When one of these companies wanted to setup in the US, they were hammered at politically. From the left. A bit puzzled, they talked to some political consultants. Who pointed out that, in the US, banking without lots of charges sounded incredible. And that they would be treading on the toes of lots of local activists with credit unions etc.
Yeah, the concept of free banking seems alien to so many countries.
FWIW - I think free banking as we know it in the UK will end in the future, but with some benefits to offset that.
Free banking has created massive issues, mainly in scaling back access to services and creating pressure that led to misselling
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
I think it's unfair to say that this is a "male" minority. There are plenty of women involved in the "anti-bigotry" movement.
The interesting thing about this particular debate is that i think it is one which men, in general, are often very happy to stay out of. Perhaps that is mistaken, but they are certainly happy to let women make the running on it...
Men try to get involved and get called "pig ignorant, supercilious bigots".
It's happened to me.
There are real issues to be resolved if it's made easier to change gender. Especially around M to F.
There is also no end of scaremongering and prejudice masquerading as "commonsense" and cheap-as-chips "humour".
I try my best to separate one from the other and respond accordingly.
I posted a tweet from the US about a "woman" with a penis flaunting it in front of young girls in a women only area, with the comment that I expect this sort of thing is coming to the UK.
And from that, you "detected" pig-ignorant, supercilious bigotry.
You DON'T have a working detector.
Ok, I concede the point. I wrote in haste.
There was nothing particularly supercilious there.
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
So have you gone from one extreme to the other?
ie, you used to believe that gender should be a matter of self-Id, but you now believe it should be forever fixed at birth according to biology?
Or just maybe doesnt have a problem with self id but doesnt believe self id should carry rights to enter womens safe spaces like changing rooms, and prisons till the meat and two veg has been trimmed off
It depends upon the company and the contract they have with their card handler.
In the past it used to be quite typical to have a hefty authorisation charge as well as a percentage fee, but nowadays costs are increasingly a lot lower than they used to be which is one reason its more attractive now for many businesses to prefer cards.
Its possible nowadays to have card handling with authorisation charges as low as a penny per transaction, which means that there's little reason to have minimum transaction fees if so.
Some companies even have minimum transaction fees because it used to be uneconomic without one and now having a minimum provides an opportunity to 'upsell' so the minimum has been left in place.
I've spent £1.50 and paid by card before at a supermarket. This is a local shop (for local people apparently) so there may have been other factors at work.
I must confess the local corner shops near me still prefer cash sales but if you drop £30 they'll happily take a card.
As a complete aside, news from New Zealand Mrs Stodge's parents will be getting their second Pfizer vaccination four weeks after their first.
Up to last Tuesday, NZ had carried out 388,000 first vaccinations and 182,000 second vaccinations so a long way to go.
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
So have you gone from one extreme to the other?
ie, you used to believe that gender should be a matter of self-Id, but you now believe it should be forever fixed at birth according to biology?
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
I think it's unfair to say that this is a "male" minority. There are plenty of women involved in the "anti-bigotry" movement.
The interesting thing about this particular debate is that i think it is one which men, in general, are often very happy to stay out of. Perhaps that is mistaken, but they are certainly happy to let women make the running on it...
Not sure your last para is right. My experience of this debate is that men are very prominent in it, especially on the anti-trans side. In general, women are more supportive. Or so the surveys say.
Another reason why some people continue to pay in cash is because some people can't get bank accounts.
Perhaps the Government should legislate for banks to offer bank accounts for all who want them...
Still, maybe that's "disgustingly authoritarian" as well.
They have.
There is an interesting disconnect between Europe and the US on this. With the rise of the alt-banks in Europe, the general situation is that anyone can get a bank account - without credit. Revolut, for example give free setup - and then charge a small amount for issuing an actual card...
When one of these companies wanted to setup in the US, they were hammered at politically. From the left. A bit puzzled, they talked to some political consultants. Who pointed out that, in the US, banking without lots of charges sounded incredible. And that they would be treading on the toes of lots of local activists with credit unions etc.
I do a fair amount of translation for paysafecard, whose business model is that people without bank accounts or credit cards can buy a prepaid card for cash in a local corner shop and use it as a pseudo-credit card - they also appeal to people who are nervous of giving babnk details online. I'd have thought it was a model without a future, but they have hundreds of thousands of shops signed up and there seems to be an appetite for it in countries where it's harder to get a credit card - eastern Europe and South America especially.
Mind you, I got turned down for a savings account with Virgin, inexplicably - I was trying to stay under the guaranteed savings limit per bank so thought I'd open another savings account. Why it should be a credit risk to accept someone's money I still can't work out. I put the money in premium bonds instead, whose average 1% interest is quite nice these days.
Basic accounts are loss making for banks. They use them for deposit gathering or cross-selling. If they didn’t need the firmer and figured out you were going to buy anything else they wouldn’t want your custom
It depends upon the company and the contract they have with their card handler.
In the past it used to be quite typical to have a hefty authorisation charge as well as a percentage fee, but nowadays costs are increasingly a lot lower than they used to be which is one reason its more attractive now for many businesses to prefer cards.
Its possible nowadays to have card handling with authorisation charges as low as a penny per transaction, which means that there's little reason to have minimum transaction fees if so.
Some companies even have minimum transaction fees because it used to be uneconomic without one and now having a minimum provides an opportunity to 'upsell' so the minimum has been left in place.
I've spent £1.50 and paid by card before at a supermarket. This is a local shop (for local people apparently) so there may have been other factors at work.
I must confess the local corner shops near me still prefer cash sales but if you drop £30 they'll happily take a card.
As a complete aside, news from New Zealand Mrs Stodge's parents will be getting their second Pfizer vaccination four weeks after their first.
Up to last Tuesday, NZ had carried out 388,000 first vaccinations and 182,000 second vaccinations so a long way to go.
Many companies used to prefer cash because of the card handling fees.
Nowadays I tend to suspect if a company prefers cash its because they're doing something shady. But it could be that they just need to renegotiate with their card processing company.
If that picture's anything to go by, then Dawn Butler's got a great smile. She looks friendly; approachable; genuine; even (to me, at least) cute.
I think that's a useful trait in a politician. Naturally it's subjective, but to me, Corbyn didn't really have a pleasant smile (when he wasn't scowling), and neither IMO has Diane Abbott. Boris Johnson's face is expressive, but not exactly approachable or genuine. Rishi's smile is pleasant, whilst Pritti's makes her look somewhat mischievous. Rayner's smile is also pleasant and genuine-looking.
How many politicians can do a 'good' smile, and how much is that worth in votes?
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
Sorry… have I understood that correctly…
If a man self-identities as a woman, lesbians are supported to sleep with her?
Hmmm… 🤔
People sleep with who they want to if the desire is reciprocal. The biggest single exception is men forcing themselves on women in one way or another. The trans aspect to this is really lost in the margins. It's just that it has a certain prurient fascination.
More than seven million consumers registered to use phones and smart watches to make payments last year, new figures from Britain's banking industry show.
Mobile payments - unlike the wider use of contactless cards - are notably more popular among young people with just over 50% of 16 to 34 year olds registered compared to 11% of over-65s.
The figures from industry body UK Finance showed that overall 17.3 million people, or 32% of the adult population were using them by the end of last year, up by 7.4 million from 2019.
They also showed that lockdowns had resulted in the overall number of payments made in the UK falling last year for the first time in six years, by 11% to 35.6 billion.
In 2020, contactless represented 27% of all payments, up from 7% just four years earlier, the figures showed, with 83% of people now using this method - popular across all age groups and regions.
The increase was encouraged by the upper limit on the value of such transactions being increased from £30 to £45.
Meanwhile there was a sharp fall in the use of cash, which was used for only 17% of payments in the UK, while there were 13.7 million people who used cash only once a month or not at all.
I think it's time for a law telling businesses that they must accept cash.
Does anyone agree?
Good luck with that - trying to force small business to take £50 notes would be... interesting.
Not all cash.
There was a Moneybox special on it this weekend. Not everyone has easy access to electronic payments
Oh yes - but it one of those things where the dynamics of the market will simply push the holdouts into a smaller and smaller corner.
Though I did do a double take the first time I saw a chap begging in the London Underground, with a card payment device....
Thinking about this from the retailers point of view. You count the cash into the till from the customer. You then have to count it into the evening bag~ for the safe ~ and balance the till. You then have to count it into the transfer bag for G4S. G4S have then to count it again, just to make sure you are correct.
I once heard the 50% of £20 note use used to sniff with, I'll let you work that out. PS counting new plastic notes is a nightmare. Sealo0
More than seven million consumers registered to use phones and smart watches to make payments last year, new figures from Britain's banking industry show.
Mobile payments - unlike the wider use of contactless cards - are notably more popular among young people with just over 50% of 16 to 34 year olds registered compared to 11% of over-65s.
The figures from industry body UK Finance showed that overall 17.3 million people, or 32% of the adult population were using them by the end of last year, up by 7.4 million from 2019.
They also showed that lockdowns had resulted in the overall number of payments made in the UK falling last year for the first time in six years, by 11% to 35.6 billion.
In 2020, contactless represented 27% of all payments, up from 7% just four years earlier, the figures showed, with 83% of people now using this method - popular across all age groups and regions.
The increase was encouraged by the upper limit on the value of such transactions being increased from £30 to £45.
Meanwhile there was a sharp fall in the use of cash, which was used for only 17% of payments in the UK, while there were 13.7 million people who used cash only once a month or not at all.
I'd like to stress my father loves paying for stuff on his watch, so it just isn't the youff that use their smartphones and smartwatches.
My very elderly Aunt thinks it very cool and space age that she can wave her mobile in the vague vicinity of the machine to pay.
One thing that few people think of - small shops find cash a real problem. Too small to get deliveries and drops off with real security.....
Same with my mother and her friends.
One of the other advantages of paying for stuff on credit cards, as opposed to cash, is the Section 75 protection you get for purchases over £100.
Also I think I've earn about £800 a year in Nectar points thanks to my Sainsbury's credit card.
Are you declaring the income stream you get from selling data?
That's about 50k a year at Sainsbury, based on 3 points per £1 and .5p value per point.
Do you get suits from there?
We do about £200 per week shopping at Sainsbury's which translates as £100 worth of points pet year, which are doubled because we have our house insurance via Sainsbury's bank.
We also get bonus weekly points which come out around £5 per week.
Pre plague we probably spent £100 in fuel, so that's a bit, which again get doubled because of the insurance.
We regularly get offers like 10,000 points if you spend £1,000 in two months in Sainsbury's and Argos.
I opened a second credit card for my Dad which got us £60's worth of points.
But also get Nectar points for my train tickets via TPE and Virgin (now Avanti), I used to pay £300 a month on season tickets, which worked out as a lot of points, then doubled by paying for it on my card.
But the main thing is the points we earn is for non Sainbury's purchases, I pretty much pay for 90% things of my card, Sky, phone bills, insurances, plane tickets, plus I also put a lot of my expenses on here as well.
If we beat Germany, we’re in the final, hopefully!
So that's an easy walk to the final for the Germans then? Its nice that some things are still as predictable as a VW.
Germany conceded five goals so far: England none. Admittedly, they've also scored more than we have.
LOL. The Germans only start to play after the group stage. I sincerely hope England win. I just don't believe that Southgate will ever get even half of the potential out of their squad.
Must also say that the Memphis Depay we have seen today is a lot more like the muppet that played for United for the best part of 2 years than the player we had seen in this tournament to date.
I just went on to check the Observer editorial that incensed Owen Jones (apparently it's "legitimising the obsessive media onslaught against trans people" but seemed fairly balanced to me)
At the end of the article, the website gave me "Congratulations for being one of our top readers globally" having read 178 articles so far this year.
That's less than one article a day, and I'm one of their "top readers, globally"?!? If true, they're completely screwed..
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
Sorry… have I understood that correctly…
If a man self-identities as a woman, lesbians are supported to sleep with her?
Hmmm… 🤔
People sleep with who they want to if the desire is reciprocal. The biggest single exception is men forcing themselves on women in one way or another. The trans aspect to this is really lost in the margins. It's just that it has a certain prurient fascination.
So if a woman doesn't want men walking into women's changing rooms with their dick and bollocks swinging about then that's just prurient? 🤔
The issue with the trans debate is that it is forcing itself into women's issues.
Gay relationships was a completely different issue, for gay marriage there was no issue - if you don't want to be in a gay marriage then don't marry someone of the same gender. Nobody was forced to have a gay person be in their own relationship.
But if a woman wants to be in a woman's only space, or to compete against women in sport, then a biological man identifying as a woman is forcing themselves into their space. Into their sport.
"A woman confronted the staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles after a man walked into the women's section with his genitals hanging out in front of girls. He identified as a "woman." The employees said he had a right to do that. The employees say that it's the law."
Get with the program gender critical women. This is the future. Bearded men explaining what it is to be a woman and what a woman is.
As if we haven't had men telling us that for centuries. And exposing themselves to us as well. And behaving like perverts etc.
Only now we're utterly fed up with it. So we say no to all this bullshit.
Yes, it is awful and if women dare to dissent against this bullshit they get attacked, no platformed, sacked and reviled by a tiny minority. Men who think they know what being a woman is.
I was fully on board with the trans lobby until I read of the cotton ceiling and lesbians being guilt shamed for not welcoming ‘girldick’.
Sorry… have I understood that correctly…
If a man self-identities as a woman, lesbians are supported to sleep with her?
Hmmm… 🤔
People sleep with who they want to if the desire is reciprocal. The biggest single exception is men forcing themselves on women in one way or another. The trans aspect to this is really lost in the margins. It's just that it has a certain prurient fascination.
Guilt shaming lesbians who don’t want to sleep with women who still have their male parts is not acceptable
If we beat Germany, we’re in the final, hopefully!
England are one of the leading claimants to the title of worst underachievers in world football. They'll probably flop against Germany, but failing that they'll almost certainly trip over their own shoelaces shortly thereafter.
If England do make it to the final then it'll be the very first time in a major tournament since you know when - that storied event pre-dating the end of regular scheduled steam railway services in the UK, the Moon landings, and the invention of the microprocessor. So let's just say that the prospects don't seem particularly bright.
I think it's time for a law telling businesses that they must accept cash.
Does anyone agree?
Good luck with that - trying to force small business to take £50 notes would be... interesting.
Not all cash.
There was a Moneybox special on it this weekend. Not everyone has easy access to electronic payments
Oh yes - but it one of those things where the dynamics of the market will simply push the holdouts into a smaller and smaller corner.
Though I did do a double take the first time I saw a chap begging in the London Underground, with a card payment device....
Thinking about this from the retailers point of view. You count the cash into the till from the customer. You then have to count it into the evening bag~ for the safe ~ and balance the till. You then have to count it into the transfer bag for G4S. G4S have then to count it again, just to make sure you are correct.
I once heard the 50% of £20 note use used to sniff with, I'll let you work that out. PS counting new plastic notes is a nightmare. Sealo0
I've heard that from bookmakers too. Plastic notes stick together and are far harder to count than paper ones.
I just went on to check the Observer editorial that incensed Owen Jones (apparently it's "legitimising the obsessive media onslaught against trans people" but seemed fairly balanced to me)
At the end of the article, the website gave me "Congratulations for being one of our top readers globally" having read 178 articles so far this year.
That's less than one article a day, and I'm one of their "top readers, globally"?!? If true, they're completely screwed..
I’m one of their top global readers at 69 articles…
Comments
Oh, VAR, should be a red for denying a clear and obvious goal scoring opportunity.
In a society where the vast majority of businesses continue to accept cash this is not an issue. But it is IMO clearly something that the Government has to consider getting involved in should businesses "exercising their right to operate in their own pure financial interests" result ultimately in social and financial exclusion for some through little fault of their own.
Which was the nub of me taking issue with PT on this. Fine he can call it "authoritarian". But ultimately almost all legislation can on some level be considered 'authoritarian'. My issue was with the use of the word "disgusting". Nothing that attempts to take action to meet a genuine societal problem or need should ever be considered "disgusting". It may be an excessive solution to the potential problem, and there are far better solutions. But it is a debate that can be legitimately had.
In France, every bakery must, by law, offer a basic bread product at a fixed price. A price which in effect makes it a loss leader. It dates back to the French revolution. Pretty authoritarian. But one can see why the law exists.
Who would have thought an English VAR referee would get that right?
1. Potentially injurious to the finances of the dirt poor - frankly, copper coinage is worth so little now that you wouldn't have thought it would make much difference even to them, but I'm not that hard up so not in the best position to comment
2. Another blow to crippled charities already suffering from the effects of the pandemic - because I think that's where most copper coinage ends up going, if it's not stored in jars or simply thrown away as rubbish
3. Aversion amongst those with a sense of history to the abolition of the penny
So, an idea not without its complications.
(1) What about on-line businesses? Are you going to require every firm to have a cash handling facility?
(2) What about existing anti-money laundering regulations?
There was a Moneybox special on it this weekend. Not everyone has easy access to electronic payments
The end of cash will be the retreat of the traditional high street banks - once they close their branches, the ATMs are next....
I know one banking group is thinking offering free AA membership for all current account members in exchange for a small fee a month which would be cheaper than getting the AA membership.
Though I did do a double take the first time I saw a chap begging in the London Underground, with a card payment device....
There is also no end of scaremongering and prejudice masquerading as "commonsense" and cheap-as-chips "humour".
I try my best to separate one from the other and respond accordingly.
I would say that women have a reasonable right to privacy. But there should also be unisex facilities (with individual cubicles) where both sexes plus people in transition can go
Increasingly, it is recognised that Trans Men are nearly as frequent as Trans Women, particularly at younger age groups.
Sneezing inside a mask isn't a lot of fun.
Once again, the level of public health awareness and public health information in this country is embarrassing.
1-0
*Cough*Wirecard*Cough*
And from that, you "detected" pig-ignorant, supercilious bigotry.
You DON'T have a working detector.
Mrs Stodge and I are in Barking for lunch and I am dispatched to the paper shop to purchase the Mail for her and the Racing Post for serious weekend reading.
There's a man who wants to buy the Mail (soft, strong and highly absorbing I'm told) but wants to pay by card - the shopkeeper refuses to serve him claiming a £5 minimum for card purchases.
Is there a minimum level where it becomes uneconomic or impractical for card purchases?
And Yes I agree all regulation to a greater or lesser extent is authoritarian, and therefor involves taking away the freedom of others, that's why I'm an Anarchist, a very gradualist anarchist, and hopefully and resound and rational one.
If you force backers to sell products at a loss, some will find ways around it, as they did in Zimbabwe when they tried, and if they cant, then in poor areas there will be less or no backers, forcing there potential customers to travel to buy bred, while not the end of the would, that may not be of net benefit to the customers, even if it makes the people who support the law fell better.
Still sounds like baubles to disguise the fact that they want to soak you for service charges and pay effective zero interest.
Denmark in to 11/1, England and Germany in a touch also.
Whatever happens in B+S I'm struggling to see how Labour find a USP that gets them noticed. Nick P wrote a heart warming post on the last thread about Jess Phillips popularity as a speaker at Labour events.
She might not have the intellectual heft of past leaders but neither has Johnson and she's funnier more attractive and all round a more complete human being .
Unfortunately for SKS I fear he's timed out on the old 'Head and shoulder's' strapline 'You don't get a second chance to make a first impression'
ie, you used to believe that gender should be a matter of self-Id, but you now believe it should be forever fixed at birth according to biology?
If a man self-identities as a woman, lesbians are supported to sleep with her?
Hmmm… 🤔
And France DOES force bakers to sell their basic product at an effective loss. I don't think they generally try to circumvent it and I don't think that it leads (in this specific instance) to the outcome you give. Of course in general it is a completely unconscionable idea. But i suspect it lingers in France with widespread support. Because it is a law which almost represents something fundamental about founding of the modern French state.
Cheerio Netherlands.
In the past it used to be quite typical to have a hefty authorisation charge as well as a percentage fee, but nowadays costs are increasingly a lot lower than they used to be which is one reason its more attractive now for many businesses to prefer cards.
Its possible nowadays to have card handling with authorisation charges as low as a penny per transaction, which means that there's little reason to have minimum transaction fees if so.
Some companies even have minimum transaction fees because it used to be uneconomic without one and now having a minimum provides an opportunity to 'upsell' so the minimum has been left in place.
If we beat Germany, we’re in the final, hopefully!
Love it when he is paired with Jon Champion or Clive Tyldesley.
Do you get suits from there?
On a useful contribution, a *lot* of our local shops now have Apple Pay for very small amounts - down to a fishcake and chips.
There was nothing particularly supercilious there.
I must confess the local corner shops near me still prefer cash sales but if you drop £30 they'll happily take a card.
As a complete aside, news from New Zealand Mrs Stodge's parents will be getting their second Pfizer vaccination four weeks after their first.
Up to last Tuesday, NZ had carried out 388,000 first vaccinations and 182,000 second vaccinations so a long way to go.
Too serious and realistic.
Nowadays I tend to suspect if a company prefers cash its because they're doing something shady. But it could be that they just need to renegotiate with their card processing company.
I think that's a useful trait in a politician. Naturally it's subjective, but to me, Corbyn didn't really have a pleasant smile (when he wasn't scowling), and neither IMO has Diane Abbott. Boris Johnson's face is expressive, but not exactly approachable or genuine. Rishi's smile is pleasant, whilst Pritti's makes her look somewhat mischievous. Rayner's smile is also pleasant and genuine-looking.
How many politicians can do a 'good' smile, and how much is that worth in votes?
You count the cash into the till from the customer.
You then have to count it into the evening bag~ for the safe ~ and balance the till.
You then have to count it into the transfer bag for G4S.
G4S have then to count it again, just to make sure you are correct.
I once heard the 50% of £20 note use used to sniff with, I'll let you work that out.
PS counting new plastic notes is a nightmare.
Sealo0
We also get bonus weekly points which come out around £5 per week.
Pre plague we probably spent £100 in fuel, so that's a bit, which again get doubled because of the insurance.
We regularly get offers like 10,000 points if you spend £1,000 in two months in Sainsbury's and Argos.
I opened a second credit card for my Dad which got us £60's worth of points.
But also get Nectar points for my train tickets via TPE and Virgin (now Avanti), I used to pay £300 a month on season tickets, which worked out as a lot of points, then doubled by paying for it on my card.
But the main thing is the points we earn is for non Sainbury's purchases, I pretty much pay for 90% things of my card, Sky, phone bills, insurances, plane tickets, plus I also put a lot of my expenses on here as well.
Must also say that the Memphis Depay we have seen today is a lot more like the muppet that played for United for the best part of 2 years than the player we had seen in this tournament to date.
I just went on to check the Observer editorial that incensed Owen Jones (apparently it's "legitimising the obsessive media onslaught against trans people" but seemed fairly balanced to me)
At the end of the article, the website gave me "Congratulations for being one of our top readers globally" having read 178 articles so far this year.
That's less than one article a day, and I'm one of their "top readers, globally"?!? If true, they're completely screwed..
The issue with the trans debate is that it is forcing itself into women's issues.
Gay relationships was a completely different issue, for gay marriage there was no issue - if you don't want to be in a gay marriage then don't marry someone of the same gender. Nobody was forced to have a gay person be in their own relationship.
But if a woman wants to be in a woman's only space, or to compete against women in sport, then a biological man identifying as a woman is forcing themselves into their space. Into their sport.
If England do make it to the final then it'll be the very first time in a major tournament since you know when - that storied event pre-dating the end of regular scheduled steam railway services in the UK, the Moon landings, and the invention of the microprocessor. So let's just say that the prospects don't seem particularly bright.