This is my "Findig" leather wallet. I bought it in Bangkok, Thailand in 2011. There's nothing exceptional about it. It serves my purposes nicely. I didn't want a wallet with an integral coin section. In my humble opinion, such wallets are for wusses. Insincere apologies to any male readers who use such a wallet. (Guffaws like Mutley in "The Wacky Races")
In my entire life, I would estimate that I have possessed no more than six wallets. One of them was stolen from me by a prostitute in a bar in Lautoka, Fiji in 1973 when I was as drunk as a bishop on a Butlins holiday. Wallets are like companions that travel with men through huge chunks of their lives. Usually, it's not the same for women.
I could waffle on about wallets for several more paragraphs but that was not the intention behind this particular blogpost.
Inside my wallet there are currently three £20 notes and six £10 notes. That's £120 in total. I collected the three £20 notes from our local Sainsbury's store on March 19th following two minor wins on The National Lottery. The six £10 notes had been placed in the wallet after a visit to an ATM on March 15th.
The banknotes have remained unused for over a month. Since the lockdown began all the payments I have made have been contactless card payments. I suspect that you might be the same and so what I want to ask is this - Has the pandemic signalled the end of real money? Will we ever again use banknotes and coins as frequently as we did before?
Yes we will not be using cash but not because of the pandemic. There are places here that do not Take cash. Plastic only!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly seems to be heading that way.
DeleteI had been thinking just the same thing about the lone $20 note that has been gathering dust in my wallet for 12 weeks. All my recent purchases have been online using electronic funds transfer or pay wave in the supermarket (up to $200 and no need even to insert the card). I worked in banking for 24 years and the pace of change accelerated each year once online banking took off. When I started as a teller in 1994 we handled huge amounts of cash across the counter each and in preparation for Y2K held a reserve of $3Million in Branch in case of technology failure and a run on the Bank. It all had to be counted and balanced each day. It was a filthy job and you were always washing your hands. Branch and Teller Cash limits were reduced dramatically to deter robberies and to save on the cost of repatriating excess cash. Customers were relentlessly pushed towards electronic payments and our performance appraisals were scored on our successful displacement numbers. Most Branches are now cashless, customers are encouraged to use online options or make deposits and withdrawals through the ATM. Cheques are discouraged due to fraud risk and some banks and government agencies will no longer accept them at all. I still think we will have cash for a long time yet for the times when technology is not available due to distance or natural disaster. For several days after our first major earthquake in 2010 cash was the only option for essential supplies and we have always kept a reserve along with our emergency kits of water, batteries, tinned food etc.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's harder now for young people to manage their money as they no longer physically handle it and the online world is fraught with danger from scammers but I enjoy being able to manage my money online .
Thanks for your "insider" reflections Adele. Very interesting - if indeed it is possible for banking matters to be interesting! In Britain there have been thousands of bank closures up and down the land in the last twenty years. And this is largely connected with card use and online banking plus the desire of banks to reduce staffing costs.
DeleteLosing a Wallet to a Pro in a Bar in Fiji in the 70's, could have been the Topic of Blog Fodder for a whole Post! Sounds like your 70's Era was way more interesting than mine! *LOL*
ReplyDeletePlease don't imagine that I was the kind of fellow who sought out prostitutes. She just happened to be there. A Fijian woman - I have no idea what her name was - possibly Princess Margaret.
DeleteI think we were already headed for the end of the use of real money and the pandemic only pushes us there a bit faster. About twenty years ago my oldest son told me we would not be using real money in the future, only cards. I remember laughing at him.
ReplyDeleteYou're not laughing now! Your oldest son was/is a prophet!
DeleteIt makes me wonder if its some sort of conspiracy😉
ReplyDeleteDon't tell anyone but I have heard that it was Michael Gove who created COVID 19. He had ulterior motives of course.
DeleteOf course, as someone who earns their living in Data/Privacy Protection, I see cashless payments as a mixed blessing. But of course it is so much more practical under so many aspects - if I think of how many times I would have had to fumble for the right coins at the train station and maybe even missed my local train because of me and the ticket machine not working fast enough, I much prefer the cashless and paperless tickets on my mobile phone.
ReplyDeleteAll that aside (and there is loads I could say about cash v. cashless), the story behind the six wallets of your life is what intrigues me. I have begun to think of the wallets that I have had; from my teens to now; I remember where and how I got them, and each of them has seen important and less important events of my life with me. Definitely worth a post, don't you think?
By you or by me? I am afraid that my memory is not as comprehensive as yours Meike.
DeleteMy children never use cash at all so by the time their generation is a bit older there probably wont be much cash used but I think there will always be those who love cash for various reasons. It might become rare but I think it will take a long time to disappear
ReplyDeleteOh and can I add that at least one of my kids rarely uses a wallet because all her cards are accessible using just her mobile phone
DeleteGood heavens! She really is a "whizzkid"! Are you a "Whizzmum"?
DeleteI'm a Luddite
DeleteEh? I thought you were Sally Army Kylie!
DeleteAre they white five Pound notes behind the twenty Pounds note YP?
ReplyDeleteI'm not that old Mr No-Cider!
DeleteWe still have some old fashioned small traders here (or did anyway before all the businesses closed down) who don't possess card readers and usually take cash. Our window cleaner, my local one-woman hairdresser, the fisherman in the next village etc. If they are still trading when this is all over it would be more costly for them to manage without cash, having to invest in the necessary machines and pay commission on each transaction.
ReplyDeleteLast year on the south bank of Thames I gave money to a busker via her contactless card machine! I don't think they are too expensive.
DeleteThere are still certain areas where we need cash here. Some shops, some workers - electricians, gardeners or cleaners, or casual workers, still prefer cash, so I always need to keep some handy. All utilities are paid online.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that one Scandinavian country - I think it's Sweden - is planning to go completely cashless in the next couple of years. I remember going to Sweden in the late 60's and being asked to pay with a bank card, and also asked if I wanted cash back! In those days it was difficult to get a bank card, and we'd never heard of cash back in the UK!
My grown up children in London were already using cards all the time and rarely needed to use cash. Now I seem to be the same.
DeleteNow that all your spending is recorded we have at last been able profile you. Anndy and Brian in The Big Yellow Chippy Van are still insisting on cash.
ReplyDeleteOoo err! You got me Agent Dunham! I am a goner.
DeleteAnd based on your spending, the result of your profiling is: grumpy old man.
DeleteI might be grumpy but not as grumpy as you! Didn't Roger Hargreaves write a book about you?
DeleteHope they'll wait awhile--got about 50 quid leftover from my January visit over the Pond--various notes and coins. Not going to trade it in, but who knows when I'll make it over again?
ReplyDeleteNot a great deal of cash used in my area. Still pay my hair stylist in cash and use it to tip deliver people. Don't trust the corporations to give drivers their tip by adding it to my bill. In fact, mentioned this to the driver during the last deliver--explaining why I gave cash. He told me that week the corp. had "forgotten" to put the tip money in the driver's checks. He appreciated the cash. Waiting for a delivery today...money in a thank you card taped to the front door with a note letting him know the money had been an envelope for months so most likely cootie free. Sigh.
I wonder when I might eat in a restaurant again. Over here waiter/waitress tips are frequently pooled. As a diner I don't like that. If I am giving a tip it is meant only for the person who has served me - not for anybody else.If you have a problem with the fifty quid Mary - I will be happy to take it off your hands free of charge!
DeleteI took out $300 just before everything went for shit and there it sits in my wallet still. It will be interesting to see what unfolds:)
ReplyDelete"Unfolds"? You mean like banknotes? Very clever or accidentally so.
DeleteI have to ask - where do you keep your coins? Are you one of those blokes whose loose change jangles in a trouser pocket until it disappears through a hole and down the sofa?
ReplyDeleteI once replaced a sofa in a grotty flat with a slightly better one and found thirty quid's worth of loose change down the back of the cushions. Small compensation for having to deal with a less than fragrant old sofa.
When my bag was stolen in Barcelona the two things I really missed were my camera (and all the photos) and my beautiful leather wallet. (With coin purse.) I have tried really hard to replace it but have found nothing as tactile and practical.
I suspect that every tourist who visits Barcelona gets robbed. I guess it is all part of the holiday experience. As for coins, yes, they are in my pocket with a linen handkerchief to keep them down. By the way Jean, I have absolutely no problem with women having integral coin purses - just men!
DeleteI too have been using contactless card payments. But the other day I went to an off-licence to grab some milk, and the guy behind the counter WANTED cash. Said he needed it to pay his newspaper delivery guy!
ReplyDeleteYou carry so much stuff in your wallet! So does Dave. I only carry my debit card, my Oyster (tube) card and whatever bills I have. Coins go in my front pocket, with keys.
That's not "stuff" Steve! It is highly confidential personal documentation without which I could not exist in this complex world. I thought an Oyster card was for when holders fancied eating shellfish.
DeleteIn Sweden, even before the corona virus, an increasing number of places did not even take cash any more. I would not be too surprised if the current situation got rid of cash payments for good. At least practically, even if perhaps not officially. (It has been argued that one does also have to be prepared for situations including power outage or online problems.) Over the past year or two I've rarely used cash except in my local convenience store. Since corona, I've switched to contactless card payment there as well. I do still keep some cash (including a few coins) in my wallet for Unexpected Situations, though. The wallet itself I've had for ... many years. Possibly decades. (Unlike Meike, I have no idea when or where I got it, or how many others I may have had before it. Once upon a time I know I had a bigger one which was brown. That was back when I still carried a checkbook - which feels like a very long time ago.
ReplyDeleteClearly, you get my drift Dawn Treader. COVID 19 has massively reduced the use of hard cash and though notes and coins will stick around, card payments will surely predominate from now on. By the way, "checkbook" is an American English spelling, in Britain we write "cheque book".
DeleteThanks :) I'm afraid that even if I primarily learned British English back in my youth, over the years I've picked up a lot of American as well. Not to mention that sometimes my online "spillchuckers" try to lead me astray as well. (That word I think I got either from Graham or his brother John - or perhaps both!)
DeleteYes. I have seen Graham using that word. It sounds like a flock of noisy birds.
DeleteI am not sure we will see the back of money, for instance, I pay the man who mows the lawn in cash, he says that they don't have internet though he has a teenage daughter. In fact I need more cash and feel nervous about using the ATM. Already the supermarkets have upped the amount on contactless cards, which is of course the way we are going at the moment.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it won't go - not yet anyway - but people are getting in the habit of using contactless cards. Cash is definitely in decline.
Delete