It depends where you live. No cash accepted on London busses. Busses in Essex (like First Group) only take cash not contactless
and no issues such as the problems caused by paying by app if your phone battery goes flat during the day when you are out
I suspect thatâll be changing soon. First Glasgow / First Aberdeen (and maybe more) now claim to accept contactless including the various mobile phone based systems. Only had a chance to try it once and after explaining it slowly to the driver 7 times it still didnât work [sigh]
They donât have an app like Bristol? I do agree the London system is better but anything is better than cash! Almost
it is crazyâŚthey have installed WiFi on the double deckers but not contactless ticket machines!
They have an app but there is limited space on my phone and I donât want an app for everything. Particularly as it means different apps for different bus companies. Time to Nationalise public transport. Also will replace the farce of different smartcards on different train companies
The buses here just got contactless card payments in the last couple of months. For several years theyâve had NFC terminals but they only took their own pre-paid cards that you have to top-up online.
The premise is so misleading. Itâs basically âthis will hurt the people who use cashâ. No, it wonât. If they can use an ATM they have a debit card they could be using instead of cash. Follow the money and lobbying⌠This is private ATM owners trying to create fear to get a regulatory mandate to be allowed to charge above-market rates.
You can use an ATM without debit cards. Many savings accounts issue non-debit ATM cards.
I had no idea, wow! How common is it for someone to have a savings account and no current account? I imagine thatâs very rare.
I thought the whole Link furore was being stirred up by Lloyds Banking Group who, with by far the biggest current account market share, pay more to other ATM operators than they receive back.
It is getting rarer and rarer these days that you donât have a current account due to direct debits etc (that donât come with savings accounts) and the introduction of basic current accounts for people who cant get them (but could get a savings account). It tends to be the very older generation or people from deprived areas who will resort to cash. It is mainly the elderly these days who will withdraw their money and not need a current account (as they pay bills by cash, not have things like a mortgage and usually have savings).
The article is really pointing towards people like my mum (although she does have a current account but rarely uses it for its debiting ability). She lives, and always has lived, in one of the most deprived areas of the UK. She grew up destitute, my grandad died when she was very young too, and I am the first in my family ever to get a degree (and become a professional). My mother will pay everything in cash, even if it is cheaper to pay by direct debit because she doesnât trust money sitting in a bank account. She will get her disability benefits paid into a current account (because she has to by law now) but she will withdraw the lot the day she receives it then go to the post office or a paypoint to pay her bills. This is why there are stories in the newspaper of little old men or women being mugged for their pension etc.
It is more common with poor credit accounts, basic banking accounts and some smaller credit unions and building societies
Cardtronics who operate about 20,000 ATMs in the UK announced today the closure of approx 1,500 ATMs.
Fantastic and good riddance. Only 18,500 left to go
(Note - this is an criticism of Cardtronics, which has a lot of fee-charging ATMs and, if I remember correctly, also employs DCC; not of ATMs in general).
IOnly a quick question, as I canât see it answered yet when I search- has there been any update re: taking money out at the post office? Iâve just tried over the road from me and it wouldnât âacceptâ my card to do this.
It wouldnât work with the prepaid card which I was aware of from before, but I thought the current account status would alter this. My post office is one of the smaller sub-offices so is it another case of updating their software (as Iâve seen mentioned before) or is this a known issue? My next nearest cash point is a mile from home so itâs useful to know when/how this can be resolved.
(Iâm not as fussed about paying in as I am getting out, haha)
Edit: and this is why I posted here, as a reminder that those of us in hicktowns oop North do still need cash access, and itâs fine to lose a proportion of ATMs as long as an alternative still existsâŚwhich around our area would be the main and sub post offices. Our buses have gotten Apple Pay facilities as of this Monday gone and itâs blowing everyoneâs minds
A counter-arguement of sorts
Yes, I read that earlier today. It seems (and I had suspected this) that the independent ATM networks are complaining about the reduction in LINK charges because then their profits wonât be as big. Given the surcharge provided for ATMs in under-served areas, and the sheer volume in cities, I think this whole âLINK is destroying ATMsâ has been overblown, and motivated by the business interests of a few operators.
Itâs absolutely a few operators trying to attract public sympathy - and doing well, it seems. Good riddance to them.