Spending

Three Reasons Cash Is Still King

Debit and credit cards are commonly thought to be the pinnacle in payment convenience, requiring a swipe, the push of a few buttons and you’re on your way. Some may argue swiping a card is too convenient, potentially resulting overspending. To these people cash is king, preferring to add the visual aspect of seeing money being removed from their wallet or purse. In fact, there are even times when cash is more convenient than your debit or credit card.

During an early morning stop at Walmart to pick up a few needed items, I strolled into the self checkout area. I noticed three other customers looking confused, staring at their terminals each with a card in their hand. I could hear the echo of the friendly yet stern voice of the self-checkout systems saying, “Card not accepted.” Then I heard a Walmart employee on her radio calling for a manager to come quickly. “Everyone’s cards are being declined. I think the system is offline.”

I smiled as I walked up to one of the checkout terminals and scanned my items. When presented with my total, I opened my wallet and fed the machine the smooth green paper of hard currency. Through the chorus of, “card not accepted” still echoing throughout the area, my terminal instead said, “Please take your change. Thank you for shopping at Walmart.” I grabbed my items and headed for the door.

“Cash is always online,” I giggled to myself.

There are many reasons to like cash as a payment option:

1. Always Online : We live in an electronically connected world, and those connections have been very reliable. However, they’re not perfect as illustrated by the above story. If the connection to the outside banking system is down, or there’s a malfunction in the system in general, electronic payment may not be possible.
2. Always Accepted : Some businesses don’t accept checks, and not all forms of credit are universally accepted. But cash is never turned away.
3. Adds Physicality : When you buy something with cash, you see the available funds decrease in your wallet or purse. When using a card some people don’t make that connection. Swiping a card is just an action taken to complete a purchase.

It’s more common than ever to see people using a card as a method of payment. But the case can still be made for cash as being king when it comes to spending.

How about you, Clever Friends, have you encountered a situation where cash was still the most convenient method of payment?

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Brock Kernin

Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children,  Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.