I used to think cashless was just about convenience until my card got frozen at a farmer's market in Portland last Saturday

I was all for going cashless, figured it was faster and safer. But then I tried to buy a $40 bag of coffee beans from a local roaster who only takes cash or Venmo, and my bank's fraud alert locked my card for 20 minutes. The guy behind me had to spot me because the line was growing and I looked like an idiot. That's when I realized how much control the banks have over when and where we can spend our own money.

3 comments

3 Comments

charles6401mo ago

Read an article a while back about how Venmo actually shares your purchase data with advertisers, so it's not just the fees you gotta worry about @hannah320. If that roaster is trying to avoid giving a cut to Visa, they're just trading one parasite for another that also scrapes your private info. And the part about the bank locking your card hits close to home. Had a buddy whose card got frozen at a gas station in BFE Nevada because the bank thought he was being scammed. He was just trying to buy a sandwich. Cash might be dirty and slow but at least it doesn't tell a computer what you're up to every time you hand it over.

hannah3201mo agoMost Upvoted

Did the coffee roaster mention why they refuse to take cards, or is it just a stubborn small business thing? Because if they're worried about fees, that's one thing, but Venmo still costs them something too. Kind of makes you wonder if these merchants realize they're forcing customers to rely on the same banks they're trying to avoid.

owens.anthony1mo ago

Yeah @hannah320 you're right to question that. I've seen a few small shops pull the same move and it never made total sense to me either. If they're trying to avoid Visa taking a cut, why trade it for Venmo or PayPal which takes a cut too? Unless they think Venmo is more "independent" somehow but it's still owned by PayPal so that logic falls apart. Have you asked the owner if they'd take cash or check instead or is it strictly app based?