[larrys]

What would prevent you from just giving him some cash out of your physical wallet?

In general you are getting a ride from someone. Other than the fact that with legacy taxis you tip, (just like at a restaurant) where it doesn't really relate to quality of service, I don't see how much extra someone can do that would make a ride tipworthy.

[rodgerd]

> What would prevent you from just giving him some cash out of your physical wallet?

Perhaps this is just a difference depending on where you are in the world, but I'm not used to people in first world countries carrying cash.

[jonknee]

Well here's an easy life hack then: enable tipping in any delivery app by keeping a single bill in your pocket.

[nommm-nommm]

I just spent two weeks in the UK as a tourist. I had a wonderful time. Perhaps it was me? But I used cash much much more than I do in the US. I pulled out my credit card in a pub and got scolded. Perhaps because I was outside the big cities?

It might be me but I perceived the culture in smaller town Scotland to be more cash oriented than I am used to in the USA.

I personally saw more people pay with cash than I am used to.

I still love your country and will go back at any time.

[bsder]

> I pulled out my credit card in a pub and got scolded.

Probably because you didn't have chip and pin.

If an establishment takes a card without chip and pin in the UK/Europe, the fraud rules are very different.

[nommm-nommm]

Excuse me? I certainly DO have a chip and pin, thank you very much!!! The scolding was from fellow patrons. "Why are you waving around that card? That isn't welcome around here. That's not how we do things around here." They didn't have card readers in sight either so..... I was expecting to pay cash anyways, I figured I'd just try card first... I just felt very embarrassed trying to pay card in a cash establishment. It was very clear it was an "old school" type establishment....

I do have chip and pin and I wouldn't have left without a chip and pin card (I have more than one out of my 8 credit cards, not counting debit cards...which I have several as well...). There was absolutely zero reason to believe a perceived lack of chip and pin was an issue from what I wrote.

Also the fraud rule are/will be different in the US as well.

I went to a deli they told me that I have to ahev £10 minimum to use a card. I went to a restaurant and they had a £1.50 surcharge for card as well and encouraged me to pay in cash.

The first time I used card while I was there was at Wetherspoons... lol...

I also base my feelings on my personal observations of watching other people pay for things as well. Of course my "feeling" could be off base as well. People are known for getting a wrong impression sometimes.

That being said - I still love Scotland and will visit again in a heartbeat. In fact I hope to visit again in the near future!

[lmm]

Small town Scotland, sure, a bit different. But small town Scotland is, by population, a tiny fraction of the UK.

[SilasX]

That came dangerously close to being a literal "no true Scotsman" dismissal of the GP's example...

[nommm-nommm]

Haha it was a literal no true Scotsman dismissal. That's funny. That being said, I'd really love to hear the opinion of a smaller town Scots(wo)man who has traveled/lived other places on their opinion of card/cash "culture" vs other first world countries if they are any around here.

The reason I went to the place I went was because the primary purpose of my trip was to visit someone.

[nommm-nommm]

Of course! But I was replying to "people in first world countries" and giving my personal experiences. :)

I've also been all across small town USA :)

I really hope I don't offend. I don't mean to.

[lmm]

I don't think anyone's offended. But I think it's acceptable to say "people in first world countries" when one actually just means "the overwhelming majority of people in first world countries".

[nommm-nommm]

No, that's not at all acceptable to move the goalpost in that way at all! How completely and utterly ridiculous!

[simias]

Uh, in which first world country exactly? I'm not aware of any place in western europe where carrying cash is uncommon.

[Widdershin]

It's uncommon to carry cash in New Zealand. Everything is done with eftpos and credit cards.

[nathanb]

Even more so with paywave, which is all over Australia and becoming more common in New Zealand. I don't think I actually inserted or swiped my card more than once a week in Brisbane.

[nness]

Pesky EFTPOS "minimum purchases."

[nickbauman]

Germans almost always pay with cash and rarely use credit cards. It's cultural. I think it's one of the reasons why Greece is getting screwed so hard by the troika: cultural norms and the societal moral confusion v/v debt.

[rodgerd]

NZ, Australia, Scandanavia, France, even England I've got around largely without much in the way of cash.

Interesting that Germany is different.

[rohansingh]

Sweden, Norway, Finland.

[walshemj]

Really you don't keep £50-100 for small purchases on you what happens if its late at night raining and your card gets eaten by the machine and you need a taxi home?

Also if its a crowded pub waiting while you dig you card out and slowly use the one machine your holding every one up.

[rodgerd]

> Really you don't keep £50-100 for small purchases on you what happens if its late at night raining and your card gets eaten by the machine and you need a taxi home?

No? Why would it get eaten by a machine?

[walshemj]

Never had a card get damaged by accident and retained by the machine? I have and had to walk 4 miles in the rain home.

[dorkrawk]

I think drivers are discouraged from taking cash because companies like Lyft don't want people to assume drivers are carrying lots of cash, for safety reasons.

[larrys]

I guess that doesn't make sense to me. I thought one of the bedrock principles of these types of services was a situation where you knew a bit about the person (reputation) that you were transporting.

Additionaly, nothing is to prevent a driver from keeping a small amount of cash on their person and then stashing the rest periodically in a hidden safe. So yes they might lose $50 or $100 vs. not getting tips. Even if they don't get tips a person could assume they had some cash on them.

The point of the small amount of cash is twofold. One it's a small amount so if you lose it not that big of a deal. But it's also enough that if you got robbed you could give something to the robber. So they don't harm you or beat you thinking there is more somewhere. [1] This is similar to the old rule of leaving a small amount of cash in your cash register at a store and leaving the register open. That way someone comes in, takes the cash, and in theory has less of a reason to trash your store.

[1] Of course you could store more of the money where you can find it to satisfy them if the $100 wasn't enough and if you felt your life depended on it. Kind of a honey pot in a way.

[chc]

A lot of people don't carry cash in their physical wallets nowadays, since it's not generally very useful.

[jonknee]

If you're having a hard time using it I'm happy to use it for you!

[chc]

What common use would you find for it that I couldn't do just as well with a credit card?

[jonknee]

Cash has great privacy, works at cash only places, small merchants are happy to receive it because it means no fees, you get a discount when buying gas, the aforementioned tipping (good luck giving the valet a credit card!), it works when the power is out and a lot more I'm sure. Cash is pretty great. Even if you don't carry it you should definitely keep some at home.

[victorhooi]

Cash has great privacy - for some people, this is a non-issue. For me, I actually like the fact that credit cards have a record, at the end of the month I can look at my statement, and see all the places I spent money and how much. I can graph it, etc.

Works at cash only places - this probably varies around the world. In Australia, most places will accept card - the exception being Asian places, cause we're cheap =).

Small merchants are happy to receive it - I suspect this is changing, the fees are next to nothing these days, and by not handling cash, they avoid issues like employee theft, and also people are encouraged to spend more.

You get a discount when buying gas - we don't have this here (Australia)

The aforementioned tipping - likewise, we don't have this here. In general, I prefer to know how much I am spending beforehand, and I dislike the concept of tipping, or people needing to beg for tips.

It works when the power out - err, I suspect if the power is out in say a supermarket or a restaurant, they would have more issues than just the credit card machine not working.

I'm not saying never carry cash - but I like the convenience of card. And let's be honest most people aren't keeping their money stuffed inside their mattress.

Their money is in a bank account - and not in physical notes either, it's a set of electronic digits. So the whole, going to a bank, converting it to cash, giving it to somebody, so that they can then convert it back into electronic digits - seems incredibly archaic and outmoded.

[AnimalMuppet]

Imagine that you're on a date. You've got a nice evening planned, only to run into a state-wide blackout. Now the trick is to get food at all. You see this restaurant with a lot of cars out front. Turns out they have gas grills, so they can cook some kinds of food. (Not french fries, though - that machine's electric). They're working by candlelight, adding up the tab on a hand calculator, pouring pop out of bottles, and they are not taking credit cards.

Been there, done that. Only once, but yeah, it happens.

[chc]

The last time I had to go shopping during a blackout, the few places I went to that were open were still taking credit cards. Maybe it's just a regional thing.

[jonknee]

One big earthquake in SF and the Valley will start to see the value of cash.

[MBlume]

> some cash out of your physical wallet

Some what now?

[fweespeech]

Even in the US, I don't know anyone who regularly carries cash anymore.

Why would you want the hassle? Or risk it being lost/stolen?

[AnimalMuppet]

I want it so that I don't have the hassle.

You want to buy a bottle of coke from a vending machine? Most of them don't have card readers.

You want to tip the valet/bellman/maid? Most of them don't have card readers; even if they do, it's still inconvenient to make them dig it out.

Feeling compassionate toward the beggar on the corner? Think he's got a card reader?

Want to pay the babysitter? Does she carry a card reader?

Then there's the other side of risk. Ever had your identity stolen? (I have, though not from a dodgy card reader.) And if you think chip and pin is going to make that impossible, I expect that the crooks will find a way.

[Mz]

Feeling compassionate toward the beggar on the corner? Think he's got a card reader?

I don't panhandle, but I am homeless. In fact, I have a PayPal account. IIRC, I could get a card reader from them if I wanted it (though, in practice, I might need a better phone than I currently have to make that work).

Although I am posting this merely because it strikes me as humorous, it isn't crazy to think beggars may soon have card readers, at least some of them.

I carry small amounts of cash (in part to print e-gift cards at the library) and do as much as possible via debit card/paypal/online payments/etc.

[fweespeech]

> You want to buy a bottle of coke from a vending machine? Most of them don't have card readers.

I never have that urge tbh.

> You want to tip the valet/bellman/maid? Most of them don't have card readers; even if they do, it's still inconvenient to make them dig it out.

Yeah, when I'm on vacation I'll run to the bank and get some $5 bills for that sort of thing. Hence "regularly" was the word I used. I'm not on that sort of vacation 51 out of 52 weeks a year.

> Feeling compassionate toward the beggar on the corner? Think he's got a card reader?

I donate directly to large charities that I know provide food, etc. to people. I honestly don't see beggars on street corners [largely because the local police are assholes].

> Want to pay the babysitter? Does she carry a card reader?

Actually yeah. She does.

> Then there's the other side of risk. Ever had your identity stolen? (I have, though not from a dodgy card reader.) And if you think chip and pin is going to make that impossible, I expect that the crooks will find a way.

Yes. If you meant actually identity theft [e.g. social, driver license] so they can masquerade as you...a lack of credit card provides no protection. The insurance companies you use, your employer, your bank, and dozens [if not hundreds] of "big data" companies have this info as well.

If you somehow believe a lack of a credit card will magically secure you against this risk, you are very much mistaken.

Stolen credit cards, honestly, are much less of a problem than stolen cash. I can get the money back from a stolen credit card.

[amyjess]

Yep. In the last several years, I've only ever carried cash on two types of occasion: fairs and trips out of town.

If I'm in town and not attending a fair, I don't have cash on me. Period.