Paying With Cash in 2026
Sometimes I like paying with cash (where it's otherwise unexpected) just to "test the water/s" or "survey" or "experiment". I want to understand what places of business no longer accept cash and no longer offer a secret option (some do exist, Coop Live seems to have that, based on last summer's unofficial 'survey'). This matters not just to homeless people who do not have bank accounts and rely on people having change (including banknotes) for handouts. A liberal society must recognise that Orwellian surveillance begets a gradual loss of liberties. Failing to accept this as inevitable (less privacy leading to harm) is foolish.
This topic arose some days ago. I had to explain to somebody that surveys showed an actual increase in cash payments in the UK. Irrespective of the alleged reason/s (push polling can impact answers to satisfy the sponsor/s of surveys), the matter of fact is that cash isn't going away and it's possible to buy almost everything with cash. We now have many coins, not just banknotes, with a new royal face on them. The production of cash continues unabated and at the local market I see vendors who are openly hostile towards card payments and are hesitant to accept any (there are fees charged on every transaction).
Sceptics (or "normies") rush to say things like, "but you can't pay your bills (utility bills for example) with cash..."
Conformists are right, but those bills cannot be paid anonymously either, all those things must be meticulously recorded as a matter of law. You also cannot board a plane without presenting an ID (e.g. passport).
In the UK, scalping remains a convent loophole for averting surveillance in football matches.
Cash isn't going away. Not any time soon.
I am fully aware that in some countries it does seem to be going away, however gradually, no matter the resistance to mass surveillance by activists who hate "apps" and "cards" for very good reasons. They're not stupid "Luddites", they tend to be the outliers who envision what would go wrong. Show respect for these people; they fight for your rights. They sacrifice for you.
There is moreover a technical side to it, set aside the moral. How many times do stores find themselves unable to process any payment due to "Tech Problems..." or "Supplier Issues"?
You don't need iOS to run a clock. Likewise, you don't need chips and an Internet connection for bartering. █
Image source: Singapore