cross-posted from: slrpnk.net/post/1624944
Saw a “no cash” sign at a bakery. Conversation went like this:
me: So, no cash? What’s going on there?
cashier: Yeah, we’re not allowed to accept cash.
me: Isn’t it the other way around? Isn’t there a legal tender law in #Netherlands?
cashier: Yeah, we’re not allowed to refuse cash.
me: So this sign posting says loud and clear “we are breaking the law”, in effect, no? Is that not being enforced?
cashier: That’s right. It’s unenforced in Netherlands.
The same thing is happening in #Belgium. This kind of forces me to revise my understanding of European culture & norms. In both the US & Europe there is a culture of certain laws (rightfully) going unenforced against individual natural people. E.g. small amounts of marijuana possession. But I previously thought when it came to moral/legal people (businesses), they simply complied with the law in Europe to a great extent.
IOW, companies complied with laws in Europe. Contrast that with the US where corporations small and large will blatantly disregard any laws that interfere with profit based on the calculated risk of getting caught and risk of penalties.
I just wonder if Europe is being influenced by cavalier US corps and changing to comply only when penalties are likely. Or is this something I had wrong all along… that EU companies were always loose with compliance?
#WarOnCash
max@nano.garden 8 months ago
Yes, it is increasingly difficult to pay with cash in the Netherlands. Even at the Albert Heijn they have set it up such that it is a lot more convenient NOT to pay with cash. They have a large amount of self-service pin-only checkouts, and one or maybe two workers accepting cash at the manual checkout lane.
One path is to make an effort to resist this digital move and pressure politicians so that they enforce these type of rules and that cash is accepted. But I think this can at best slow this process down.
The other path is to embrace the digital move and start integrating crypto currencies into our societies in a more substantial manner. I know that many people have given up in crypto, but, putting speculation and hype aside, crypto is the best way we know of to integrate cash-like payments into the digital world. Right? Or is this something others disagree with?
to55@discuss.tchncs.de 8 months ago
The upcoming digital Euro will be sort of a cryptocurrency, and is as close to digital cash as it can get.
max@nano.garden 8 months ago
Interesting. I haven’t followed development in the space of “official” crypto currencies, but my impression is that these will probably be centralized, have little to no privacy features, and that the governments will be able to control access to the funds.
But I may be wrong - maybe they are actually building decentralized crypto networks? I just find it hard to believe that a government would do this.
activistPnk@slrpnk.net 8 months ago
Cash is still the least common denominator because cryptocurrency excludes low tech users & it’s also unusable in a variety of tech failures. So cash should be held in the highest regard and protected as such. Cash is also the only instrument by which two people can transact without interference. E.g. cryptocurrency is not 100% fungible because a gov can issue an order that certain addresses are blackballed.
I also welcome cryptocurrency though to fill gaps where cash is impractical, like sending money remotely. Banks should have the lowest regard because they can (and do) bully and mistreat people.
max@nano.garden 8 months ago
You are right… Cash is king, and letting it be phased out is not a good idea.
You have me on board - how do we stop this?