Interesting Links for 19-04-2021

[andrewducker]

Nil-by-mouth foodie: The chef who will never eat again(tags:food cooking illness healthcare fail ) When my friends have supported me in getting out of a terrible relationship and then...(tags:funny video sheep decisions fail )Is Scotland heading for Catalonia-style meltdown?(tags:Scotland independence uk )How Cashless Restaurants Reinforce Systemic

Comments

[tobyaw]

Interesting article on cashless restaurants that draws, I think, entirely the wrong conclusion. There are multiple compelling reasons not to use cash. Removing the threat of theft and tax evasion, providing an audit trail for transactions, minimising the chance of mistakes or accidental loss, not having to physically handle money.

The problem should be how to ensure that everyone has access to non-cash payments, rather than forcing businesses to do something that is harmful to their staff.

Trying to keep businesses working with cash feels rather like the campaigns to shore up high-street shops by penalising out-of-town and online retail. It is all fighting a tide of human behaviour, rather than accepting that the world is changing and that we need to protect the vulnerable in today’s world, not yesterday’s.

[andrewducker]

I totally agree that the government ought to be acting as a banker-of-last-resort for the unbanked.

And once we have 100% coverage of that, I will be happy with shops being allowed to turn away the people that don't have their card on them.

[tobyaw]

Don’t we have something similar here already? I recall basic bank accounts being in the news perhaps five years ago, with the idea of creating a bank account with a low barrier of entry for those who would not qualify for regular accounts. A debit card, but no credit checks, and no overdrafts.

Dunno whether the US has something similar, but I would imagine that it would make sense to persuade or legislate existing high-street banks into providing such a service, since they already have the infrastructure to handle customer interactions and transactions.

[andrewducker]

Apparently 4% of adults in the UK don't have a bank account, including 6% of unemployed people.

Apparently you need a home address to set one up, which might be a barrier for some. And there are illiterate people who have struggled to get one set up. And people who have financial issues and now find them too stressful (although basic bank accounts cannot go in to debt).

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmtreasy/1642/164205.htm