Why do people pay for small amounts with credit cards?

[henry]

today i went to mercadona to get some rustic bread. and these people in front of me got a few items, orange juice, some fruit. all together 3,35 euros. what they do whip out their credit card. and i see them have the cash. really... really..... really... 3,35 to change on a credit card and i see you have quite a few 20 notes in there. don´t people know their bank change more comission on their card. i can see more and more spanish people keep saying i don´t have any money. but why they keep charging on their card when they have it in cash? just any one know? i can see if the bill was said 30 euros or more but something that is less then 5 euros come on! !! has any one else seen this as well?

[KirstyJay]

Cards are actually quicker and easier to use than cash these days. Pop the card in, put in your pin. The till person does not even have to root around getting the change.

Soon people will be paying with mobile phones... we will become a cashless society. What's cash anyway? Just paper. ;)

Also, many cards these days do not charge commission. My Moneybookers one doesn't if I use it abroad and if I use my Spanish card here, that doesn't either. I much prefer to have my card rather than cash, as it's a lot safer too. If it's nicked, just cancel it. If money's nicked, it's gone :(

In America people rarely use cash... only for tips normally. In pubs in the UK you can even pay with cards these days.

[YOUNG GOLFER]

Have to say mate it really winds me up when i too see this.:(

Added after 2 minutes:

Cards are actually quicker and easier to use than cash these days. Pop the card in, put in your pin. The till person does not even have to root around getting the change.

Kirsty don't know what shop you go too but it seems every time i see this it takes ages they show the id card, wait for it to get swiped then sign for it. no way is it quicker.

[Vortex Wake]

Cards are actually quicker and easier to use than cash these days. Pop the card in, put in your pin. The till person does not even have to root around getting the change.

Soon people will be paying with mobile phones... we will become a cashless society. What's cash anyway? Just paper. ;)

Also, many cards these days do not charge commission. My Moneybookers one doesn't if I use it abroad and if I use my Spanish card here, that doesn't either. I much prefer to have my card rather than cash, as it's a lot safer too. If it's nicked, just cancel it. If money's nicked, it's gone :(

In America people rarely use cash... only for tips normally. In pubs in the UK you can even pay with cards these days.


Yes - that's the Samsung phone that has near field technology :D

But no, we won't have a cashless society any more than we have a paperless office or all working from home .

If you only have large notes , then cashiers often prefer a card transaction on small amounts - stop them given their change float away in one go.

[Goforgold]

I put everything on Credit Card if I can as then I can see exactly where my money has gone and no kidding myself.

Also, I don't have to go into town, pay for car parking, to get cash out of the bank. I never use holes in the walls not safe, in my opinion. :)

Mobile phones are going to be used for all sorts of things in the near future - we'll be opening our front doors with them very soon.

[pablo1]

Sorry Kirsty, it's not quicker, it's a pain in the **** and it's probably my pet hate in work. I have a £10 minimum for cards, and even that's a ball ache.
I don't understand why people would come to a wedding with no cash, it's bizarre...

[YOUNG GOLFER]

I put everything on Credit Card if I can as then I can see exactly where my money has gone and no kidding myself.

Also, I don't have to go into town, pay for car parking, to get cash out of the bank. I never use holes in the walls not safe, in my opinion. :)

Mobile phones are going to be used for all sorts of things in the near future - we'll be opening our front doors with them very soon.

And a lot of tax me thinks.

[Pooh]

Here I use cash much more than I used to back home; There I never used to have more than 20-30 Euros in the wallet, and it could last for a month; Everything was paid with a card, everywhere. That was also what the stores preferred - they didn't want a lot of cash.
Here they seems to use such slow machines, so I usually use cash when it's less than 30 euros or so...

Mobile phones are already used in some countries to open doors, access parkings, pay vending machines, and similar, but not here.

[dokgolf]

This is going slightly off subject but I seem to remember that if your credit card was in credit, then there wasn't any charge for using it? Maybe, this is why some people prefer it?

[Goforgold]

And a lot of tax me thinks. ???

Sorry being a bit slow here YG :(

Added after 3 minutes:


This is going slightly off subject but I seem to remember that if your credit card was in credit, then there wasn't any charge for using it? Maybe, this is why some people prefer it?

This is true dokgolf, but not why I use mine. I just find it very useful to see what I've bought. I also use my credit card statement as proof I've bought something if it needs to go back and I've lost the receipt.

Obviously I don't use it for small amounts at the local shop for my sweets ;)

[dokgolf]

???

Sorry being a bit slow here YG :(

Added after 3 minutes:



This is true dokgolf, but not why I use mine. I just find it very useful to see what I've bought. I also use my credit card statement as proof I've bought something if it needs to go back and I've lost the receipt.

Obviously I don't use it for small amounts at the local shop for my sweets ;)

Just as long as they aren't lemon drops!;)

[Goforgold]

Just as long as they aren't lemon drops!;) :D

I am partial to a sherbert lemon ;)

[lozzie1821]

The answer is simple................... Because they can...

[9PLUS]

today i went to mercadona to get some rustic bread. and these people in front of me got a few items, orange juice, some fruit. all together 3,35 euros. what they do whip out their credit card. and i see them have the cash. really... really..... really... 3,35 to change on a credit card and i see you have quite a few 20 notes in there. don´t people know their bank change more comission on their card. i can see more and more spanish people keep saying i don´t have any money. but why they keep charging on their card when they have it in cash? just any one know? i can see if the bill was said 30 euros or more but something that is less then 5 euros come on! !! has any one else seen this as well?




Bloody hell sort it out lad

[star light]

i don't find the people using cards a pain but a lot of the time i have found that the staff putting the card through are very slow and they are unsure of what they are doing.I do use my card at times for payment of a few items when i don't have a lot of cash in my purse.The bank that i use don't have alot of branches in the south and trying to with draw cash from other cash points is a joke at times as the charges are so high. I find it amazing watching peoples faces at cash points as you can see their mood change from minute to minute and this helps me to remain tolerant and smile.

[Angusjim]

My daughter went back to university today I was going to book her ticket on line using a credit card cost of 1 way ticket was £13.70 if I booked on line £1 booking fee + £3.50 credit card charge so went to station and used CASH into macine and saved £4.50 so its not all good news using credit cards its a rip off

[Ecky Thump]

I know of quite a few people who wont use their credit cards when in Tenerife on holiday, its not for any security risk, its just so they can keep control on how much they are spending and are not met by a large bill on their return home by a credit card company.

[candy2411]

Most credit cards in the UK now have the 'contactless' symbol which means you dont have to use a Pin if the transaction is small under £15, although I admit there are not a whole lot of retail outlets yet which have the facility,so be a long time before this gets to Tenerife would imagine.

I wonder how long it will be before the self-service supermarket check-outs will get to Tenerife.....haven't seen one yet

that's when the fun will begin:)

[star light]

i was at decathalon the other week and they have self-service check outs.Were they straight forward to use not at all i would have been quicker standing in the other cash desk.

[KirstyJay]

i was at decathalon the other week and they have self-service check outs.Were they straight forward to use not at all i would have been quicker standing in the other cash desk.Did you get some unexpected items in your bagging area? :D

[cainaries]

I'm with Henry on this one, I find it very irritating and I honestly don't think it's quicker. However, there are a few places I go to, e.g. private Spanish lessons and the osteopath where they really only want the exact money in cash. Which is why henry might find himself behind me in the queue and see I've got cash in my purse but I'm still paying with a card because I'm desperately hanging on to my change for these people who never have any!

[Brian]

I find that I use cards far less in Tenerife than I did in the UK, one reason is that in most shops the transaction is incredibly slow. Although saying that any till transaction here seems to take an age.

You should try standing in the queue at my local Alteza supermarket, they operate a system where there is no access to the till, notes are fed into slots and coins into a seperate counter. A good system you would think, until all the 'old dears' stand there and start feeding in their life savings in 1 cent coins:crazy:

[Angusjim]

I know of quite a few people who wont use their credit cards when in Tenerife on holiday, its not for any security risk, its just so they can keep control on how much they are spending and are not met by a large bill on their return home by a credit card company.

I agree with you Ecky easy to get carried away spending on a credit card, on a similar theme I was working in Edinburgh last year and the pub we used was quite popular with students, there was a cash machine in the pub and the till also accepted credit cards a recipe for disaster I thought, youngsters buying drink by credit card:spin:

[KirstyJay]

I find that I use cards far less in Tenerife than I did in the UK, one reason is that in most shops the transaction is incredibly slow. Although saying that any till transaction here seems to take an age.

You should try standing in the queue at my local Alteza supermarket, they operate a system where there is no access to the till, notes are fed into slots and coins into a seperate counter. A good system you would think, until all the 'old dears' stand there and start feeding in their life savings in 1 cent coins:crazy:I HATE this... what a pointless system, that just shows what little trust they have in their staff! :eek: I'd be insulted if I was working there. :(

[irishmusico]

Its bloody awful.It can wreck my whole day.Another two minutes of my miserable existence,stolen from me by some oaf,who denies me the right to speed through the check-out as fast as I can.I am now two minutes late for the queue to the vending machine in the car park,which means I am now a couple of cars back from the barrier,as we head towards the exit,and now the ******* traffic lights have just turned orange.NOOOoooooooooooo!I will now hit the TF1 at rush hour,30 kph for 10 minutes.I should have killed that ************ with the credit card,buying his one damn potato,and a 25 c can of beer.Never mind,I can still go home and hang myself in the upstairs loo.I bet the bloody wife will be in there doing herself up and I will have to queue again.I ******* HATE MY LIFE AAAAAAARGH!!!!.......................I don't really. :)

[Angusjim]

I HATE this... what a pointless system, that just shows what little trust they have in their staff! :eek: I'd be insulted if I was working there. :(

Obviously you have never employed people who deal in cash its a nightmare as I can testfy to from bitter experience. The fatal mistake I made was TRUSTING in people to be honest got all my thanks it will never happen again :(

[Vortex Wake]

I HATE this... what a pointless system, that just shows what little trust they have in their staff! :eek: I'd be insulted if I was working there. :(

I have only ever been short changed by staff in my local Tesco, never ever been given too much change - think about that ;)

Thank goodness for self service tills :)

[timmylish]

Well all I can say is that we find it the most convenient way of paying, FOR US (the customer!). Not only do we have a full breakdown of spending but our bank send us a message on the phone after every time our cards are used. In other words, our cards cannot be used without our knowing about it. All transactions at no cost, TO US (the customer).

[Goforgold]

I know of quite a few people who wont use their credit cards when in Tenerife on holiday, its not for any security risk, its just so they can keep control on how much they are spending and are not met by a large bill on their return home by a credit card company.

We take cash out but use the Saga card for groceries / restaurants / petrol / duty frees, as they don't charge commission and we don't have to carry large wads of money about.

[Angusjim]

Well all I can say is that we find it the most convenient way of paying, FOR US (the customer!). Not only do we have a full breakdown of spending but our bank send us a message on the phone after every time our cards are used. In other words, our cards cannot be used without our knowing about it. All transactions at no cost, TO US (the customer).

Try telling Trainline, airlines, etc about free transactions :dontknow: You may be getting your transactions free at the moment but its only matter of time before the theiving banks put charges on these and the more we get dependant on money transactions by cards etc the more the banks will rub their hands it will be legalised theiving:(

[Goforgold]

Its bloody awful.It can wreck my whole day.Another two minutes of my miserable existence,stolen from me by some oaf,who denies me the right to speed through the check-out as fast as I can.I am now two minutes late for the queue to the vending machine in the car park,which means I am now a couple of cars back from the barrier,as we head towards the exit,and now the ******* traffic lights have just turned orange.NOOOoooooooooooo!I will now hit the TF1 at rush hour,30 kph for 10 minutes.I should have killed that ************ with the credit card,buying his one damn potato,and a 25 c can of beer.Never mind,I can still go home and hang myself in the upstairs loo.I bet the bloody wife will be in there doing herself up and I will have to queue again.I ******* HATE MY LIFE AAAAAAARGH!!!!.......................I don't really. :)

Great post!! :)

[moonlighter]

Obviously you have never employed people who deal in cash its a nightmare as I can testfy to from bitter experience. The fatal mistake I made was TRUSTING in people to be honest got all my thanks it will never happen again :(

I've been there, done that & got the t-shirt, unfortunately on more than one occasion. :(:(

[caroletenerife]

i know someone who uses her credit card for everything, think its tesco credit card (but not sure), you get points, which can be transferred to air miles etc, shes been to florida without paying out for a ticket. :D

Added after 4 minutes:


Obviously you have never employed people who deal in cash its a nightmare as I can testfy to from bitter experience. The fatal mistake I made was TRUSTING in people to be honest got all my thanks it will never happen again :(

Works both ways, used to work somewhere that insisted on paying wages with cash, every single week wages were short, but they would deny it and say the staff had hidden the money. Eventually no one would open their wages unless other staff members were present as witnesses..the bosses had the nerve to say this was disrespectful and showed a lack of trust...too bl**dy right.

[Cairo]

When I lived in the UK all my income was paid directly into the bank, so to buy anything in the shops I either had to withdraw money from a hole-in-the-wall or pay by card, I ended up carrying very little money around and using a card to buy almost everything.

Living here, I don't have a Spanish credit card as my bank have an annual charge on it. A lot of my income here is in cash which means I always have some money in my purse which means it is exceptionally rare for me to use a card.

However, when I am back on a visit to the UK almost everything is charged onto my credit card again.

[Ecky Thump]

When using your credit card to pay for goods, you may get the choice of paying in either the local currency or in sterling - always choose the local currency. Retailers and ATMs may give you the choice and you might think that paying in sterling saves you money. It doesn't. If you pay in sterling the retailer converts your payment at their exchange rate and you usually lose out. This is called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) and could catch you out. Remember to check the screen before authorising transactions. If the value is shown in pounds, ask that it is changed to euros.

[Angusjim]

When using your credit card to pay for goods, you may get the choice of paying in either the local currency or in sterling - always choose the local currency. Retailers and ATMs may give you the choice and you might think that paying in sterling saves you money. It doesn't. If you pay in sterling the retailer converts your payment at their exchange rate and you usually lose out. This is called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) and could catch you out. Remember to check the screen before authorising transactions. If the value is shown in pounds, ask that it is changed to euros.

Helpful post and very well googled JJ would be proud:c2:

[Ecky Thump]

Helpful post and very well googled JJ would be proud:c2:

Very close Jim, close but not googled....but, copied from email from CaxtonFX

It was aimed primarily for you, so that when you pay for toto and my meal in Tenerife you will now know the best method of payment!:cheeky:

[Malteser Monkey]

Very close Jim, close but not googled....but, copied from email from CaxtonFX

It was aimed primarily for you, so that when you pay for toto and my meal in Tenerife you will now know the best method of payment!:cheeky:

Always about bleedin' money with you lot, just enjoy.:lol:

Blimey TOTO 99 you may live to regret this:cheeky:

[Ecky Thump]

Always about bleedin' money with you lot, just enjoy.:lol:

Blimey TOTO 99 you may live to regret this:cheeky:

It's the friendship that's paramount, not the money!:angry:

Or have I got that the wrong way round.:lol:

[chifleta]

today i went to mercadona to get some rustic bread. and these people in front of me got a few items, orange juice, some fruit. all together 3,35 euros. what they do whip out their credit card. and i see them have the cash. really... really..... really... 3,35 to change on a credit card and i see you have quite a few 20 notes in there. don´t people know their bank change more comission on their card. i can see more and more spanish people keep saying i don´t have any money. but why they keep charging on their card when they have it in cash? just any one know? i can see if the bill was said 30 euros or more but something that is less then 5 euros come on! !! has any one else seen this as well?

because we get points, "and what to points make? (insert Bruce Forsthyth voice here for us old farts that know what i'm talking about) answer all together now "prizes" .... we have to get something out of the thieving banks Henry, and using our credit or debit cards we get points and freebie gifts occasionally ;)