You’ll Save Money
A recent study shows that using cash only for just two weeks can save as much as 18%. Many cite that using plastic does not hurt as much as cash. In other words, it is easier to lose track of spending when you swipe a card.Using cash prevents impulse purchases. On average, consumers spend 12-18% when using cash. In short, one spends less when using cash.
Using credit cards can be expensive. Many storefronts provide cash discounts, because using cash reduces their operating cost. In fact, some merchants add a surcharge on top of the customer’s total to pass on the credit card processing fees. Other merchants offer cash discounts.
You’ll Save Time
The US is following suit with their counterparts across the pond, and now beginning to enforce EMV (Europay Mastercard Visa) compliance among their merchants. The transition for full compliance is underway for some card users, meaning that consumers will begin to use the chip portion of their card far more than the magnetic strip. While the move to EMV is long overdue and is a benefit to the consumers liability, it is already an antiquated technology. With many debit and credit cards now becoming EMV enabled, the time of transaction has increased dramatically. With studies ranging from 7 seconds to 15 seconds, these small numbers certainly add up when looking at long lines.
Of course, this additional 10 seconds is on top of the already tedious card swipe process. Many estimate the shift to EMV does not waste thousands, but millions of man hours. Additionally, having cash on hand is more time saving for the unplanned purchases, such as a buying Girl Scout cookies outside of Lowe’s or Walmart.
You’ll Keep Your Identity Safe
While it is near impossible to use cash with online sales, there are several ways to keep your identity safe while shopping in brick and mortar stores. As mentioned above, EMV provides many benefits for consumers, nothing can fully protect someone’s identity like the use of cash. By using cash, there will be no need to worry about data breaches or RFID readers stealing your information.