refusing to accept cash

Quote: Pacomartin

Do you think it would make sense to eliminate coins in America?

Maybe, I never use them for anything.
For decades I threw my change into a
jar and at the end of the year I always
had $150. I haven't done that in 15 years.

We'll never get rid of currency, the US
is too large. Plus, our $100 bills run
the world. Is there a casino in the world
that is cashless?

1. Cashless Casinos Are Probably a Pipe Dream

Despite a growing consumer trend toward cashless/electronic payment methods, gaming properties continue to invest in currency handling solutions to transform time-consuming manual processes into more efficient tasks; whether it’s batch sorting and counting in the cage area, in the bank or in the soft-count room.

A push from consumers to accept electronic payments, or at least the ability to gamble with paperless forms of payment, could launch casino marketing into the next era. Because if casino-goers are swiping each time they sit down at a machine or table, purchase food and drink, or check in to their hotel room, it’s more guest data for marketers to track. And when there’s more data to track, guests will get more personalized offers and casinos can base their offers off true player value.

Most executives interviewed for this story, however, don’t expect cashless casinos to happen anytime soon.

“Handling large quantities of cash will remain a fact of life for casino operations for a long time to come,” said Bob Gibson, vice president at Cummins Allison, a supplier of money counting systems. “In fact, recent figures from The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve indicate that there is no shortage of cash in circulation in the United States. There is more cash in circulation than ever, so the prospect of a cashless society is far off into the future.”

Quote: Evenbob

We'll never get rid of currency, the US is too large. Plus, our $100 bills run the world.

In Korea the ~$50 banknote is 80% of the total value of banknotes and coins.
In the USA the $100 is 77% of the total value of banknotes and coins.

Most currency reformers want to eliminate the larger value banknotes since it is believed that it is an aid in illegal activities. Korea has simply decided to aim for the small bits that slow down commerce and cost the government huge amounts of money.

Even Sweden has issued an entirely new series of coins.

As someone that works in the casino business a cashless casino would be a dream. Cash handling is very expensive. Although I don't see it going away anytime soon, I can foresee a future where cash is only used at the casino cage. A patron will go to the cage and deposit money on their account which can than be withdrawn electronically at the tables or slot machines for chips and credits. The patron would then go to the cage to withdraw their cash when they are finished gambling. Many cruise ships are already trying to get to this place as the casino is the only place on the ship where cash is used.

By pushing the cashless society we make it much more difficult for our poorer/marginalized population. It is almost impossible now to open a bank account (at least in Canada) without several pieces of government ID and a permanent address. All the ID and address must agree. Even people that are doing day labour or short term jobs can have trouble meeting the requirements.

Without a bank account they aren't going to have a credit card, bank card or phone app.

As a side note we have had the 'touch and go' on all our bank cards for several years in Canada. You have a choice of having it activated on the account or not. I never activate it as the RFID can be read from a distance so your card number can be stolen by someone walking by you with the appropriate equipment in his briefcase. They sell special 'blocking' envelopes to keep your cards in to protect them.

Quote: DRich

As someone that works in the casino business a cashless casino would be a dream. Cash handling is very expensive. Although I don't see it going away anytime soon, I can foresee a future where cash is only used at the casino cage. A patron will go to the cage and deposit money on their account which can than be withdrawn electronically at the tables or slot machines for chips and credits. The patron would then go to the cage to withdraw their cash when they are finished gambling. Many cruise ships are already trying to get to this place as the casino is the only place on the ship where cash is used.

Don't they already have this option? At least at tables you can draw from the cage, no?

I think this would cut the drop as people are not going to want to stand in another line to either buy in the first time or re-buy. More would stick to a budget.

Even supermarkets where verything is via plastic have cash-only lottery lines and cash accepting lottery machines.

I still think the debit cards are faster thn the clerks counting change.

Quote: kenarman

Without a bank account they aren't going to have a credit card, bank card or phone app.
.

I haven't had a bank account in 10
years and I have a wallet full of
CC's, 2 debit cards, and a smart
phone. Why do you think you need
a bank account for any of that.

Quote: Evenbob

I haven't had a bank account in 10
years and I have a wallet full of
CC's, 2 debit cards, and a smart
phone. Why do you think you need
a bank account for any of that.

Because you do where I live. If you are young or marginalized it is tough to get a bank account. You don't have a problem because you are well established in all the data bases and credit reporting agencies.

Don't what to call you out EB but how can you have debit cards without a bank account? Maybe your definition of a debit card is different than mine. Enlighten me.

Quote: kenarman

... how can you have debit cards without a bank account? Maybe your definition of a debit card is different than mine. Enlighten me.

PayPal has debit cards with MasterCard logo for free. A paypal account can be gotten online for free, and there is no credit check for a debit card (since there is no credit). PayPal does charge $3 at Walmart and $4 at drug stores to deposit cash onto the account, but many banks are charging teller fees as well.However, you can have automatic deposits made into PayPal just like you can to a bank.
https://www.mybanktracker.com/news/bank-teller-fees-how-much-it-costs-talk-to-live-person

In the eyes of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and state regulators, PayPal is not a bank. The standard deposit insurance coverage limit is $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category. Presumably there is no such insurance on PayPal accounts.
https://www.thestreet.com/investing/stocks/paypal-has-no-aspirations-to-be-a-bank-but-focused-on-financial-inclusion-14549947

PayPal does meet state regulatory acts (most often called "money transmitter acts").
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/licenses

Quote: kenarman

Don't what to call you out EB but how can you have debit cards without a bank account? .

I have 3 debit cards. One from the gov't for
SS, one from Bluebird, which lets me
deposit cash at Walmart, and a Paypal
debit card.

Bluebird is used by millions to hide cash
from spouses. It's not tied to any credit
agency and is impossible to locate
unless you tell somebody you have it.
If you have a mistress and are trying
to hide the expenses, BB is the way
to go.