Take My Cash, You Discriminatory Corporate Buffoons

Posted in Dinar Recaps Archives 8/2/2019

Take My Cash, You Discriminatory Corporate Buffoons
By Ashwin Rodrigues Jul 31 2019,

Posted in Dinar Recaps Archives 8/2/2019

'We don't take cash' is another way to say 'No broke people allowed.'

Disdain for poor people is often packaged as an innocent design choice. There is, for instance, an entire genre of architecture dedicated to subtly preventing people from sleeping or lying down.

But cashless businesses, which retailers claim improve store operations, and which seem to keep popping up in the bougiest corners of the cities that have not banned them, are an especially offensive and insidious way to keep lower-wage people out of coffee shops and salad spots.

Cash bans turn regular retailers into semi-private spaces, as some consumers, such as those who are “unbanked” (without a bank account) and “underbanked” (those who have a bank account but rely on alternative, often predatory financial products like check cashing) cannot afford the cost of admission.

​An estimated 25 percent of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked.

“Moving to a cashless society essentially prevents lower-wage workers and those without credit from accessing certain products and services,” said Alexandrea Ravenelle, assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, whose work focuses on the sharing economy.

“It creates a two-tiered society of those who can spend freely and those who are essentially discriminated against on the basis of credit access.”

People use cash as a way to budget, and avoid fees for overdrafts or low balances, Ravenelle added. “If they do have access to prepaid debit cards, those cards often come with numerous fees.

Research also shows that people tend to spend more when they're using credit cards—which is especially problematic if someone has a tight budget or limited funds. It's very easy to go over budget when using plastic,” she said. Just look at all the people who refer to Venmo as “not real money.”

Cashlessness is not a new phenomenon. Visa, in an early-2000’s campaign for their Visa Check Card, attempted to smear it as a cumbersome payment instrument. Ads show busy theater-goers and convenience store customers moving and swiping their cards in fast-paced synchrony until one customer produces cash from his wallet, bringing the symphony to a screeching halt.

Visa went even further in 2017, offering $10,000 to businesses willing to go cashless, according to a Bloomberg report.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/kzm4yv/cashless-businesses-discrimination