Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post

curves2000 · 09-13-2021, 02:06 PM

I know that a lot of people really push for the elimination of cash or have stopped using it altogether but it does have it's purpose and one of the major ones is insurance/back up in a time of crisis.

I fully realize that getting a burger or a beer at the Dome isn't some massive emergency but when emergencies do in fact come, having some cash on you can be critical for basic things.

Having been in retail virtually my entire life and in banking for many years, I can assure you just how personal and vulnerable finances and a lack of cash can be. Retailers don't care about what's happened to your bank or credit card, banks try to minimize your and their financial losses in times of fraud.

If you have $20 or $50 in cash for an emergency or if you travel internationally, $100 USD, it can help you get out of a lot of jams.

Time and time again both at the store and at the bank I would hear these stories from clients about how "your machine isn't working" or ""the bank screwed up by blocking my account" or "I was on a trip, I forgot/lost my card and than spent how long on the phone trying to get a replacement sent to Wherever"

I will never forget a time at my family's store during the start of the pandemic when things were looking really scary on the financial side, markets, shutdowns etc. Our debit machine was down, than people trying to use the ATM (different network) was down, people coming in saying their bank ATM wasn't working and others were coming from a taxi who's machine wasn't working.

People who were relying on plastic or phones for payment were scared. They had no method of getting something basic to eat or groceries. This might have been an isolated incident in the area as it wasn't just our store and may have only lasted a short while. Bottom line is that the people who had $10 or $20 were flying by the line getting milk and bread for survival meanwhile others were left holding useless plastic in some ways.

09-13-2021, 02:06 PM	#37
curves2000 First Line Centre Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Calgary, Canada Exp:	I know that a lot of people really push for the elimination of cash or have stopped using it altogether but it does have it's purpose and one of the major ones is insurance/back up in a time of crisis. I fully realize that getting a burger or a beer at the Dome isn't some massive emergency but when emergencies do in fact come, having some cash on you can be critical for basic things. Having been in retail virtually my entire life and in banking for many years, I can assure you just how personal and vulnerable finances and a lack of cash can be. Retailers don't care about what's happened to your bank or credit card, banks try to minimize your and their financial losses in times of fraud. If you have $20 or $50 in cash for an emergency or if you travel internationally, $100 USD, it can help you get out of a lot of jams. Time and time again both at the store and at the bank I would hear these stories from clients about how "your machine isn't working" or ""the bank screwed up by blocking my account" or "I was on a trip, I forgot/lost my card and than spent how long on the phone trying to get a replacement sent to Wherever" I will never forget a time at my family's store during the start of the pandemic when things were looking really scary on the financial side, markets, shutdowns etc. Our debit machine was down, than people trying to use the ATM (different network) was down, people coming in saying their bank ATM wasn't working and others were coming from a taxi who's machine wasn't working. People who were relying on plastic or phones for payment were scared. They had no method of getting something basic to eat or groceries. This might have been an isolated incident in the area as it wasn't just our store and may have only lasted a short while. Bottom line is that the people who had $10 or $20 were flying by the line getting milk and bread for survival meanwhile others were left holding useless plastic in some ways.