Now to the next question, do any of you use your phone as a contactless payment device. (Apple Pay or G-pay)

I've used my phone with "Walmart Pay" once or twice. But it's just easier to use my debit card.

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~Sue~

The other problem with plastic payments - any sort of card, chip, stripe, or contactless - is that the whole processing chain has to be working at the critical moment. In the UK recently, there have been outages of internet connectivity, platform backbone (Visa etc.), and individual banks. Unless you can guarantee that none of these will strike, or that you can survive any of them until service is restored, ensure that you can meet your needs in a plowed field in the middle of nowhere with nothing more sophisticated than a biro. That means cash or cheques (checks).

A biro is a pen, for those of you who don't speak British English. ;-)

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~Sue~

A biro is a pen, for those of you who don't speak British English. ;-)

Named after László Bíró, who was Hungarian. Now known as a ballpoint, or - most ubiquitously - a Bic.

Oh yeah. A Bic Banana. Which reminds me. I have not written more than maybe a dozen checks in the last 21 years. Still on my first book out of the first box of checks.

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I see a huge problem with this.
It means that everone should have a card connected to a bank.
Now all people are not trusted to have a bank account.
Then we people who are trusted have to remember a PIN code.
Opa. I entered 3 times a wrong code.
Then you have to wait for at least one week to get a new bank card.
Is it possible to get one bankcard extra in those cases?

Pin lockout doesn't necessarily mean a new card. I got a lock removed in about 10 minutes last week. But it needed walk-in access to a bank branch (during working hours), waiting in line, and already being known as a 3rd. party entitled to speak on behalf of the account holder.

Pin lockout doesn't necessarily mean a new card. I got a lock removed in about 10 minutes last week. But it needed walk-in access to a bank branch (during working hours), waiting in line, and already being known as a 3rd. party entitled to speak on behalf of the account holder.

NOT TRUE! It depends what bank you have!
Pin lockout necessarily mean a new card!!!!!!!!!!
This happened to me only a few month ago!
Luckily I had some CASH in my pocket so I was surviving the WEEK to get some food at least...

Agreed, it depends on the bank, and possibly on common practice in the country.

Just letting other readers know that it can be solved in some banks, in some countries, under the right circumstances.

Something else very important to note is I pay my credit cards off in full every month, and do not incur any interest fees. There are no membership fees to my credit cards, either.

Using credit cards wisely boosts my scores on credit bureau reports, and this lowers my car and home insurance rates.

But paying your CC balance in full every month doesn't really boost your credit score. They're happier if you maintain a balance and pay more than the minimum due every month. At least, that's how I understand it.

And what CC gives you 40 cents per gallon off the price of gas?!!!!!!! :-O

Paying my credit card balance off in full every month does indeed give me a better score with the bureaus(TransUnion, Equifax, Experian). I follow my credit very closely through a free monitoring service, called Credit Karma. I have watched my score go down a few points just because I spent more on a CC one month than the last month, even though I always pay it in full, on time. Your score goes down the more you utilize your available credit, probably because you are seen as just a little riskier to the credit reporting bureaus. The credit card companies themselves of course love you to spend more of your credit because they in turn get more transaction fees from the merchants you use.

The CC I use which gives me quarterly bonus money, plus the discount on gasoline is the Kroger Mastercard(Kroger is a grocery store chain).

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Paywave (contactless) for almost everything (most providers no longer allow using the stripe & signature for payment, you have to use the PIN). But I always carry a couple of hundred dollars in cash, just in case.
For amounts over $99 a PIN is required for contactless payments. With my Debit card, there are no extra fees for using the PIN on contactless transactions, however using the top or bottom slot or side slot swiping and using the PIN incurs an extra transaction charge. These extra fees depend on the card provider & the provider of the retail scanning equipment.
There is a limit on the amount of contactless transactions you can have in a 24 hour period (can't remember what that limit is, pretty sure it is set by the bank your card is linked to). And there are limits set for the maximum amount you can have on a single Contactless payment, however these are set by the bank providing the merchant's card reader (as I found when I made a $4,000 contactless payment using the PIN number, and was then unable to make any further contactless payments that day).

Recently laws were brought in to limit the surcharge/ addon fees retailers can charge for various cards. Some cards have higher than other transaction charges for the retailer. The retailer can now charge up to the cost of the transaction, but no more. Nor can they charge a handling fee on credit card transactions, if there is no such fee on cash transactions. Or they can just incorporate the transactions costs in to the pricing for their products (as they do for freight, power water, rent, wages etc).
Basically they are allowed to cover their costs, they are not allowed to use surcharges or addon fess in order to profit further- that's what their mark-up on their goods is for.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Just letting other readers know that it can be solved in some banks, in some countries, under the right circumstances.

That will not be solved in some banks, in soon all countries, and under all circumstances .
Think again.
Heck. Here we are already treated like criminals using cash.
In a bank they now even ask where you get money from!
I don't want to be treated as a criminal.
Do you?

Something else very important to note is I pay my credit cards off in full every month, and do not incur any interest fees. There are no membership fees to my credit cards, either.

Using credit cards wisely boosts my scores on credit bureau reports, and this lowers my car and home insurance rates.

But paying your CC balance in full every month doesn't really boost your credit score. They're happier if you maintain a balance and pay more than the minimum due every month. At least, that's how I understand it.

And what CC gives you 40 cents per gallon off the price of gas?!!!!!!! :-O

Paying my credit card balance off in full every month does indeed give me a better score with the bureaus(TransUnion, Equifax, Experian). I follow my credit very closely through a free monitoring service, called Credit Karma. I have watched my score go down a few points just because I spent more on a CC one month than the last month, even though I always pay it in full, on time. Your score goes down the more you utilize your available credit, probably because you are seen as just a little riskier to the credit reporting bureaus. The credit card companies themselves of course love you to spend more of your credit because they in turn get more transaction fees from the merchants you use.

The CC I use which gives me quarterly bonus money, plus the discount on gasoline is the Kroger Mastercard(Kroger is a grocery store chain).

2) The discount you get on Kroger, does business in So Cal as Ralphs, is a loyalty discount, not a CC discount. I get the same without a CC card, just a loyalty card. (Useless to me as it can only be redeemed at very high price gas stations.)
2A) Costo Visa, through Citi, gives 4% on gas, cap $7500 in purchases. (If you buy gas at Costco it is usually the least expensive around as a bonus before discount.)

1) Credit score is a very complex thing. Having a balance on a revolving account neither helps or hurts you score. What matters is how much of your total credit is used up. So say you have 3 cards each with a $1K max and you have $250 bucks on each card. They go $250 + 250 + 250 / ($1000 + 1000 + 1000) = 25% If you have more spent that % goes up and your score falls. If you can and want to mess with them, pay off you account in full one day before the due date. The CC companies report on the due date the balance to the credit bureau. Now you have $0 spent and 0% used, score goes up.
1A) Having a fixed terms loan can boost your score if you pay on time. Such as a home loan or a car loan where the same amount is due every month. They see that as you are able to pay even when times are tough and that adds points to your score.
1B) Keeping the very first credit you got open is good for your score. It establishes you as a long time person and that boosts your score.
1C) The most important thing is paying on time. No late pay and no short pay is nearly 1/2 your score.

Heck. Here we are already treated like criminals using cash.
In a bank they now even ask where you get money from!

To deposit cash they now require ID. Money laundering regulation. Coming to a US bank near you very soon if your bank isn't already demanding it.

2) The discount you get on Kroger, does business in So Cal as Ralphs, is a loyalty discount, not a CC discount.

Ah yes, I agree Gary. You're right.

Credit score is a very complex thing.

And yes, CC bureaus use a very complicated formula for scoring.

Having a balance on a revolving account neither helps or hurts you score. What matters is how much of your total credit is used up.

The CC companies report on the due date the balance to the credit bureau.

I'm sure that's true, but the bureaus get the balance numbers more than once a month. My scores may fluctuate a couple points in just a few days time, based on how much credit I'm utilizing. I watch the scores and have seen evidence of it.

The more credit you're utilizing, even if you pay in full like I do every month, will ding your score down a little. Likewise, a lot of available credit is not great, either. ~That's seen as a risk you could default on. Length of excellent account history(paying at least the minimum punctually, never late) is of course a prime factor.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

When I worked for a bank, the common complaint amongst the customers was we were taking advantage of them with fees for overdrawn checking accounts, but I never understood or sympathized with that because how is it that the bank is at fault for your errors?

I think having some cash on hand is smart, but it's even smarter to manage your finances right and have good credit.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

I think having some cash on hand is smart, but it's even smarter to manage your finances right and have good credit.

Yes it is sensible to carry some cash obviously. As to managing my finances I have found that a lot easier since I bank online.

It is interesting to see how long some card payments I make take to reach my account. I log in several times a week to check.

Also I no longer get printed statements. I download my transactions every month or so.

So another question which leads on from this do you bank "in branch" or online?

Here in the UK many banks in smaller towns and villages have closed. For instance in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight there is no bank at all.

The nearest one is in Freshwater 2.5 miles away, that was real problem for my dad.

Even here in south Croydon there is only one bank in reasonable walking distance and it isn't mine. The other 3 closed, one is now a betting shop, ironic!!

do you bank "in branch" or online?

I like a branch bank relationship, and I go in there when I want certain things like crisp one dollar bills, or to get into my safe deposit box.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Credit transfers i do online but i like to go in one of 2 available offices in my area every once in a while.
My clerk is calling me every few month as well.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

BP fuel stations can't take card payments

Seems timely. Neither could the BBQ stall at my village Gala this afternoon - though they didn't even try.

What?
Anyway.

It said "a handful" of stations had closed until the problem was resolved.
BP said it did not know what had caused the issue, but said it was "working to rectify this as a matter of urgency"

Well I guess that someone in their IT departement has lost his/her mind!