Rays going cashless.

royals119

Registered User
Jun 12, 2006
1,457
1,139
West Lawn, PA
I don't get this one. There are banking costs that go along with debit/credit card for each transaction that the seller pays. Maybe they are trying to get rid of the people who have to count the cash at the end of the night.

I own a small business, and I keep getting emails all the time from my credit card processor, reminding me that it is cheaper to process a credit transaction than a cash transaction. For a large business with multiple registers like a baseball field, I'm sure that is true. All the counting and recounting, reconciling, getting the cash to the bank (courier, armored car), theft, setting up registers for each event, cost of all the start up cash just sitting around at the building vs being in your bank account, etc. It all adds up to more than the 3-5% the banks are taking on a credit/debit transaction. Not to mention the cleanliness issue. If the cashier is handling cash and handling food that isn't really very sanitary. Some places you see them putting gloves on and off as they switch back and forth, but it really slows things down.
 

Kimi

Registered User
Jun 24, 2004
9,890
636
Newcastle upon Tyne
if every similar business was losing money on cash v. cards due to the logistical issues [of which I don't agree with your point-it's not an unbearable burden causing them to lose money, it's an efficient collection procedure that you've overblown], we'd see this trend across many different kinds of large businesses.
They're not losing money with cash, they are just taking less profit. A significant difference.


Businesses still take cash because people still want to spend cash. No business wants to deal with the logistics of it (extra work for the same end profit), but they deal with it because that's the way they get given money. They'll keep taking cash until people stop wanting to give them it.

And if this cashless move backfires because people refuse to use cards, then the team just starts taking cash again. Like you said, handling cash is already a solved problem.
 

Wolf357

Registered User
Jul 16, 2011
1,194
484
Personally I use cash like 5%... almost all Electronic payment...EXCEPT when I go to the USA..only because our debit cards don’t work at US retailers (just ATMs) and I always get US cash in advance .
Probably not that many Canadians going to TB Rays games but still something that should be considered.
Same thing up here for US fans don’t think your debit machines work up here at retailers?
 

JerseyMike34

Registered User
Dec 29, 2017
5,026
2,648
Sounds like a risk they are willing to tolerate.

A few Casheless benefits:
1. People tend to spend more when casheless
2. Shorter transaction times
3. More customer data to mine
4. Reduce fraud - employees stealing.

I don't have numbers, but #2 seems more of a myth to me. There are times where it's faster, there are times when it's painfully slower.
 

TheTotalPackage

Registered User
Sep 14, 2006
7,299
5,448
I don't have numbers, but #2 seems more of a myth to me. There are times where it's faster, there are times when it's painfully slower.

I agree. I find that cash only businesses (there are still a few out there) are quite easily the quickest in terms of transaction times.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Llama19

Tawnos

A guy with a bass
Sep 10, 2004
28,816
10,384
Charlotte, NC
I don't have numbers, but #2 seems more of a myth to me. There are times where it's faster, there are times when it's painfully slower.

Three things on that. First, I think that’s partially more of a perception thing. In a cash transaction, someone is always doing something. In a card transaction, there’s always that moment where both are just waiting. Second, it depends on the setup. If all the system is looking for is a signature or PIN, that’s faster than one that asks for confirmation of the total and whether or not you want cash back. Third, it depends on the processor. The Square terminal we use at my job is pretty damn near instantaneous. Granted it’s one terminal, so I’d imagine it wouldn’t be that fast with dozens of terminals working across the same network.
 
Last edited:

LeHab

Registered User
Aug 31, 2005
15,956
6,259
I don't have numbers, but #2 seems more of a myth to me. There are times where it's faster, there are times when it's painfully slower.

Yeah YMMV as some cashless methods are faster than others. Tap payments be it phone or physical CC are the fastest of all for retail. On the other hand when pin or signature is required that can take some extra time. Trend is to make cashless as seamless as possible.

There is not much you can do to optimize efficiency of cash. In Canada we have taken the penny out of circulation as they are expensive to make and slowdown transactions.
 

LadyStanley

Registered User
Sep 22, 2004
105,727
18,856
Sin City
Was watching recent episode of Nightly Business Report. They mentioned suit against prohibition (in location/city I don't recall) companies from excluding cash payments which was settled in favor of continued cash payments.

I can imagine something similar would happen to this situation.
 

BKIslandersFan

F*** off
Sep 29, 2017
11,443
5,057
Brooklyn
Was watching recent episode of Nightly Business Report. They mentioned suit against prohibition (in location/city I don't recall) companies from excluding cash payments which was settled in favor of continued cash payments.

I can imagine something similar would happen to this situation.
What is the basis for the law suit? Surely the payment option is up to individual businesses?
 

NCRanger

Bettman's Enemy
Feb 4, 2007
5,426
2,103
Charlotte, NC
What is the basis for the law suit? Surely the payment option is up to individual businesses?

What it says on all denominations of US Currency: This note is legal tender for all debts public and private.

It would seem to me if you are participating in legal commerce in the United States, you are pretty much obligated to accept legal currency as payment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DaveG and mmvvpp

LadyStanley

Registered User
Sep 22, 2004
105,727
18,856
Sin City
One issue was excluding the "unbanked", essentially discriminating against poor.

Critics say cashless retailers penalize the poor

Approximately 8.4 million U.S. households were unbanked -- meaning they didn't have checking or savings accounts -- in 2017, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Another 24.2 million U.S. households were underbanked the same year, meaning they had a checking or savings account but also used a product or service from an alternative financial services provider.

Some jurisdictions, including the state of Massachusetts, prohibit the exclusion of cash payments.

More than 30 million households? That's a pretty significant #.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mmvvpp and NCRanger

LadyStanley

Registered User
Sep 22, 2004
105,727
18,856
Sin City
Ok but how can a poor person attend a MLB game?

Politically incorrect to call someone poor. :sarcasm:

Are they living above or below the poverty line? Have they declared bankruptcy in the past? Have they had huge medical bills they've struggled to pay?

Perhaps they won a ticket? Or maybe were given a ticket (by employer)?
 

BKIslandersFan

F*** off
Sep 29, 2017
11,443
5,057
Brooklyn
Politically incorrect to call someone poor. :sarcasm:

Are they living above or below the poverty line? Have they declared bankruptcy in the past? Have they had huge medical bills they've struggled to pay?

Perhaps they won a ticket? Or maybe were given a ticket (by employer)?
I suppose latter is possible.

But in this case, Rays are not really not accepting cash. They do offer to convert cash to card you can use.
 

Burke the Legend

Registered User
Feb 22, 2012
8,317
2,850
Did nobody read the article? If you use cash, you have to buy a prepaid card that is $10 or $20. So you buy a card, spend $17 and you leave the ballpark with $3 on your card. Extra profit for Tampa. What a scam.

Yeah, just another scam & inconvenience foisted on their few remaining fans. Kind of an Ottawa style move by already struggling franchise. I'm not complaining because I want them to move to Montreal, but I'm not going to dance about it because it always makes me sad to see because I was on the receiving end of this too as an Expos fan, it's not fun a place to be.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mmvvpp and NCRanger

Kimi

Registered User
Jun 24, 2004
9,890
636
Newcastle upon Tyne
What it says on all denominations of US Currency: This note is legal tender for all debts public and private.

It would seem to me if you are participating in legal commerce in the United States, you are pretty much obligated to accept legal currency as payment.
Incorrect. Legal tender only counts when you are settling an already incurred debt (or paying a fine).

When you are paying for something upfront, the business is allowed to decide which payment methods they accept. There isn't a law that states they must accept legal tender, they are free to refuse it if they want.
 

LadyStanley

Registered User
Sep 22, 2004
105,727
18,856
Sin City
Incorrect. Legal tender only counts when you are settling an already incurred debt (or paying a fine).

When you are paying for something upfront, the business is allowed to decide which payment methods they accept. There isn't a law that states they must accept legal tender, they are free to refuse it if they want.

Some jurisdictions (including commonwealth of Massachusetts) require businesses to accept cash.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NCRanger

Kimi

Registered User
Jun 24, 2004
9,890
636
Newcastle upon Tyne
Some jurisdictions (including commonwealth of Massachusetts) require businesses to accept cash.
Yeah, I meant US wide law, not local ones.

But in this case, only retail establishments are required to accept cash and it is apparently not widely enforced. So it's not a blanket requirement for every business.
 

lomiller1

Registered User
Jan 13, 2015
6,409
2,966
Some jurisdictions, including the state of Massachusetts, prohibit the exclusion of cash payments.

More than 30 million households? That's a pretty significant #.

Which makes sense when you remember that while cash is actually money, bank deposits are only promises to pay money. Even if you use them like money bank balances are really just IOU's. There are lots of potential legal consequences to this.

Even if this were not the case, there is another good reason to ban such policies. It's well established that people manage their money better when they use cash. "Cashless" can therefor be seen as subtile way to get people to spend more money and/or make worse financial decisions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DaveG and NCRanger

lomiller1

Registered User
Jan 13, 2015
6,409
2,966
Incorrect. Legal tender only counts when you are settling an already incurred debt (or paying a fine).

When you are paying for something upfront, the business is allowed to decide which payment methods they accept. There isn't a law that states they must accept legal tender, they are free to refuse it if they want.
It skirts with restrictions on banks creating their own currencies. It's also somewhat nonsensical that you would accept a promise to pay money (which is what an electronic "payment" really is" but never accept the money itself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NCRanger

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->