Capital One, no thanks.

You could speed things up considerably if you asked the cashier for a pen.

Please refer to paragraph 2.

Plus you can swipe and do a transaction in a fraction of the time it takes to count out money, have the cashier count it and count out the change. It takes just a few seconds in most cases.

I am impressed also.

Last night I inserted my card while the cashier was ringing up my items. I only had a few and he was done seconds after I had removed my authorized card.

The reader went back to the home screen. He paused said “Please try it again.”

By the time it was approved *again*, it took longer than if I had waited and started when he was done. Not due to a system slow down, but due to the wait time until we both realized that the first approval had “disappeared”.

That would be bad. So far it's never happened at Food Lion.

You might try again in a few years, after they've had time to fix it.

Some people here might recall that some troll complained I was posting spam, and about that time, my usenet provider stopped working. I coudln't fix it and couldn't sign up under a different email address. Maybe the two were related, maybe he lied to them asbout me, and maybe they were going by my IP address that does't easily change.

So i went with whatever I'm using now, and everything was fine except I could read from but could no longer post to a moderated group. I tried over the course of a year and then waited another two, and now it works fine. Maybe someone complained, maybe I should have complained but I thought it would not help, or maybe they just fixed it during normal updates.

Heh. I always said that after I retired, I'd go places at lunchtime and pay in all pennies. 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... Just to see the working folks' heads explode.

That gives me some confirmation that it wasn't just a coincidence.

Mine disappeared shortly after my problem started. Didn't just change his naeme because this was in a smaller group and no troll replaced him.

It makes the line go faster if you start writing the check BEFORE you're told the amount. Note that today's date and the store name won't change in that time. I tried to always do that when I write a check at a store.

You could speed it up even more if you brought a pen (or two, in case one won't write).

Starting in 2020, some stores around here have had signs asking people not to pay in cash if possible, because of a coin shortage.

Also, some people are worried about germs on money.

Same thing has happened to me so I never insert my card unless the cashier has finished ringing everything up. It's quicker to do it once than to do it early, wait to see that it has failed, and then do it again.

Nice :-)

My favorites are the ones who wait until everything has been rung up, then they send their 5-year old to get something from the far end of the store. Even better, let the 5-year old hold their place at the head of the line while the parent goes to get something they forgot. The look of panic in the kid's eyes is priceless. At least the cashier gets a chance to check her/his nails and phone.

Then there are the people who fill out the check register in great detail and maybe balance their checkbook before getting out of the way.

When I moved here nearly four years ago I ordered checks with new address. I've used about 5 so far, all printed on the computer. I've not had the ancient hand written version for years. In the past 12 months, I sent one check. Utility bills? Two clicks and done. Taxes? Car registration? Couple of clicks and done.

Checkbook? Have not had one for decades. Quicken does the math for me, has reminders, many other features.

Publix has an app for the phone. They started it during the pandemic. Ties to a card, at the checkout it takes a photo of the QR code on the screen, charges and gives me an e-receipt. No touching of anything.

There are two local small businesses that prefer cash so I use it. Mostly it is a $10 to $20 purchase so they avoid fees.

If you want to sell your information, having your purchases tracked and scrutinized, that's up to you. I consider it nobody's business where I spend my money or what I spend it on. The privacy, and having no targeted advertising coming my way, is worth it to me. Also no worries about cards not working, and there have been a few times when in a store their card processing was down and paying cash I just sail right through.

I don't need an extra couple hundred a year and privacy is more important that a couple hundred a year.

Another issue I forgot to mention is that with cash you are in control. Why involve a 3rd party in your local transactions that has the power to approve or disapprove your purchase?

I remember being behind some people at checkout who had a shopping cart full of groceries and none of their bank cards would work. This could have been for any of a multitude of reasons. They had to leave the groceries behind. Perhaps you'll say the chances of that happening when paying with a card are very low. They are zero with cash.

I've managed very well using cash since before many of the people here were born and I'm fine with it. Cash is freedom, privacy, and control. Of course anyone who wants to trade all of that away for a couple hundred a year is free to do so.

The same third party that will back you up if you have a problem with the purchase? Some double the warranty. Problem? Cash is gone, credit card can stop payment. You are not always in control.

Yes, 99% of the time they maxed out and have not paid.

They had to leave the groceries behind.

I've been behind people without enough cash too. Last time she was only $2 short so I paid to to get it moving.

Just think of the excitement I give people back at the CC company when they see where I've traveled. Exotic places like New Jersey. I'm heading there Monday and Shell will subsidize my trip by 5 cents a gallon and a $30 credit when I spend $150.

Oh my, now everyone here knows of my secret trip.