On the Side| Brad Hicks

Visa, a purveyor of plastic purchasing power, has declared war on cash. Don’t take my word for it, take his.

“We are declaring war on cash,” Andy Gerlt, a spokesman for Visa, said.

The banking giant wants to push more small businesses into updating their digital payment technology, offering up to $10,000 each to 50 U.S.-based small business owners who are committed to going cashless.

Naturally, Visa isn’t thinking of your personal hygiene in terms of removing your options to use that dirty old money. Every debit and credit card swipe and chip clamp result in a surcharge, and Visa would like to pocket that plastic-produced profit.

The concept of not accepting cash creates conflict with some among the masses. The greenbacks people carry have a certain message on them that leads one to believe that any and all transactions ought to be available to paper money: “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.”

I first encountered this situation while on an airplane flight. A particular woman sitting in my area expressed her displeasure when it was announced that if one wanted to purchase something, only plastic would be accepted.

I concur with her response, for other reasons. I’ve had a small amount of cash taken from me by an individual, but it was far less intrusive than the time someone from a place called Whoknowswhere managed to get my debit card number and rack up about $1,500 in purchases in Pennsylvania, New York and Florida, all the while I was in North Texas, not thinking of buying a thing on the internet. Fortunately, my account was restored in short order, and I received a new debit card.

While most people feel assured that if they are hacked they will be made whole again, all of us have to remember that there is a cost whenever these transactions are canceled. We pay higher prices for items and services because industries know there is a chance for loss, and they have to provide more security.

The chamber of commerce in Ennis, Texas, while I was there, had an FBI agent come speak about cybersecurity. It was a great presentation, and he outlined just how people’s lives are hacked due to the use of plastic and web purchases. Be sure to remember that every time you swipe or chip your card, you are involved in an online purchase – it’s a web-based system. This particular FBI agent was pretty blunt – he never buys anything online, he doesn’t have a smart phone that connects to his email or bank accounts, and he carries cash.

My dad was a long-time banker, and 30-some years ago when “bank cards” became more popular, he said the main aim was to reduce the number of checks being handled, and being written on bad accounts. I doubt he had any idea that cash would become the next target, and who could have guessed – pre-internet age – that people would just pay their bills from a computer. But that’s where we’ve gone. Now people use their phones and other methods to pay.

All of which brings me to the point. Why should we be limited to the types of transactions we can use? And for that matter, why should we limit ourselves to any one type of currency? Sure, Visa can probably bribe some restaurants into going plastic-only, but that might only lead to some others marketing themselves as the places where you can pay your preferred way.

For instance, I still have one son who’s mad at me because when he was about 12, I wouldn’t let him buy some bitcoins when they first came out. His investment would have appreciated pretty well. What did I know about a bitcoin?

I know people who have been stashing gold for some time, with the idea that the apocalypse – zombie or otherwise – will lead to the type of chaos in which gold will be even more valuable than it is now. I’m of the opinion that if you are in a post-apocalyptic world and have gold, there’s a better chance you’re also going to catch some lead.

I’ve only really one problem with cash, and that’s being perpetually short of it. Of course, lots of things have been used in lieu of cash. Most of mankind’s existence has involved transactions in items other than cash. People traded livestock, poultry, fish, vegetables, fruit, gemstones, and liquor, to name a few. In times of strife, even within the past century, people traded cigarettes and chocolate for other items.

I don’t own the newspaper, but if I did, I might have an open mind about some other methods of payment beyond plastic, checks and yes, those crinkled old bills. To a certain point, I’d probably go for eggs, fresh dairy, gasoline, or meat. That sounds a lot more palatable. Besides being practical, I’ve never heard of the trade of a side of beef being hacked.

Contact Brad Hicks at publisher@redoakexpress.com.