London Banter - View Single Post - Can't update Oyster card with cash any more

Roland Perry · August 11th 20, 01:36 PM posted to uk.railway,uk.transport.london

In message , at 10:03:44 on
Tue, 11 Aug 2020, Scott remarked:
On Mon, 10 Aug 2020 08:58:30 +0000 (UTC), wrote:

On Mon, 10 Aug 2020 09:04:09 +0100
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 07:40:56 on Mon, 10 Aug
2020, remarked:
I took the tube for the first time in months yesterday and it seems you
can no longer update your oyster card with cash.

Is that a subset of the TVMs perhaps not accepting cash for *any*
transaction?

No idea.

I asked one of the staff about this apparently "temporary" measure and
he said he doubts the facility will ever come back and I tend to
believe him. So thats another avenue of anonymity out the window.

Get yourself a pre-pay credit card, for example from a bureau
-de-change. That'll break the chain of traceability unless you are a
suspected terrorist on the run.

I'm not fussed enough, but thats not the point. Why is the cash option being
dropped? Any covid excuses are BS since the staff never need to physically
touch it, they just empty the bucket into something Securicor (or whoever)
take away.

A trader I knew said that once handling costs and pay-in charges are
taken into account, cash is more expensive to process than a debit
card.

It depends a lot on what sector the business is in. For example,
traditionally the card companies gave petrol stations very low
commission rates, because it accustomed the public to using cards.

If you are in the pub trade and need to pay your wholesale grocer in
cash when they deliver every morning (because your trade-credit rating
is pants), it might well make sense not to discourage cash.
--
Roland Perry