Years ago you only had one choice, paper. Then grocery stores started to ask paper or plastic. Today most stores just offer plastic bags. Even the big grocery stores primarily use plastic.
Yet today we are again being asked paper or plastic. And plastic wants us to think paper is old fashion. I am no longer talking about bags. I am talking Paper (cash/checks) or Plastic (credit/debit cards).
But wait the manufacturers are adding to the hype. Visa wants you to believe paying with paper money takes longer. The Visa commercial of the busy restaurant or garden shop with all the people swiping their cards in fast motion and then some bumpkin is paying with cash and everyone frowns and the speed stops.
Think about the plastic bags again. They are made from oil, adding to higher gas prices. They are not biodegradable clogging up landfills. Do stores want you to know this? Of course not!
But this is far from reality. Most times when I have used my debit or credit card I have to either sign or enter my pin. I will give them the fact that writing a check does holds up the line. But are we in that much of a hurry that we should not think about money?
Think about money? Hmmm! Maybe this is the idea behind this. Spectrum Merchant Services is a credit card company specializing in Quick Service Restaurants (QSR). The following quotes are on their website:
1. By paying with plastic you are likely to spend more.
“QSR Customers using ATM or Debit Cards spend an average of 75% more than those paying with cash.”
2. People prefer not to deal with cash.
“When the option is given, more people use Debit and ATM cards than Credit cards or cash. (Visa, Nov. 2002)”
3. By making the transaction quicker you have less time to think about how much you are spending.
“Statistics show QSR sales increase 1% for every 6 seconds saved in transaction time. (MasterCard International, 2002)”
4. The less you think about how much you spend the happier you are.
“96% of customers who paid with a card at Quick Service Restaurants were completely satisfied with the speed and convenience of the service. (Visa, Nov. 2002)”
The truth is out! Step 1. Offer plastic as a choice. Step 2. Make people who use paper look bad. Step 3 Make more money off people by rushing them through the transaction.
Sounds like a nice racquet. Get people to not think about their money and come out smelling like a rose.
Then do they want you to think about how much you are spending?
So what will it be Paper or Plastic?
Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com
© 2007 ChangeJarSavings.com
© 2011 ChangeJarSavings.com
Great article, Jim. I am more comfortable using cash in most instances and have not had a real problem as I rarely make online purchases and I live frugally, however, my cash-only lifestyle seems to bother people around me and I am looked at as if I have a third eye. I do not live to fill my life with impermanence of material things and I am happy this way. Everything I need can be purchased with cash (still). I understand the need for everyone else to jump on board with what is a popular form of payment right now and that is their choice. Don’t get me wrong, I have used credit/debit card and the convenience of it is definitely attractive but fees/rates (they DO add up!) are not worth it to me. And I somehow feel like I’m no longer controlling my own money when using plastic. As in my choice of bags in the grocery stores, I say, “Paper please”
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Erika