Things that make you angry: "No plastic money :)"

seriously, shops/restaurants that do that: What are you expecting, payment in precious stones? Self-righteous leftie luddites who now sacralize paper money, urgh...

Justifiable if the card payment system costs a lot to set up?

cash too good for you spacemen, huh

Dude all my payments are contactless.

Yeah, merchant fees for credit cards electronic payment systems can be a rather large cost for small businesses. (Up to 3% per transaction in some cases.) Easier and cheaper for them to deal strictly in cash/checks if they're on thin margins.

*credit cards and electronic payment systems

Justifiable if the card payment system costs a lot to set up?

Sure but then just be upfront about it - no need for that, err, rockist approach to what at the end of the day is "just" cash.

Expecting them to justify their reasoning in advance to customers seems a little much, imo.

OK then just say - sorry we don't take VISA and leave it at that - often this whole no plastic money spiel is accompanied by a little speech from the owner/waiter explaining how "here in this place we're dealing with authenticity, man"

OK, that's different, I thought it was just a sign that was a problem.

yeah sorry i'm going off on a rant here and projecting but even when it's just a sign, I'm always interepreting this "no plastic money" thingy as some kind of misguided, self-righteous passive-agressiveness. OK, I'll stop now, sorry

Nah, carry on, I think I woke up on the tire-slashing side of bed this morning.

It's probably just a front for money laundering; of course they don't want your plastic money, it screws up the operation!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_banknote

http://i.imgur.com/miOCP9D.jpg

There's something about the phrase "no plastic money" (as opposed to "sorry, no cards") that makes me think of a condescending hippie from The Simpsons: "Look at you, Mr plastic man with your plastic money. Are you on your way home from your plastic job to see your plastic wife and plastic kids?" (First draft of Thom Yorke's lyrics to Fake Plastic Trees btw.)

OTMFM!

Indeed, it's a bit Mothers of Invention ca. 1968.... but then I speak as one who has never used a credit/ debit card in a shop/restaurant ever!

Jimi Hendrix?
"White-collar conservatives flashing down the street / Pointing their plastic finger at me"

Or Falco's 'Rock Me Amadeus'?
"No plastic money anymore / The banks against him / From which his debts came"

It's also a great way to lower your taxable revenue a bit.

ah, merchant fees for credit cards electronic payment systems can be a rather large cost for small businesses. (Up to 3% per transaction in some cases.) Easier and cheaper for them to deal strictly in cash/checks if they're on thin margins.

Haha much higher than that actually, once you add in all the incidental fees. I've worked the system as much as possible and after all of it I got our effective rate down to 2.2% eventually. Often if you don't do the math and beat up your provider, most people end up closer to 5%.

http://www.expatpaul.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/ch131210.gif

This upsets me because whenever I use an 'outside' ATM that charges fees, I end up getting charged by the ATM and by my bank, so an extra $2.50 quickly turns into an extra $5.

Credit cards aren't locally sourced money is the problem. They should only accept bank notes from local banks.

often this whole no plastic money spiel is accompanied by a little speech from the owner/waiter explaining how "here in this place we're dealing with authenticity, man"

for real? i've never heard of this but it's super common in my neighborhood for restaurants and bars to be cash-only, and it's just for cost reasons.

I, too, prefer transactions in authentic money.

http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2010/12/09/yap-3de5582da4f8b2e30812beb5aee6e672d3edde00-s6-c30.jpg

cashier: "Have you got anything smaller?"

it's just for cost reasons.

^this

they could be like dealing exotic banned animals on the side, too, dont want a paper trail