I agree with what you’re saying but just wanted to interject with a weird bit of Canadianism. I’ve never found a good way to describe this to non Canadians so if this doesn’t make sense, it’s me.

(This is very pedantic.)

When I pay with a card, I actually have a couple of options. We use the terms ‘debit’ and ‘credit’. I can pull out a credit card and pay for something with someone else’s money. Or pull out a debit card and pay with my own. Debit comes directly out of my bank account and they’re physically different cards, with different chips, PIN numbers etc.

The experiences are identical for me, but dramatically different for poor merchants. The cards are almost identical, but if I use my credit card the merchant gets toasted. If I use my debit card, they’re only lightly browned.

So, long story short but you’re right. It’s the same. I don’t notice because merchants have to pass on the cost.

Thanks friend - this was interesting.

This analysis ignores the cost to the merchant of handling cash.

I don't know how high it is. I've seen various numbers thrown around but it's hard to tell what's accurate and what's not. What is clear, however, is that the cost is non-zero.

I can give you a bit of data that is roughly thirty years old. When I was a youngster, I had a job at Subway. I was freakishly nerdy and good at math, so I ended up doing cash most of my shifts. If it went well, it took me twenty minutes. Most of my coworkers spent double that time.

If we split the difference (30 minutes) and factor in my big hourly wage ($7 an hour), it’s at around $3.50 a business day per location. That’s not huge money, but still works out to close to $1,300 a year for one location. Multiple that by a few million and it’s a serious cost.

Great comment.

Thanks for the insight! I imagine there must be other costs, such as secure storage and transportation of cash? Also a bank might impose handling fees? (The latter in particular is pure guesswork on my part.)