And you clearly want to carry 3000+ EUR in your pocket than paying by card? Europe is safe, but I will definitely not walk around with that much cash on my person.

> And you clearly want to carry 3000+ EUR in your pocket than paying by card? Europe is safe, but I will definitely not walk around with that much cash on my person.

I'd also rather pay the Macbook by card due to practicality, but I don't understand your second sentence. Why would you walk around with a Macbook worth 3k but not with 3k in cash? Nobody knows that you have 3k in cash with you, whereas everybody can see you walking out of the Apple Store with the Macbook.

You're arguing that it should be illegal for him just because you don't personally want to do it? We wouldn't be allowed to do very many things if "I don't personally want to do that today" was a good reason to outlaw something.

Well yeah, why not? I’ve been mugged in the day exactly zero times (and don’t carry cash in night clubs, where I did get mugged once). It’s not exactly conspicuous, there is no way to know what’s in your bag or wallet.

I don’t do it often; last time was when I moved to the UK without a British bank account and did not want to pay any transfer fees, which are quite expensive for larger sums (I had to carry enough to live one month and pay a first month’s rent before getting my first pay check). Another one was when I had to buy a computer after having reach the 7-days ceiling in my debit card (now you can increase it on the bank’s app; it used to be more complicated).

It's my choice, my money, and I want to keep my freedom to engage in legal business with my property without going through an intermediate party. This is an arbitrary restriction that gives way more power to the government than it provides safety for the individual.

It's not a problem. I regularly pay for four-figure items in cash. Lots of places offer cash discounts at that price point (no CC fees or risk of chargeback). I paid a doctor $5000 in cash once.

The first time, it feels a little odd, but then you realize that nobody at the bank bats an eye at you withdrawing a few grand, and $3k in 100s is about the size of a phone in your pocket.

Since nobody carries cash, nobody thinks that other people are carrying cash, so it doesn't make you a target. And I'm not anymore likely to lose my wallet with $500 in cash in it than I am my $1000 phone.

> Since nobody carries cash, nobody thinks that other people are carrying cash, so it doesn't make you a target.

Thugs will target older people who are more likely to carry cash, they do some stereotyping other of people who are still worth mugging.

Also, if they notice the wallet bulge in your back pocket, you’ve become a target.

Well this works well until it doesn’t. My elderly father doesn’t carry cash, only card, but yet it would look like he has a large wad of cash in his front pocket. It is in fact a legally concealed handgun however.

False positives don’t negate the stereotype.

And anything that doesn’t look like a wallet probably won’t trigger a response. You would be safer to just wad up money and shove it in your pocket than to carry it around in a wallet.

This post is hysterical. Where and why did you pay a doctor 5k (I assume USD/EUR)? Any one from a highly advanced democracy is laughing to themself about paying so much for medical care. I can only assume US or expat in undeveloped country.

Speculating and then attacking where an individual comes from instead of engaging in the actual conversation is an interesting take and seems like you may have the wrong tab open (HN, not Reddit). There is a word for this. It's called Xenophobia.

I've been on this site for a long time, and as far as I can recall this isn't accepted.

Why not also take a police cruiser instead of Uber or a taxi?

"It's for your own safety."

If it's a ride shared by several strangers, everyone can be handcuffed, too, so everyone keeps their hands to themselves for an added safety boost.

Why do you need cash for that?

As in why would anyone want those devices in the first place?

Please accept that people have preferences.

It will make the rest of your life a lot easier.

It will make the everybody’s life a lot easier.

Sorry had to fix that.

So you are saying that in order to purchase these items you must have a bank account?

You wouldn't be able to receive a salary without a bank account.

Perhaps they are a self-employed mobile pharmacist.

This is untrue. At least in the us, the company is required to cut you a check, which can be cashed without an account.

This, in itself is another issue, and should not be the case.

Banks fail, and no one should be forced to need one.

Europe is not America, and they generally provide better services to their poor people. Someone else above pointed out a certain country has onramps into banking explicitly for homeless people.

The people I know going around spending cash for large purchases tend to not be people that are struggling. They just prefer using cash. It doesn't get any simpler than using cash.