When using cash is costly

Most people agree that being charged extra for using a credit card is pretty annoying.

But while many businesses are charging fees to customers not using cash, there are now a growing number doing something similar to people who want to pay with cash.

That’s right; people are being charged extra for using cash.

Here’s how it works: You’re dealing with a store, entertainment venue or other business that operates “cashless.” But all you have is cash, or you simply have reason for wanting to use cash to pay for whatever it is you’re buying or receiving.

But since the business doesn’t accept cash, you’re then obligated to put your paper bills into a machine called a “reverse ATM” that loads the money onto a card and spits it out on the spot – for a fee of course.

Yep, it’s like “don’t give us your U.S. currency; we only take plastic.”

Unreal.

I just recently found out that reverse ATMs exist, and I’m totally amazed and confounded by the concept. And although I haven’t yet seen a reverse ATM first hand, they’re apparently becoming rather common in many cities and other locations around the country (although they’re still new enough that there was no reverse ATM Wikipedia page when I checked early this week).

I feel disappointed by the rather sudden emergence of this topic. And no matter how you look at it, it’s obviously a huge step toward a completely cashless society, where sales transactions can only take place through a designated – and entirely digital – system. No longer will cash be king; in fact, cash will not be found anywhere in the castle.

Incredible. And totally opposite of where we’ve been for quite a while now, with the use of cash being encouraged and promoted to the point where going the other route was an invitation to be charged extra.

For the record, it’s now far more common for people to pay for things using cards or mobile devices, but cash is still very popular, accounting for 16% of all payments in 2023, according to officials with the Federal Reserve System. I’d say it’s obvious that the Fed folks think that number is too high, and the wheels are turning on the bus that will inevitably take cash on a permanent vacation.

Anyway, I’m glad that cash hasn’t yet been banished from the kingdom and you can still use it most places without facing a penalty. At the same time, I’m sad that cash’s days are numbered, and I can’t imagine what life without it will look like – although I have a feeling it won’t be pretty to those of us who have spent as much time on Earth as I have.

Man, it seems hard to fathom such a thing as a “reverse ATM” has arrived and using cash can cost extra. But they have, and the departure of cash is on its way.

You know that stash of cash you have tucked away for emergencies? It may not be worth what you think it is, and you might want to load up a card with it and set it aside for a “rainy day.”

That way you won’t be left with a bunch of unwanted greenbacks and be charged a small fortune for using them (if you can at all).

Oh well, I guess this is just another sign of the “new normal,” in which almost nothing is normal.

Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.

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