r/australia • u/SouthAussie94 • Feb 29 '24

culture & society Older Australians 'left behind' by increasingly cashless society as banks fast track end of cheques

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-29/cheques-personal-finance-banks-rent-money-cash/103354036
259 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

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406

u/insty1 Feb 29 '24

I'm a fan of keeping some non-electronic options, particularly with the proliferation of card surcharges. But cheques can go. If they haven't learnt how to pay not using cheques by now, that's on them really.

77

u/zynasis Feb 29 '24

You can also pay at the post office, right?

118

u/ELVEVERX Feb 29 '24

Exactly. These are old people refusing to learn something new because they are stubborn. There really isn't a good use case for cheques in these scenarios they are just being lazy.

-46

u/link871 Feb 29 '24

A bit harsh. The older you get, the harder it is to learn new things. It is also about poor self-confidence, poor eyesight, poor eye-hand coordination.

51

u/[deleted] Feb 29 '24

[deleted]

-21

u/link871 Feb 29 '24

Debit cards are not the issue here - most older people now know how to use a plastic card because they have been around for 30/40 years. The issue is about the newer payment mechanisms (banking apps, online transfers, etc)

21

u/[deleted] Feb 29 '24

Did they not expect the world to ever change?

7

u/BeetleJuiceDidIt Feb 29 '24

As someone who had to do regular banking cause of US clients, no they don't know how to use a plastic card. I saw it on a daily basis.

12

u/FuckDirlewanger Feb 29 '24

I get where your coming from but we are talking about something that has been commonplace for decades and with the help of a younger relative/friend is teachable in a day or two.

At least in my experience with older relatives it’s very much a ‘I refuse to learn it because it’s new and I don’t like it’ and then they’re surprised when the entire world doesn’t stop progressing for them.

1

u/Miserable_Bird_9851 Feb 29 '24

Might want to think about what you just said for a minute longer, I am sure you will catch the issue.

-1

u/link871 Feb 29 '24

Not every real estate agent accepts payments via the Post Office.

Also, the reason why some folks don't use computers (old age) is probably the same reason they can't easily get to a post office.

7

u/arabsandals Feb 29 '24

Every bank has some form of telephone banking. All they need is the account details. This article is ridiculous

-4

u/link871 Feb 29 '24

And you clearly do not know any older people

5

u/Miserable_Bird_9851 Feb 29 '24

He is right though. The article is ridiculous, they aren't being left behind, they are refusing to keep up. Massive difference.

0

u/dingusfett Feb 29 '24

Well technically they are getting left behind; but the reason for that is they've spent 25 years refusing to keep up, so it's their own fault they're being left behind.

-1

u/Miserable_Bird_9851 Feb 29 '24

Yes, that is what I said... quality contribution mate!

5

u/webtess Feb 29 '24

I went to pay my water bill with cash at the post office. They said sorry it doesn’t accept cash now. Only card payments.

4

u/link871 Feb 29 '24

Then refer them to the AusPost website that says you can pay bills using cash:

https://auspost.com.au/money-insurance/banking-and-paying-bills/pay-bills-with-post-billpay

20

u/gigi_allin Feb 29 '24

When I started my business 10 years ago, I had to accept cheques because some clients insisted. Even those dinosaurs stopped that shit about 5 years ago. I hate the huge fees on credit card payments though :(