General Chat

I am another who has embraced technology and wish I was younger so that I could learn more.

Smartphone - yes
Laptop - yes
Washer - yes
Dryer - yes (but used rarely)
Stick vacuum - yes

A couple of kitchen 'gadgets' but not many. Would rather be on computer than cook!

Online banking - yes
Online appointments - yes
Online research - how else?

Facebook - most definitely
Twitter - occasionally (boring)

and so it goes on! :-D :-D :-D

Cx :-)

I’m much like Cynthia but I also have 2 desk top computers and an iPad and, apart from the Genes boards, I prefer not to use social media. I do think, however, that doing most things online should be a matter of choice and I think people are being forced into it and lots of older or non technical people are worried by this.

As an example I have a friend who needed to sort out a money issue. She went into 3 banks and a building society and all but one of the banks said she could do what she wanted but it had to be done online. When she said she didn’t bank online she just got a shrug of the shoulders. One bank offered to help her with it. Guess which one got her custom?

2 more banks in our area are shortly closing. Their reason is that most people bank online now. What option do they have if the banks direct their customers online? I have a cheque that came in the post recently. I can't pay that in online. If the banks close everyone will have to use online transfers and I don’t want to give all my banking details to a company or person that I don’t know well.

Now I’m ranting. Better stop before I get carried away.

Agree with everyone woes but will add I've been questioned in the past when buying gift cards in-store in case I was a victim of scamming....I'd get it if I was buying hundreds of them but it's usually only been for a few dollars.
Currently most things I do online have started sending a verification code for each transaction a little annoying but if it stops fraud I'm okay with it.
I do carry my cell phone all the time mainly for work but also to count my steps so I don't feel so guilty when I eat that treat :-D

The modern technology rescued me today when I went to Tescos and realised that I had forgotten my credit card. I have had Apple Pay linked to my credit card set up on my iPhone for ages, but have never used it.
So I had a go, it was so simple, just a double click on the phones side button brought the credit card onto the screen. I then held near the card reader and it paid the bill. I was very impressed with myself. I have it set up on my Apple watch as well, so I will try that next time. It is actually safer than having to get the card out of my purse and put it away again.

I know some people don’t like using credit cards, but I have a Tesco one which gives me extra points for using it in store or the Tesco petrol station where I get my fuel. The bank automatically pays the whole bill every month, so I never pay any interest on the card

SuffolkVera ........ if you lived here and had a smart phone, you could pay that cheque into the bank, just scan it with your phone, click send and it's done.

Not having a smart phone, I can't do that. I do use online banking for paying bills and moving money around, but OH still has to go physically to the bank and get out cash, usually from the teller as we're trying to make sure that the bank stays open!

Linda ................ I have nothing against credit cards, used to have several store cards, some of which gave loyalty points. But I stopped that when almost everyone went to joining with a major credit card company, usually M/c, so you had to have, eg Tesco M/C

I just don't need to have more than one M/c in my wallet ............... so I now use my Visa card when I buy from those stores, so I am down to just 2 credit cards.

I have been phoned by the credit card company when putting on an unusually large amount ............ the last time I bought our train tickets, it actually turned out that the card company had "texted your phone". Unfortunately my landline doesn't accept texts!

TBH ...... it doesn't worry me to have to show photo ID when boarding the train, at the airport, at a hotel, or when voting ......... we've been doing all that for many years.

Suffolk vera

My local Barclays Bank closed last year and the nearest is six miles away that you need transport to get to plus pay for public car parking
But I bank online anyway so it’s not a problem so far

Barclays app too does have the facility to pay in cheques online which I sometimes do as I get my share dividend cheque in the post

Vera, it's easy to pay a cheque online - strange though it sounds :-D

Cx :-)

I pay for everything with my credit card which I clear every month. Not only do I get points and special offers from stores when I use their loyalty cards (Nectar, Tesco, Boots, Sparkles etc) I amass points with my bank through use of its card which has a range of ‘treats’ that you can choose from when you feel like it. It’s a win, win situation. :-D

Thanks for telling me about paying cheques in online. I did a bit of research and found I can do this if I download the app to my phone or tablet. I’m probably being a bit finicky but I’m loath to do this. We try to minimise the risk of fraud by keeping all our online banking to one desktop computer. Many years ago someone for whom I had power of attorney was subjected to a serious bank fraud which I had to try to sort out. There was a great deal of money involved and I can’t tell you how stressful it was dealing with the bank’s fraud department and the police for months on end. I did get all his money back as I was able to show the bank had been negligent but it’s not an experience I want to repeat. It’s made me very cautious.

On a happier note my research into paying in cheques mentioned the ability to pay at a post office which I had totally forgotten about. As we have a P.O. somewhat nearer than the bank I’ll be taking my cheque there.

We still use a lot of real money, eg, when dealing with small businesses such as the coffee shop, the little corner grocery, the hairdresser etc. Why??

Two reasons ............ because we like using cash. We have more control over spending when those notes disappear from the wallet rather than charging to credit or debit card! But also because the credit card companies charge businesses for using their card, and that means that the business loses money on every sales that involves one of the major credit card companies. Of course, that often translates into higher prices for the consumer as businesses add a little extra to the sales price.

That's why you might see "Discount for cash" signs around in some places.

I don't know whether they are charged for sales using debit cards, eg for the machine, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Plus we do like to tip for services, even at the coffee shop, but also the hairdresser, and most certainly on the train for extra services and help ............... people don't carry card machines around and I'm certainly not going to get into electronic transfer, so cash it is.