Why Cash is king
My Argument Against Cashless Payments
I have made it no secret in the last year that I’m primarily taking Cash for payments. Currently I only use Venmo to accept non-cash payments of small amounts like deposits for appointments, or tips. Even that feels insidious to me. I wouldn’t have to take deposits at all if you fuckers were honest and reliable. So many times, I’ve booked an appointment for a tattoo for someone without a deposit, and they just don’t show up.
Cowards!
I also have been using my own cards rarely, only for business-related expenses like utilities, supplies, and client meals; look at me and tell me I don’t love a tax-deductible trip to Rob’s Good Times Grill. But, five years ago, a certain global event triggered a massive surge in cashless payments, and I think we, as a society, are experiencing the consequences.
At first, easy-access cashless systems created a boom of accessible clientele for individuals and small businesses, who now had easy access to a payment system that began to replace cash in everyday transactions. Not only did people feel like cash was… icky, but people felt like they couldn’t leave their homes, and that caused a further surge in cashless payments.
Instacart for groceries, Netflix for entertainment, and Amazon for worldly goods, by Science! Now, it seems, the world is still at our fingertips. In fact, sometimes it feels like the world is breaking down our doors, digitally (and in some cases, literally; FUCK ICE). Now every waking moment feels like a battle against digital incursion.
AI content preys upon social media addiction to streamline the path for dopamine-seeking brains to the corporate target of a cashless transaction. Cyberpunk AF.
Every time we (millions and millions of us) make a cashless transaction, there seems to be a little cartoon hand waiting for you to put a shiny little penny in it. Actually, it’s more like a few pretty pennies to the dollar. This noodley appendage seems to say “but what about poor wittle old me? I made this twansaction happen, can I pwease have just a widdle bit?” And most people just go, “Ok, little guy, it’s no skin off my teeth.”
But most people don’t really take the time to look at the noodley appendage, nor the darkly malevolent horror that’s attached to it. Since 2020, America’s billionaires, over 700 of them, saw an increase on wealth of 88%, according to Forbes. Likely, one of these billionaires has their little paws in your pocket right now. Every subscription you have, every credit card that owns you, every time you buy something from the internet, that little sliver of convenience is a papercut in your own skin. There’s a word for this kind of profit-mongering, and it’s called EXTRACTIVE.
What’s worse is that entire business models are now just pricing it in as the cost of doing business. Extracting themselves from credit card usage is difficult, and many businesses rely on the convenience of credit card transactions to attract customers, but it’s an illusion. ATMs that charge tourism rates (I’m talking about over $5 per transaction of $200 withdrawals) actually CHARGE LESS than using Square or Stripe for the privilege of spending same amount.
It provides no benefit and subtracts from the local economy by diverting its percentage from local pockets. The County of Kauai sees about five billion ($5,000,000,000, goodness that’s a lot of zeros) of GDP per year. That’s doesn’t even count dark money, so if you subtract the amount that credit card processors charge, let’s be conservative and call it 1% (although Square, Stripe, Clover, and other “easy access” POS systems charge as much as 3%). We’re looking at FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS.
FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS.
$50,000,000
It’s up to you to decide how much you are willing to take
Or I should say, willing to give.
To billionaires.
For your convenience.
It’s as simple as that.
You, too, can say you’ve had enough.
Cash Only.
Keep it Local.
From Wailua, Kaua’i, Kingdom of Hawai’i, with Aloha,
Brian Sveniker Shay, January 2026
