You do a lot of things electronically nowadays, especially online shopping. One thing that you also do electronically is shop at the live store. How, you ask? You 'pay' with a card. Instead of using paper-based products to buy things and get a smaller amount of paper-based products back, you use a card and you get your card back. You can possibly get cash back too.
But that's not all. In fact, there are more reasons than just simply getting cash back that a card is better than cash.
1. They are more environmentally Friendly
Money is printed on some special material, but it's a paper-based material.
2. You don't have to straighten it out
A folded bill needs to be straightened before you can let the vending machine suck it in, only to spit it back out and make you insert it again. You can just swipe the card.
3. A lost card can be canceled and replaced
Yes, it's a hassle when your credit or debit card goes missing, but once you sense that it's missing, you can call the bank or the provider of the card and have them cancel it so nobody can make an unlawful purchase on your card.
4. You can load and reload money onto a card
In a gift card, such as a Starbucks card, you can load electronic dollars onto it using your own money so it's accessible to use. You can also refill it.
5. Your card is also money
Consider a debit / ATM / bank card. You can use it like a credit card to make purchases at the store or the mall, but you're paying out of your bank account. It's essentially paying with electronic cash since it's already on your card. (Just make sure you don't overdraft though.)
6. Using a card saves time
Even when the cashier has to manually enter items being bought, you can do an easy swipe or chip-read using today's technology when checking out so that once the reader reads your card and accepts the method of payment, you're all set.
7. No change required
You don't need to worry about getting change back when you 'pay' with a card. The card takes the exact amount of the total listed when you're shopping and once it's done, you've got your items and are good to go.
8. Only you know the PIN
If you own a debit card and you lose it, and the recovering person decides to use it at a store, he or she cannot use it successfully since he or she doesn't know the PIN to the card, since it's required at check out.
9. You're getting the whole card back, not just part of it
When you pay with cash at the store, say a $10 bill for a total order of $7.65, you'll leave with just $2.35 instead of having all $10 at the end. But if you paid with your card, you'd still have the card in its entirety once you've finished paying,
10. You 'pay' later
When you use an actual credit card to 'pay' for things you buy, each time you use it is like you're taking out a small loan for the amount of the purchase. When the credit card bill needs to be paid, you pay the amount of the purchases made (plus interest, if any).
11. It's more convenient
Think about a place such as a gas station, or when you're tipping a waiter/waitress. At a gas station, you can prepay with a card by sliding it in and then pulling it out, and at a restaurant, you can simply tip the waiter/waitress by writing the desired amount to tip on the Merchant's Copy of the receipt once you've given them the card to pay for the meal. It's easier for the tip to get stolen if you leave cash on the table for the waiter/waitress. Also, consider an airplane ticket when you book a flight; you book it electronically, so in all likelihood, there's no way you're paying for an airplane ticket with cash.
