Have you ever made use of the option to withdraw money from your bank account at the supermarket checkout?
Do supermarkets offer that service where you live?
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40 Answers
Yes. It costs me 50 cents to make a withdrawal of any amount of money in excess of my bill. I have done it a few times for the convenience, but I hate paying a fee.
Yes, doesn’t cost me extra.
Yes.
Not very often, and recently haven’t done it at all.
There is almost no reason anymore to have cash on hand.
Didn’t cost me a fee, by the way.
No fee if you are buying something.
Tips for curbside pick-up at restaurant, pay online and pick-up. Use the name ” Bill . . Five dollar bill.” Most purchases are about $30.00, so . . . Get great service and I get there extras in the bag sometimes.
I’ve done it, but I don’t remember when. I don’t use debit cards usually. Maybe it was when I owned a business, I did have a debit card on that account.
It was a financial hack for a while when ATMs charged rip off “transaction fees” but you could go to a drugstore and buy a pack of gum and get cashback for free. That was back when you needed cash. I only use it now at yard sales and flea markets. Sometimes I tip the pizza driver a little under the counter if they make a decent effort to deliver on time.
I’ve not used that option for years. I now use the self-checkout which doesn’t have that option but there are two ATM’s in the car park.
Yes, I almost always use me debit card at the supermarket and sometimes get cash back. No fee.
Yes, regularly. That’s how I usually get cash. Though not at the one store that started charging a fee for it.
I don’t carry a purse, just cell phone wallet case. Don’t have much room for cash money.
I think we’re going to be sorry we ditched cash just like we’re going to be sorry we ditched newspapers and postal mail.
@Dutchess_III Because they depend on computers and a worldwide network of connections that are very vulnerable and subject to hacking and too possible to manipulate. I don’t think it’s wise ever to put our trust in computers. TV was bad enough. The spectacle of people who don’t know what to believe and can be taken in so easily by things they see on a computer is terrifying. Traditional journalism, with its commitment to reporting standards, was never perfect, but it was better than the free-for-all of lies and distortions and manipulation that we have now.
Virtual money can disappear with no record, and so can people’s identities.
U.S. postal mail has been a great working system that we have allowed to get trashed, not least by people badmouthing it and failing to recognize what a resource it was and its value, even before the last president tried to destroy it.
Not knowing what to believe makes people angry and suspicious and hostile instead of mutually supportive. UsVsThem reigns and the We of us dies. Once these systems go down they will be very hard to resurrect. We will never stop being sorry.
Rarely, and the store limits you to $20. If you want more there’s an ATM there.
@kneesox I hope cash never completely disappears in America. It has in some countries. A friend of mine did a presentation on cashless societies. One statistic I remember she gave was in the US on average people have $4,000 unaccounted for in cash. The number is likely very high for some people and much lower for others.
I could not agree more about USPS. I remember when I was younger we were so proud of our postal system. Anyone who had used mail systems abroad knew how special the USPS is. Now, that idea is being destroyed. It really bothers me.
I used the option for 10 or 20 years until recently my supermarket initiated a fee. No longer.
I used to get cash that way years ago when I needed to carry cash.
@JLeslie, what do you mean by ”$4,000 unaccounted for in cash”? They just have it lying around somewhere, with no record of it? I sure don’t. Or does that mean they don’t know where $4000 went, it’s just gone? That could be me.
What I do remember hearing is that something like half of Americans (or more?) can’t handle an unexpected expense of $400.
To the question: I never take cash back at supermarkets. Makes it too hard to keep track of what I actually spend on groceries. I get cash at the ATM and track it pretty closely. I do see people doing it a lot, though, often for $100, and I haven’t heard anything about a fee. Often the cashier will ask “Any cash back?” when I pay with a credit card, like it’s just a regular routine service.
@kneesox It basically means cash the government isn’t aware of. It can be legal, it’s not necessarily under the table. The exchange of cash for a service or goods under a certain amount doesn’t have to be claimed with the IRS. If every transaction was electronic the government could be aware of all transactions and theoretically all money at all times.
The parents of a friend of mine used to keep $10,000 in cash in their safety deposit box for an emergency. I know other people who always have $2,000 to $3,000 in cash from tips laying around. I never worked a job with tips so I never had the opportunity for anything like that. Jobs like pet sitting, baby sitting, and other odd jobs, money gets gathered and not necessarily put in a bank or recorded anywhere.
I think anyone can stash away cash over time and then it’s under the radar of the government. Let’s say every time you cash a weekly paycheck you put $20 in a jar. In 52 weeks you have over $1,000. Over time I think that becomes money unaccounted for.
Then you have people who really are dealing under the table. They can have many thousands in their mattress.
The cashier is asking you any cash back when you use a debit card not a credit card. If you don’t usually use that service why not use a credit card and build credit, make money on your money for a few weeks, and have more protection if the card is stolen? Maybe you do use credit cards for everything else.
As often as I need cash. While I typically don’t use cash, this is my go-to option at any place I happen to be in and recall I need some cash for a tip or parking or something.
Yes, sometimes. I don’t use cash much anymore outside of a few restaurants that only take cash. So the last time I got cash back at a grocery store was because I knew I was headed to one of those cash-only taquerias next.
So I’m guessing that grocery stores, at least some of them, are taking in less cash and paying out more. Do they actually have to get cash from the bank to keep their supply up? If so, then it’s reasonable to charge a fee for the service, especially if people are making just a small purchase to get access to the cash option instead of the store making anything on the transaction.
@kneesox They probably take in much more than they give out. Even if it’s the other way around they need to deal with the bank anyway. They need to get smaller denominations of paper money, rolls of coin, etc. As long as they deal in cash they are transacting with a bank.
It’s routine for grocery stores and all other retail businesses to keep track of their cash tills every employee-shift for each cashier, and to track their cash on had for the store and yes they regularly go to the bank the maintain a certain amount of cash on hand in each denomination that they know from experience ought to keep them able to make change (or to give cash to people who want cash, when/if they do that).
Typically retail businesses take in more cash than they give out (especially ones that do NOT allow people to take cash back), so giving cash back can actually reduce the need to go to the bank as often to deposit the cash they take in in sales. Also it’s typical that they tend to need to make change, so they end up taking in more money in larger bills, and losing more smaller bills.
@JLeslie This does not make sense to me:
“Let’s say every time you cash a weekly paycheck you put $20 in a jar. In 52 weeks you have over $1,000. Over time I think that becomes money unaccounted for.”
Unaccounted for by who? Wasn’t it accounted for and duly reported in your payroll record? It’s just as accounted for as if you put that $20 into a savings account every week. You don’t have to tell the government when you spend the $20 buying treats for cash at Baskin Robbins.
Really unaccounted for would be money you made selling dope and then spent buying more dope.
@kneesox There are all sorts of scenarios why people want cash to stay in circulation.
In a savings account there is electronic evidence of the money. If you save up $1,000 and have it stashed at home, the only way the government would know about it is if the government researched your pay minus what you had spent over the course of a year. No one is going to do that.
So, let’s say this person with $1,000 pays Joe $750 to fix something at the house. Technically, Joe is supposed to claim the income, but if you pay with your cash stash he might never do it. If everything was electronic there would be a record of him receiving the cash. The money started off above board, but then converted to under the table.
Or, some people want cash in case there is a horrible government or some sort of catastrophe, and if banks freeze, or some sort of electronic failure, assuming cash is still valid, you still have money. Let’s say you need to buy your way out of the country. If the government is coming after your group or kind, the stash might help. That’s why the parents of my friend have $10,000 in a safety deposit box, and I assume other money tucked away and maybe some gold or diamonds.
Before a hurricane (I live in FL) people take out cash anticipating power outages. That’s not unknown cash, but still an example of needing cash.
@JLeslie, I asked you what you meant by “unaccounted for.” That has nothing to do with the reasons why people might want to keep cash around. I do too. It’s your idea that if I hold on to money instead of spending it, even just $1000, it somehow becomes “unaccounted for.”
Nobody has to explain why they save money instead of spending it. It’s not under the table or unrecorded. It’s just not spent. Whose business is that?
@kneesox If it is not electronic the government doesn’t know you have it, but if ALL your money is on phone apps and electronic then the government can probably access that information at any time, depending on the laws of the country. Maybe you aren’t part of a paranoid minority group with a history of a government wanting to take all of your belongings or kill you.
@JLeslie I guess I simply don’t get why you think the government expects or should expect to know where and how much money everybody has, including $20 bills in jelly jars, unless there’s some reason to suspect wrongdoing.
As a young man I would withdraw cash from my account in that manner, as well as withdrawing via ATM. As I became a bit more credit savvy I realized there’s no real benefit from withdrawing from your savings or checking other than depleting the cash you have available.
I’ve found that using a credit card as you would a debit card is more practical provided you commit yourself to paying the balance in full within 30 days. This wasnt so practical prior to cell phones, but these days it takes minimal effort to pay via the applicable app.
Here’s the theory…there are some things…like groceries…you’re going to purchase all the time. Using debit cards, cash, check or money order simply reduces funds you have available. Using a credit card instead demonstrates you can reliably borrow and pay back money. This increases your credit rating, which gives you access to greater funds you may need for larger purchases.
I might add that the worse time to borrow money is when you need it but have difficulty borrowing it. Establishing the ability to responsibly borrow and pay back when you don’t need money builds the credit that allows you ready access to money when you do need it.
Also carrying less cash prevents privolous spending. $2.00 here and $5.00 over there adds up over time. Buying things you don’t really need or remember buying is a great way to throw away money. Using a credit card responsibly provides an itemized listing of exactly what you spent and where you spent it. This tends to discourage needless spending.
This works beautifully as long as you avoid charging for anything you can’t pay for in full within 30 days. The cash in your checking and/or savings is then reserved for paying your monthly credit card balance or emergency situations when you just need cash. I haven’t encountered such an emergency situation, but it’s there nonetheless.
Something to consider the next time you accept “cash back” from the grocery store.
@kneesox In the US the government doesn’t expect to know. My answer is about a cashless society and the dangers of it. The US is not currently cashless. Aside from government, business could put a fee on all transactions or if there was negative interest rates that could be a problem. Some people were stashing cash in countries with negative rates.
I’ve been charging almost everything on credit cards since my early 20’s. I remember being excited when grocery stores started accepting credit cards and gas stations started pay at the pump. I’m so credit card driven I don’t understand why people use debit cards. $20 can easily last me three months sitting in my wallet. It’s not like I’m pushing using cash.
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No. I usually do not do this, because there are people who actually stand in lines and look over other people’s shoulders to steal information off of debit and credit cards to participate in fraud.
This has happened to my mom. And, I also learned this is in training concerning fraud practices some years ago. This knowledge in dealing with security is valuable.
So do you never use your debit card at the store or ATM @King_Galaxius?
Answer this question 
