That’s super cool, Googling about that shows only results for PayPal and Google Pay in the US making me think it’s another USA only thing. Just goes to shows there is ways that it can be used to help homeless people they’re just not widespread enough yet I suppose.

We primarily use PayPal but I’m not aware of a way to use that to pay in stores either.

Stores tend to accept any major debit/credit cards, and Apple and Google pay.

I hope they will soon have means of utilising digital currencies but majority of them where I live currently don’t so at the moment it is bad for them. It will be potentially beneficial to them when they’re able to utilise it more but where I live it’s currently not the case. I hope it becomes the case of course.

Wow that’s actually very useful, I didn’t know that. I’m not sure if shops in the UK accept Cash App Pay as I’ve never seen it and can’t find anything about it online, but definitely very useful to the homeless population in the USA and hopefully something that gets adopted more here.

Are you saying you can do contactless payments from a Cash App balance on your phone?

Sorry then maybe I’m confused, how do you spend money from Cash App if you don’t have a card or account? Sure you have the money sat in Cash App but how can you then actually use it?

Cash App isn’t really used at all in the UK so I’m not massively familiar with it.

Yeah like I said, I’m aware it happens, I just haven’t seen it myself yet.

You’re once again talking about the US, tips in the UK aren’t “hundreds of dollars” forming a large part of your income.

Card readers or a smart phone then I should add. Definitely more common that they will have a phone/smartphone but then there is the issue of actually having access to a bank account and card without an address to link it to, plus then keeping the phone charged to spend it. I’ve personally never met a homeless person who’s accepted anything besides cash.

That’s why I said “generally”, there are exceptions of course.

As I’ve said in other threads, I live in the part of the UK with the most homeless people and I have never once seen any of them with a card reader. I’m aware it happens, more commonly in the centre of the city, but at least 99% of them only take cash.

Street performers aren’t homeless, they just do that as a job. Homeless people with a card reader isn’t something I’ve seen before but I know it does happen.

People don’t carry cash, 99% of homeless people only accept cash. Therefore it’s bad for them.

I think your comment is definitely skewed to a US perspective though, I’ve definitely seen Americans mention like “it’s a nice area but there’s a lot of homeless people” and similar things, which would be a weird thing to say in the UK. However I still agree that even in the Uk there isn’t a lot of care/respect for them sometimes and a lot of people lack empathy for their situation.

Most people would be in one mind about it, “no that’s my scarf I want to keep it”, so being in two minds about isn’t a bad thing at all.

The US tipping/waiter pay system is terrible, it should be illegal to have the majority of wages be tips.

Even in Europe I think tips shouldn’t be taxed though.

That’s very good of you.

I don’t think tips should be taxed really, it’s like a gift for doing good, don’t get taxed on gifts generally.

Ah yes I’m sure all homeless people live a great life with increasingly limited access to money.

I assumed there was ones that aren’t free that didn’t charge you a fee, that’s what my statement was based on.

Absolutely perfect for that.

Probably yeah, didn’t think of that so much either. More or less of an issue depending on which country you’re in as tips vary massively in how much they contribute to your wages.

Maybe in America. I can tell you the homeless people I walk past every day and recognise, the ones I see sleeping out in the cold late at night, they’re not scammers.

Edit: everything I said was dumb ignore this lol.

Yeah, I do think people are much more willing to go and get cash out of an ATM though to pay in a cash only store or pay a dealer, so it definitely affects them less than homeless people but I agree with you.