Do you take plastic?

I was pumping gas last night on my way home from work and a man approached me, squeegee in hand asking if he could clean my windows for some money. It's not an uncommon occurrence and my response was not uncommon either: "Dude, I don't have any cash?" I said.

"How about any change? Anything at all? I'm just looking to get dinner," he said.

"No cash. Nothing. That's why I'm using my debit card at the pump," I replied.

And it made me wonder. How has the ease of credit card transactions and the rise in debit card use affected panhandling? I'm sure that I'm not alone in not carrying cash, so there has to have been a drop off in donations, right?

Then I wondered about Girl Scout cookies and the Salvation Army. Those approaches outside grocery stores have been documented to have been hurt by the rise of the credit card. So much so that both organizations are testing out ways to take credit cards. I wonder if some entrepreneurial homeless person will do the same thing? In Nashville they have a paper (The Contributor) that the homeless sell and get to keep the money from. I wonder if they'll ever equip their sales force with the ability to take credit cards. The money could be loaded onto a gift card Visa and then used at any reputable store.

Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking this, as it was posted elsewhere for pondering too. But I think my suggestions are more creative. What do you think? Do you give less now that debit cards are ubiquitous?

Blogger's Note: Apparently I wrote about this in December 2008, as well. And no, I didn't remember it either. I think this post is much better though, so you should read it too.

Cash or Credit?

This time of year I almost always start digging in my purse before I get out of the car. I hear the signature bell of a cold holiday worker saying hi as people try not to make eye contact. I almost always search for whatever change or cash I have to stuff some into the kettle. Call it Christmas Karma or the fact that I remember more than one Christmas where my mom made my brother and I pick out Christmas gifts for a less fortunate family. Whatever the reason, I always like to toss some change in the bucket.

However, in the last couple of years, I've begun to notice something. I don't carry cash and rarely do I have any change except for the odd penny that's been tossed in my ash tray because I can't find any other use for it. Anything that I need can be bought with my debit card.

Lately I've come to notice that I'm not unusual. Most people don't carry a lot, if any, cash. So, how does that affect donations? Apparently it made them go down enough that the Salvation Army is testing using credit card donations at some locations this year. They're also doing a texting donation pilot as well.

It's weird to think of how things we get used to have a trickle-down effect on other aspects we never think about.