How are buskers and other street entertainers fairing in an increasingly cashless society? Are they hurting, adapting or some combination?
QR code to their Venmo is ubiquitous.
“Cashless society” refers to the way that mainstream transactions are handled. It doesn’t mean that we have literally no cash. I keep a bit on hand for miscellaneous purposes, including the lawnmower kid who cannot or will not deal with electronic bank transfers. My more high-value contractors – Snowplow Guy, Ukrainian handymen/plumbers/electricians – all happily take electronic transfers.
It can certainly mean that you don’t carry cash, and I speak from experience. The last time I can recall carrying any money, even chump change, was over two weeks ago.
My lawn guy and snow shovel guy get cash. I also use wheelchair assistance at airports and they get cash as well. I mostly use my credit cards but occasionally cash is still necessary for my lifestyle.
Ever walk by a busker or other street performer? As they do their thing passersby drop money into a receptacle (usually a hat or box) after they watch or listen for bit. Few of those that pass by stick around to watch and/or listen all the way through so the chance to electrically connect up after the fact is slim.
That leaves a QR code posted in plain sight. Do you know how easy it is to make a big deal of pointing at that code, make like you are contributing then walking away with the performer and other passersby thinking good thoughts about you. Only the performer finds out later that you were full of shit.
I don’t think street performers are going to take time to use digital transactions.
They have a sign with their QR code on it. No interaction need take place.
And I explained the problem with that code, a problem I know exists because I know several performers.
I don’t have the opportunity to see street performers very often but will be me observant when I do.
Then why are you asking how they’re “fairing”(sic)? You seem to already know.
I only know the people I know and the problems they encounter. If it is different elsewhere I would like to know.
Is that really a problem with cashlessness specifically, though? So some passersby are performatively pretending to acquire the QR code for donations but don’t actually donate. Are those people who would have actually donated cash instead, if cashless payment wasn’t available? I’m skeptical.
If people are more likely to donate when the act goes a certain way you tend to tailor the act in that general direction.
Not only have I walked by them, I have many of them as good friends. They nearly all have signs with a way to get to their e-banking one way or the other. That’s how it’s done if you don’t have cash and it’s been that way for years. If it was completely ineffective, they wouldn’t do it.
I see quite a few buskers with mobile terminals for contactless cards on a stand.
Here is one point of view from buskers: Busking is at risk - The Busking Project and another from CNBC: Cash’s decline gives buskers the blues, but apps keep the green flowing
It seems that people are sometimes encouraged to give by seeing others give.
In this vein, do counter clerks make more or less tips these days? Before, there might be a tip jar, and more often than not the customer would put in the coins that came in change. Now your credit card offers 18, 20 or 22% tip options (which drives me crazy). Net net, does the Starbucks employee come out better now vs before?
I imagine they will make time if it will get them paid.
It doesn’t take time during the act, just time in advance to print up a big QR code, once.
I’ve wondered the same thing, because i often find myself without any cash these days. I just don’t use it often enough to keep it routinely in my pocket. (I paid some crazy ATM fee a year ago because i had no cash and wanted to tip the hotel maid. I wonder how they are faring these days.)
Yeah, that seems like a bizarre thing to do, but i assume those are the same people who dropped a random foreign coin or other useless things into the physical hat, in the days before QR codes. And they might be helping the busker a tiny bit, if their action prompts others to contribute.