This leaves the merchant with about 98 percent of the original amount charged, with the remainder written off as a cost of providing the convenience of credit card purchasing to the patient. With all these fingers in the pie, how could MasterCard claim that this would be cheaper than cash?
The Company made three points:
- U.S. pennies and nickels cost twice as much to produce as they are worth.
- Cash leads to $1.5 trillion in underreported business income to the IRS.
- Cash is gross! Bacteria, including E. coli are on 94 percent of all U.S. bills
None of the three points would put more money in the dentist’s pocket, but keep in mind, this is MasterCard talking.
The demise of cash has been predicted for years. The first was with the advent of personal checks, and then again with credit cards. Now the talk is e-wallets – an app on your smart-phone that electronically handles your merchant exchanges. But rather than make cash obsolete these other forms have simply become alternatives. Here’s a thought provoking quote from Susan Crawford, a Harvard professor predicting the eventual demise of cash.
“There is nothing more imaginary than a monetary system. The idea that we solemnly hand around printed slips of paper in exchange for food and water shows how trusting and fond of patterned behavior we human beings are. So why not take the next step? Of course we’ll move to even more abstract representations of value.”
I’ll go back to my original question – Will cash payments die in dentistry? My prediction is that it will continue to diminish, but will need to be a viable alternative expected by some customers. However, being ready for all of the electronic alternatives is a “right click”. Are you ready for e-wallet apps?
