Paphos Life

Used my Debit Card to pay for purchases at Papantoniou earlier today and was surprised to be offered the option of taking out cash - had to select YES or NO before entering pin number. Cashier told me allowance was up to a maximum of €80. Certainly saves a separate trip to the ATM.

Always amazes me when I read something like this as this service has been available in the UK Supermarkets for at least 10 years

More like 25 years, but a great news as banks are getting scarce

Off topic but I recently asked my UK bank to cancel my cheque books as the last one was written in 2013 - free of charge.

Galexinda, that is really good news. We do use Paps from time to time and being able to get 'cash back' would be good. Both Banks in our village along with their ATM"s were closed a ew years ago.

Here in the UK, shops don't want cash to be used, nor do the pubs and restaurants. In fact I can't remember when I last used cash.

I really think that eventually cash will cease to be used, it is after all one of the dirtiest things we handle.

Certainly coins and notes are nowhere as dirty nowadays as earlier in the year. When given any change or receipts I ask the person to throw them in a plastic bag I carry and then 'launder' them when I get home. I see the EU is considering the removal of 1c and 2c coins from circulation.
Also still cleaning any shopping items I purchase before putting them away. Certainly not letting my guard down!

Sweden is acknowledged as the country closest to becoming cashless.

galexinda wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 8:21 pm I see the EU is considering the removal of 1c and 2c coins from circulation.

Whilst I rarely us cash any more, any 1, 2, 5 & 10c coins have always gone into my charity bottle.

Galexinda we too 'clean Everything' before it is put away..

A cashless society is a realistic dream for bankers.
Unlike cash, using a card makes it so easy to overspend, overdrawing on an account receives penalties in the form of debt, and there you are at the mercy of the bankers.

The Governments would love a cashless society, they can see where you are at any time, see how much you are spending and you cant trick the taxman by not showing sales etc

Cyprus banks (certainly Hellenic & BoC) are charging the big companies to deposit cash, so cashback is a way of reducing the penalty interest the banks are charging companies.

I would have thought that it was a no brainer to offer cash back to customers


a) It replaces a service that the Banks are failing to provide with branch closures

b) Cashing up at the end of the day is quicker with less cash to count and reconcile

c) Less need/risk for the staff/security personnel for robbery on route to the bank to deposit the cash

My experience in the UK, is if you shop shortly after opening there may not be enough cash in the tills

Cash is King in my book,
you are more likely to get a discount,
from a store owner, when pulling out a wad of cash, rather then a card,
has worked for me the World over.

Likewise will use cash over card any day - as well as the negotiability of cash there is also more anonymity with the transaction. Used to get fed up in Tescos years ago when I was entitled to vouchers and Tesco specified which items I had to buy. Hence I like the Papantoniou loyalty scheme where you get a €10 voucher for every 1100 points. No restrictions as to how it is spent and also a good way of saving towards a special occasion eg Christmas.

Paps have done cash back for years! Not many people seem to use it.

The original poster said... "Used my Debit Card to pay for purchases at Papantoniou earlier today and was surprised to be offered the option of taking out cash - had to select YES or NO before entering pin number."

I certainly have never been offered this option in the past and I am a regular Paps customer..

It wasn't available last time I used the card mid-September, so maybe a new scheme and perhaps only available to certain banks?
However, not prepared to disclose the name of the bank that issued the card on a forum that anyone can read.