News Disney to pilot electronic-only transactions at its resort hotels

[Lirael]

The article said you can use cash to add to your room charging. So basically just go to the front desk and hand over cash to use your magic band everywhere. And you can still tip in cash. LOL

Reading the article I wasn't certain if this is just during the trial period or if you'll be able to do this exchange after the trial too. If it's the latter, I think the system may work perfectly fine, and I've actually seen an amusement park that does this inside the park (forces people to use a park card everywhere, so you needed to exchange cash or card in specific kiosks to put into the card).

They'll just need to be very clear about the no cash rule upfront to avoid clueless guest issues in restaurants etc

 

[stuart]

Far from ideal for international guests, most of whom are charged a fee for a foreign transaction - and say minimum £3 if you buy a snack you'll pay more for the fee than what your getting. Of course there are prepaid cards you can load but easier at times using cash.

 

[jaklgreen]

No...in that scenario they are cheating. Kinda a way of the past in most places...but once common.

There is a difference in giving the customer a credit for what would have been the credit card transaction fee and not paying taxes. If they ring up the order then they will pay taxes on it unless they void it. But too many of those and the IRS gets suspicious. I can see not charging the transaction fee but I would never make it sound like they are not paying taxes.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Not a fan of cash-less places, but this gets into political machinations and thus, this isn't the place for it.

I can see how some would like this, and while I'm somewhat OK with this here, I'm wary. I know WDW is probably one of the safer places to use debit/credit cards, but we've had more card numbers stolen than I can remember. The fewer places my card numbers are transacted, the better, if you ask me. I know, I know - MagicBand. Maybe cash at the front desk is the better compromise here.

 

[wdwmagic]

Not a fan of cash-less places, but this gets into political machinations and thus, this isn't the place for it.

I can see how some would like this, and while I'm somewhat OK with this here, I'm wary. I know WDW is probably one of the safer places to use debit/credit cards, but we've had more card numbers stolen than I can remember. The fewer places my card numbers are transacted, the better, if you ask me.

I feel like the security ship has already sailed. So many merchants have been compromised that huge breaches dont event really make the news anymore. Assume your card has been compromised and check the statement closely each month. Its then up to the card issuers to reverse out the fraudulent transactions.

 

[jaklgreen]

Reading the article I wasn't certain if this is just during the trial period or if you'll be able to do this exchange after the trial too. If it's the latter, I think the system may work perfectly fine, and I've actually seen an amusement park that does this inside the park (forces people to use a park card everywhere, so you needed to exchange cash or card in specific kiosks to put into the card).

They'll just need to be very clear about the no cash rule upfront to avoid clueless guest issues in restaurants etc

For cash guest it might be just as easy to charge to your room and then pay cash at the front desk. That way you do not have to carry that much cash around with you but you are still able to avoid using a credit card.

 

[jaklgreen]

Not a fan of cash-less places, but this gets into political machinations and thus, this isn't the place for it.

I can see how some would like this, and while I'm somewhat OK with this here, I'm wary. I know WDW is probably one of the safer places to use debit/credit cards, but we've had more card numbers stolen than I can remember. The fewer places my card numbers are transacted, the better, if you ask me. I know, I know - MagicBand. Maybe cash at the front desk is the better compromise here.

Like I just posted, you can charge to your room and then use your cash at the front desk. No need to use the credit card.

 

[HauntedPirate]

For cash guest it might be just as easy to charge to your room and then pay cash at the front desk. That way you do not have to carry that much cash around with you but you are still able to avoid using a credit card.

Good point. Also thinking that loading up on Disney Gift Cards pre-trip would be a good choice as well.

 

[King Racoon 77]

But realistically, few could even get to a Disney resort nowadays without some form of electronic payment along the way.

We save up and pay cash for our vacation. If we skipped the hirecar and took the DME we would not need a card at all.

 

[Lirael]

For cash guest it might be just as easy to charge to your room and then pay cash at the front desk. That way you do not have to carry that much cash around with you but you are still able to avoid using a credit card.

Exactly. If the cash exchange at the front desk is a permanent thing and not just for the trial period, I think this is fine and won't bother guests (even international ones). My only question is if this (cash exchange in the front desk) will be permanent or not, it wasn't too clear for me

 

[Jahona]

This is an interesting move. There was a circuit court mandate several years ago, that stemmed from an Apple store issue, that since the only recognized form of legal tender in the US was cash that transactions were required to accept it.

A quick google search hasn't brought up the article I read this from.

Personally I still use a mix of cash and card for everyday stuff. My last vacation to Disney I brought both with me. Most tips at restaurants I left in cash and any purchases under 50 were made with cash as they didn't count for the Visa discount.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Disney Cruise Line has been like this for years, maybe even since it launched. Like other have said you can charge everything to the room and then just pay cash at the front desk. If you’re just visiting the resort as a day guest I’m assuming front desk would have a way to sell you a gift card for use if necessary.

 

[willtravel]

I guess I still don't understand why this change? When I was there Thanksgiving 2017, we used cash the whole time. Did keep us from overspending.

 

[Bolt]

It's like being on a cruise ship, people have figured how to survive.

 

[francism]

I live just outside of Disney property and we like to go to the resorts once in a while to eat. The Mara is a favorite spot in particular. People like to say Disney is usually ahead of the curve for these payment systems but they still don't even have the chip readers active for credit and debit cards.

The way things are in our society, it is incredibly easy for credit card and debit card information to be stolen. Some people find it easier to just use cash to pay for things. I'm not sure what benefit there is for me, as a customer, to not have the ability to pay cash for my food. We're actually going over to the Mara to eat tomorrow, and while I know this cashless system doesn't begin until next month, I wouldn't have known about it unless I read it here.

It's just strange and inconvenient not to take cash. Are they afraid that the cashiers are unable to make change or something?

 

[jt04]

I plan to go cash only. Victim of credit fraud twice. Live and learn.

 

[Coaster Lover]

I've more or less already stopped using cash, (lots of reasons that I won't get into here), so this doesn't really impact me at all. My guess is that this is being done by Disney as a loss prevention measure. Not saying that all Disney employees are thieves, but having worked Fast Food, I know how easy it would be for an employee to skim off cash and, even if it wasn't intentional, it's VERY easy to give the incorrect change. Add on counterfeit money concerns and it seems like this is a logical path to go. Being completely cashless reduces (or arguably eliminates) all of these issues.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I guess I still understand why this change? When I was there Thanksgiving 2017, we used cash the whole time. Did keep us from overspending.

You nailed a big reason why many places, not just WDW, like cashless transactions - People tend to spend more when the money isn't physically leaving their hands to pay for something.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

This is great and all...until Disney World loses power.

 

[Mander]

I've more or less already stopped using cash, (lots of reasons that I won't get into here), so this doesn't really impact me at all. My guess is that this is being done by Disney as a loss prevention measure. Not saying that all Disney employees are thieves, but having worked Fast Food, I know how easy it would be for an employee to skim off cash and, even if it wasn't intentional, it's VERY easy to give the incorrect change. Add on counterfeit money concerns and it seems like this is a logical path to go. Being completely cashless reduces (or arguably eliminates) all of these issues.

Agreed! When I was a front desk manager, the cash related mistakes were the worst. Our system was DOS based and our employees had to make their own change. Some of my agents always had an incorrect balance in their cash drawer every single time they took cash (wasn't every day). Since those issues weren't discovered until the end of their shift, the guest was usually long gone. It was never intentional (at my property anyway) but it was such a waste of time at the end of the day. We also had an issue with counterfeits on occasion. I would love to have gone to a electronic only system!