You're forgetting that it costs merchants money to handle cash; between miscounting at the till, plus petty theft, plus counting cash at the end of the night, plus time to take cash to the bank, plus time to take cash from the bank back (say when rolls of coins are needed).
I'd be surprised if the cost adds up to 2% of the cost of all goods, but it's still there.
> And if you're someone without access to great cards, then you still pay the same price in stores but you get no cash back, high APR, low credit limits, and crazy late fees.
That's an entirely different discussion, and completely misses out on debit cards (no APR, typically includes some form of rewards), when the bad cards should be used to build a good credit history, not as a daily driver.
I'd be surprised if the cost adds up to 2% of the cost of all goods, but it's still there.
> And if you're someone without access to great cards, then you still pay the same price in stores but you get no cash back, high APR, low credit limits, and crazy late fees.
That's an entirely different discussion, and completely misses out on debit cards (no APR, typically includes some form of rewards), when the bad cards should be used to build a good credit history, not as a daily driver.