Pocket Money

I cannot really foresee the occasion that I might need to be able to draw cash from a machine in the middle of the night.
But, thinking of through-the-night drives that I have made in the past, then I realise that I just might.
Or do I? I can buy petrol, or snacks, even an all-day breakfast using a card  at service stations. In fact I can pay for virtually anything with a card, though I must admit that having cash to hand is more handy to pay for relatively small spur of the moment purchases, like coffee, chocolate bars or bottled water — all things I might need on a through-the-night drive, or even an early start.
The real point is that banking has changed beyond all measure, and while the higher echelons of banking are currently winning lots of attention from the media for all the wrong reasons, development of the cash dispensing machine and for that matter the fact that I never really need visit a bank except for the infrequent occasions when I need pay in cash or cheques, should all make life for people like me much simpler.
I cannot really remember when I last wrote a cheque — but it would have been to pay the window cleaner. But then, a couple of months ago he gave me details of his bank so that I could pay him online. Same for the guy who gives my lawn treatment every three months. Oh yes, and the newspaper shop is happy to be paid by debit card.
Even so, that comfortable memory of the time when you thought of having a bank manager on hand in the wardrobe, as was promoted by the banks, was reassuring.

But is that pure unrealistic nostalgia? With a plethora of cash machines like this, almost everywhere you go, or the ability to pay bills, even transfer cash to my wife, or pay for parking, all from my mobile phone, the traditional expectations for banking have radically changed.