Making a $26 purchase recently, I was surprised when my debit card was declined. My account had money in it, so I couldn't understand what was wrong. Fortunately, I had cash and prepared to pay with it. Then, the clerk pointed to a notice taped to the terminal: "No cash accepted."
Behind me, people were growing impatient, sighing, and shuffling their feet. I tried a credit card I keep for emergencies, and it went through. Relieved to complete the purchase, I left and called the bank. My account was fine; the problem was with the merchant's terminal.
Back in my car, I breathed a sigh of relief but thought about how uncomfortable I felt standing in line, having two payment methods rejected, needing to scramble to find another way to pay, and sensing the impatience of others behind me. I also thought about the alarm I felt when my debit card was declined. Had my account been attacked and emptied by fraudsters? I realized this transaction had triggered a typical stress response: increased heart rate, anxious feelings, sweaty palms, disrupted breathing patterns, all physical and emotional reactions to a simple payment transaction that almost wasn't completed.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it helps to be more aware of any stress we have while making our daily payment transactions. We are all affected by money and need it to function in our daily lives. We often take payments for granted but it's our primary method for getting what we need and want. Money, and conflicts over money, are significant stressors for people. One way to help with stress reduction is mindfulness
, the practice of bringing your attention to the present moment, taking a deep breath, and relaxing. In this situation, I used mindfulness techniques to reduce the physical and emotional effects I was feeling. I was grateful I had learned these techniques for staying calm and reducing my stress response.
I think about people who are having payments rejected for whatever their circumstances, whether it's due to bank error, merchant error, a fraud alert, or the merchant not accepting a payment type such as cash or check. This can be particularly stressful if you need groceries, a prescription, gas, or emergency supplies and can't get them because either you or the merchant can't complete your transaction due to each one's payment choices or available options.
This in-person point of sale issue has the power to affect you in ways you may not even recognize, causing feelings of shame, embarrassment, anger, and anxiety. Payments inclusion initiatives can address some of these issues. In addition, by simply acknowledging that any of the monetary transactions we make in a day can cause stress, we can increase our awareness of how we respond to help us remain calm and reduce mistakes. When we take a deep breath and a minute to be mindful, we can reduce our body's automatic stress response, which benefits us in other areas of our lives.
By Scarlett Heinbuch, a payments risk expert in the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Atlanta Fed