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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
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Johanna Cosgrove

It pays to be generous: there’s nothing more embarrassing than being bank-transferred the price of a coffee

A woman pays with a credit card on a wireless reader held by a waiter, as a friend smiles nearby at an outdoor cafe
‘If you haven’t experienced a lack of anything, how can you understand that providing the thing another person needs will fulfill both of you?’ Photograph: filadendron/Getty Images

Like many women in their 30s, one of my true joys is meeting a friend for a beverage. However, after catching up for a green juice (healthy) with a dear colleague recently, I was on the train home when I got a message saying “Hey! Can you please transfer me $12.50? Thank you!” My response can only be described as … horrified.

The reason that it stuck in my craw is because I firmly believe that you should not request repayment for anything under $15. If we are out together and I shout you a coffee I would rather commit seppuku than be bank-transferred $4.50 ($6 if you are in the CBD, $9 if you are a matcha observant). For context, A$15 is roughly US$10, £8, €9, NZ$19 and 1,680 yen. In this (scary) global economy, that doesn’t stretch much further than a small beverage/snack/Boots meal deal.

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