Natalia Paruz, known for playing her musical saw to commuters, is noticing that tips just aren’t what they used to be. On a Thursday afternoon in Herald Square, midtown Manhattan, her shiny tip bucket barely had a few dollars and coins, even after hours of playing during the busy rush.
“I get folks telling me they love my music but just don’t carry cash around anymore,” said Paruz, calling herself the Saw Lady. This situation pushed her to put up QR codes for Venmo and PayPal, hoping for some digital love.
Street performers are seeing their cash tips dwindle. Without that jingle in their cases, many are turning to digital methods. Stats from Capital One show nearly half of U.S. adults never use cash during an average week, and by 2027, it’s expected that 94% of transactions won’t involve cash at all. Still, cash is king for older and less affluent folks; those over 55 use it much more than the younger crowd.
There’s not much data on how street acts are being paid in the U.S., but it seems they mostly get cash for low-value tips. Paruz says 70% of her tips remain in cash form, while New York musician Gabriel Aldort only sees about 5% of his tips digitally.
Aldort puts up big QR codes for CashApp and Venmo, but says most subway riders just don’t use ’em. He figures that even with all the hustle and bustle, New Yorkers tend to have cash or maybe tourists do too.
Performers are noticing an uptick in app tips though. Chadd “Wacky Chad” Deitz, a comedian doing stunts in the Northeast, has been navigating digital tipping for over a decade — now about 30% to 40% of his income comes from these platforms. “If you’re not taking digital tips, you’re behind,” he said.
Digital apps promise to be simple and familiar ways for people to give tips, said Venmo’s general manager. Yet, performers have mixed feelings. Danny Tangelo, a traveling magician out West, feels digital tips can be smaller, and others think cash is more visible. People might be encouraged to give if they see someone else doing it.
For Paruz, apps make interactions less personal; folks don’t come up to chat like before. Plus, platforms like Venmo take a cut, which adds up. There’s also busk.co, designed just for buskers, allowing tips via Apple Pay or credit cards, but it’s not widely used in the U.S.
Digital tips help balance out cash losses, but many performers are still struggling. Paruz makes less now than in the ’90s, and Deitz has hit record lows in earnings. Tired of tipping, Americans are cutting back, affecting workers in many fields.
Rising costs of living are squeezing everyone. Performers like Deitz just want people to tip — cash or digital. A few dollars won’t cover all expenses, but it helps. Tangelo has a trick: making money appear in fruit, something you can’t do with a virtual tip!
