AIBU to put up a sign encouraging customers to pay in cash?

I never carry cash so would go elsewhere. I think it’s fine to ask though. (My MIL always gives me £100 cash in my birthday card which is really kind of her, but I pay it into the bank to use via ApplePay after one year when I realised I had it in my purse from the previous birthday!)

I’m so intrigued to know what your business is!

😂 I mean, it's an awful lot simpler than the OP's version. There's a fine line between simple and blunt.

I'm following a 'no-spend' 2026 and part of that is spending cash only and no impulse spending on cards, online (amazon, takeaways etc)
I love spending cash now... Feel empowered.
Your sign is great!

I’d rather be told there’s a 50p charge or whatever and still pay card tbh. Never have cash

I think the simple 'cards welcome cash preferred’ absolutely works

i asked the local shop what they preferred and they said they weren’t bothered. I would never use my credit card there to pay for stuff though (which I usually do for everything)

I usually put £20 in my pocket and I have a stash of £50 in my car incase any cash only places pop up

I think it's fine. I normally pay by card, but this would make me think about paying by cash instead.

OP just to add that I do like the longer version to explain the card fee etc. some people will know but for some it won’t click.

I think the short version is a bit off. But that’s just me.

Agree with this. Wouldn’t see as a problem. Just need to fix a few bits

I don't get this - how much do you have to pay to deposit all that cash? I thought that was something like 1.5% as well, which is basically the same as 1.6% (and there shouldn't be any theft/loss too).

Banks are businesses, they are there to make a profit

YANBU

I prefer the sign you posted, not the "card welcome, cash preferred".

I really love when businesses put up the 'wordy' signs that you are suggesting as so many people think preferring cash is about dodging tax 🙄 when it's actually just about keeping 100% of the item price within the business and not having massive companies creaming off 1-2% of everything.

1.5% card fees on your £200K sales is £3K, anyone arguing that that's nothing is silly, that £3K could be a month's rent, or a third of the business rates, or an annual utility bill etc.

Well done for your business taking off, may it long continue!

Several businesses in my local (small, rural) town do not take cards due to the costs, though fewer than when we arrived 15 years ago. I still shop there, and remember to take cash. Because they are lovely shops and traders and offer a product I want, and I value a thriving high street. Helpfully there are two cashpoints within a few minutes walk of nearly all businesses. So I reckon those who like your product will adapt pretty quickly. We run an honesty stall from home and people bring cash to pay for the product - we even leave out change for those who don't have exact money, which I get is not something you could do everywhere.

Most people are kind, considerate and don't think you are out to diddle them and the tax man. Good luck with your business.

I do, although I do also have my own business on the side and I would pay a small fee to expand my client base. I don't deal with card fees though, so I don't know much about them nor their value.

I don't understand how you can say that you're doing well enough to be fine with alienating part of your client base (some people on here have said that the sign would be off-putting) but not be fine with a small card fee.

Apologies. I hadn't realised you were typing your reply.

I haven't changed the tone, though. It was always meant to be a bit patronising.

It's too wordy and putting "CASH" in capital letters is a bit in-your-face.

Why not just put up a small sign saying something like "cash preferred, cards welcome" and leave it at that?

It really doesn't matter what people think about HMRC/ tax evasion, you know that's not the reason.

You need to negotiate with your card machine supplier, we pay pence per transaction. Even Amex transaction % has reduced in recent years. When I took cash I used to pay fees
for banking cash, we’d have to count it up every day, walk it to the bank and collect change that we had to call up and order in. Now we are cash free it’s much quicker to cash up/reconcile, much safer, no one has to carry heavy bags of change and no one can steal from us. It’s much better.

By the way Its not the done thing to amend and edit your post to change the complete tone and message which means by the time someone has written a reply their reply doesnt make sense anymore

No need for sarcasm. Banks are hugely rich institutions, we're all making money for them right now, so its not beyond them to provide much much cheaper or even free in some circumstances, banking services. Not above and byond but just some basics perhaps, of which I would assume card payments are one.

At a Christmas market many retailers had a similar sign; and it did make me think of the impact of card fees on small retailers. What was more effective though was that many retailers; particularly food and beverage had a sign on display. Are there other small retailers in your area who would also have similar signs to you?

Yeah, why would businesses like banks charge for the services they provide? It's a massive mystery for sure.

And what about supermarkets? We have no choice but to eat food, so they should provide it for free.

Good grief!

"Due to the costs involved with facilitating card payments..." is your idea of a simple opening to a sign?!

How about:

Please pay with cash, if you can.

Although businesses using signs like this can often underestimate the hidden costs of handling cash, especially now there are fewer neighbourhood banks.

They make the charges because it costs money to provide the service. They also charge businesses for handling their cash (because that also costs banks money), but a small business owner may prefer to spend extra hours managing their cash or risk having cash on the premises etc. so they don't have to use the bank as much rather than pay for it. They can't do it themselves with card payments.

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread - do you have a business bank account? We did and it was significantly more expensive to pay in cash than it was to accept American Express and other credit cards. The banks don't want to handle cash as it requires humans who are expensive to employ. Plus finding a branch which is open at a convenient time is a rare thing. I prefer cards, except for tiny transactions, as they offer me a level of protection that cash doesn't.

Lots of shops near me have something similar but not as much to read. If I’m going there I will get cash out if the last remaining machine in the town is working.