Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6

Original poster

Can a business refuse to take cash? Is it legal?

134 replies

AudTheDeepMinded · 20/11/2021 15:25

DH is NOT happy. Our local pool will not accept cash and will only take card payment. He is very much cash over card, whereas I am card over cash. Since the Pandemic this is far more of a problem for him as he regularly forgets to take a debit card with him. I think today has demonstrated why he should have both on him! But, can a business actually refuse cold hard cash?

OP posts:

TheLightSideOfTheMoon · 20/11/2021 15:58

A pharmacy refusing cash and leaving someone with a prescription is a bit special.

Other stuff I can understand but medication? I think that takes the piss.

SendARavenToRiverRun · 20/11/2021 16:02

I hate places that only take card. My elderly aunt won't use a card so it makes it very tricky for her. She'd never cope with Apple/Google pay.
Our local chippy is cash only.
We went to Pizza Hut the other week. It's now cashless and orders only via an app. DH has a phone without Google so couldn't download the app. I had a tiny bit of battery left on my phone.
The server hovered over us as we tired to sort it. We literally could have order 3times and had our pizza cooked and delivered in the same time 🙄🤣. Ridiculous, but yummy lol.
The can pick and choose who they serve. Doesn't make it any less annoying though.

PriamFarrl · 20/11/2021 16:06

There are two pubs near me that are card only.

One is in quite an isolated spot and it keeps there insurance down.

If he can carry around paper money and coins he can carry a card.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General money

PriamFarrl · 20/11/2021 16:07

*their not there.

BeaucoupFish · 20/11/2021 16:11

We have a take away that only accepts cash 😆

icedcoffees · 20/11/2021 16:14

Businesses can choose to take payment in whatever form they like. I run a business and won't take cheques, for example.

As people have said, "legal tender" only applies to debts, not buying goods or services.

DriftingBlue · 20/11/2021 16:17

A bunch of places near me have gone card only in the last year, including places that used to be cash only.

It’s odd he forgets his card. Does he not use a wallet? A card takes up less space than cash. Even if he uses a money clip, you can easily keep the card folded inside the cash.

I’m currently trying to figure out what to do about getting some sort of card for dd. Not everywhere near me that is cash only takes payment by phone, plus I don’t really just want to load my card on her phone anyway.

nancy75 · 20/11/2021 16:19

@FluffyBooBoo I was a manager of a very large central London shop for over 15 years, I have counted millions in cash over the years! I can honestly say I have never seen a Northern Ireland bank note (until your question didn’t even know they were a thing)
We used to get a lot of Scottish notes & they would frequently be rejected by the bank as fake. There may be fake NI notes but I have never seen a real or fake one. We had no policy on accepting NI notes as there was never a need.

Original poster

AudTheDeepMinded · 20/11/2021 16:21

@DriftingBlue, he doesn't forget, he just believes it is his right to use cash if he chooses. I have the feeling today's experience may have disabused him of that notion!

I can hand on heart swear that although he might have been a bit grump I know he would not have been really stroppy with the receptionist. He a lovely man with an extremely long fuse usually.

OP posts:

PriamFarrl · 20/11/2021 16:30

he just believes it is his right to use cash if he chooses.

Well it’s not. He’s being an arse. HTH.

Original poster

AudTheDeepMinded · 20/11/2021 16:35

@PriamFarrl I know!

OP posts:

FluffyBooBoo · 20/11/2021 16:45

[quote nancy75]@FluffyBooBoo I was a manager of a very large central London shop for over 15 years, I have counted millions in cash over the years! I can honestly say I have never seen a Northern Ireland bank note (until your question didn’t even know they were a thing)
We used to get a lot of Scottish notes & they would frequently be rejected by the bank as fake. There may be fake NI notes but I have never seen a real or fake one. We had no policy on accepting NI notes as there was never a need.[/quote]
That's odd. I've seen quite a few NI notes working in accounts, in places that take less cash probably in a year than you did in a week.

Precipice · 20/11/2021 16:45

Unfortunately it is legal in the UK and increasingly prevalent. The worst one I've seen is a ferry connection to an island in Scotland that only took card - if you're away and your card is stolen, how will you get home? (Probably if you're in such a desperate situation, you could find a stranger to pay in cash who'd pay in card for you, but only so long as that stranger was confident of being able to use the cash elsewhere!)

Your husband is right that they should be taking cash, but alas, they don't have to.

In my home country (Poland) a new law is now coming in to make allowing cash payments compulsory (with some limitations).

Crocky · 20/11/2021 16:50

if you listen carefully you will hear the roar of the last dinosaur on earth

This made me laugh more than it probably should 😂😂

minniep · 20/11/2021 17:01

My parents don't even use bank cards OP so your husband isn't the only dinosaur. They also don't text or use the internet. They are an absolute nightmare

WonderfulYou · 20/11/2021 17:05

I think it’s odd he’s so angry over something so trivial.

I know lots of places that don’t take cash or card.
It’s a pain but nothing to get worked up over. Everyone has a bank card and if it’s cash you just draw it out.

If one was going to be illegal it would be not accepting card payments and only cash as there’s no way to track how much they’re receiving but I don’t think it’s illegal.

theculture · 20/11/2021 17:09

There was something in the radio a few days ago about particular card readers being unusable by blind people and therefore potentially liable to a discrimination argument but apart from that . . .

Mushypeasandchipstogo · 20/11/2021 17:11

As others have said yes they have every right to refuse cash. The legal tender thing is something to do with debts and does not mean that they have to accept cash. Businesses in England do not have take Scottish notes and vice versa.

Samcro · 20/11/2021 17:13

@UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme

I actually wonder whether it's discrimination not to take cash. Not in the case of the OP's DH, but I work with people with cognitive disabilities most of whom only use cash.

This My dc has severe disability and lds. They can't use a card and carers are not allowed to use one for them, so it's discriminatory

countingto10 · 20/11/2021 17:21

A small retailer near me prefers cash as it costs them if you use a card especially annoying for them if an item only costs a couple of pounds. I always offer cash to a small retailer, tradesmen etc. All the card transactions add up to them.

MMAMPWGHAP · 20/11/2021 17:23

The discrimination against the elderly and those with learning disabilities is one thing in a shop but in a public Swimming Pool or Leisure Centre it’s appalling.

nocoolnamesleft · 20/11/2021 17:27

I was always cash rather than card. Then the pandemic happened, and a lot of places went card only. So I started carrying a card. Like your husband needs to.

LawnFever · 20/11/2021 17:38

he doesn't forget, he just believes it is his right to use cash if he chooses. I have the feeling today's experience may have disabused him of that notion!

He can still carry cash & use it if that’s what he prefers, but just with the back up of a card in his wallet, hopefully like you say this will make him realise that’s the best thing to do

Ohpulltheotherone · 20/11/2021 17:46

Conversely, last week I went into a quirky coffee shop, ordered a tea and proceeded to get my phone out to pay…

“We’re cash only”

Oh really? Wow.

I said I’ll be back but instead I mooched down to greggs and got a tea which was £1 cheaper and conveniently used my phone.

I definitely feel sorry for people who don’t or can’t make use of the digital age for things like online shopping or banking etc - I feel like businesses must have a hard time striking the right balance between being progressive and meeting the demands of their newer customers but still being accessible for those who need it.

RobinPenguins · 20/11/2021 17:59

It’s legal. Dealing with volumes of cash, particularly coins, costs businesses a lot of money so more and more will move away from it.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6