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

[AudTheDeepMinded]

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?

Just got back from a break at Center Parcs and it’s completely cashless there now. My husband also moaned after walking to get a newspaper and they wouldn’t accept cash. Started moaning how children will never learn the value and importance of money if they can’t use actual coins and notes and see how much they’re spending and what they’ve got left.

My disabled mum finds cards much easier so it goes both ways - she was struggling to get coins out of her purse and used to just hand her purse over to the cashier for them to sort the payment out which lets face it, wasn't great.

Now with the £50 limit and just having to wave your card it needs a lot less dexterity and she's much happier.

I haven't used cash since before the pandemic - anywhere cash only I just avoid now.

Yes a business can refuse to accept cash and "legal tender" only applies to the settlement of debt. The reality is that he is going to have to accept the modern world.

He came back and we had a chat. He pointed out that not everyone has a bank account, or can use a card, which is a very fair point. It is a council facility for local people so that in that sense it could be seen as discriminatory if not all of them can access it.

I did point out that he does however have a bank card. Think it has been grudgingly acknowledged that having it in his actual wallet might be a plan!

He pointed out that not everyone has a bank account, or can use a card, which is a very fair point. It is a council facility for local people so that in that sense it could be seen as discriminatory if not all of them can access it.

I agree with him.

A lot of businesses near where I live are cash-only...

i'm reading only 4% of UK adults in 2019 didn't have a bank account; you need an account to get govt benefits. I want to guess it's down to just 2% without bank accounts in 2021, and most of those either out of preference or lack of capacity (dementia) or don't manage their own money (eg., in prison, care homes, etc).

@GoodnightGrandma

A shop near me has a sign up saying that they’re not taking Scottish notes.

They've probably had a few fakes. The different banks issuing (very) different notes makes it much harder for staff to get used to what is a genuine note so I don't think it's surprising that shops who only get a few Scottish notes decide not to take them. Especially in smaller shops who'll feel the loss more.

Read The Handmaid's Tale before you abandon cash.

The local music festival went cash free a few years ago.

Apparently profits skyrocketed as it stopped a fair amount of the failure to run it through the til type ‘errors’.

@AudTheDeepMinded I find it really funny for some reason that your DH has a bank card, and a wallet, but does not keep the former un the latter. Mind blown. Where does he keep it?! We must be told immediately.

@AudTheDeepMinded
When you say “wallet”, do you in fact mean a horseshoe coin purse as in attached image? (And indeed I think as in drawer in what was my parents’ room…) Or has he gone a bit mad with the loyalty cards/library cards/membership cards so he’s no room in his wallet for The Cards Of Money?

(Not sure if it’ll be any consolation, but my father’s not got a smart phone & is quite steadfast in his refusal to get one. If ones that fold stop costing several limbs & a few organs he might give in; but he’s going to be 69 in January…)

Oh & while he was being an eejit about cash/card for himself; if he’s time to contact your local councillor about it as an access issue, that would be a really good thing to do. Someone with no skin in the game making a noise about it (& a man no less!) tends to get their attention. (Asking if the Council did an Equalities Impact Assessment before making the change no pun intended & asking to see it is an excellent way to put the wind up them. Because in this instance they’ve either not done one; they’ve done one & failed to consider the needs of certain groups; or they’ve done one, considered the needs of certain groups & decided that they just don’t matter. “Card only is more convenient for us” absolutely doesn’t cut it…)

He pointed out that not everyone has a bank account, or can use a card, which is a very fair point. It is a council facility for local people so that in that sense it could be seen as discriminatory if not all of them can access it.

That is a good point.

I'm amazed he hasn't come across anywhere that didn't take cash before now.
Lots of places I've visited have been card only (some are card preferred)

Honestly your husband sounds a bit of an arse. Loads of places are card only now. Not only does it prevent fake notes, prevents the theft of money by employees or others, don't need to make runs to the bank or make sure they've got change but with covid it's far safer too. He needs to arrive in 2021 already.

A couple of years ago we were in Japan and had lunch at this tiny little ramen place. Only after eating did we find out they didn't take cash or card! They only took the Japanese equivilant of the Oyster card. We found ourselves so stuck. Eventually they agreed to take cash. Food was awful too.

A lot of businesses have stopped accepting cash as it's safer for the staff, especially if there's only one person working, to not have cash on the premises to deter robberies.

@AudTheDeepMinded

He came back and we had a chat. He pointed out that not everyone has a bank account, or can use a card, which is a very fair point. It is a council facility for local people so that in that sense it could be seen as discriminatory if not all of them can access it.

I did point out that he does however have a bank card. Think it has been grudgingly acknowledged that having it in his actual wallet might be a plan!

Who can't use a debit card but can manage cash? Who doesn't have a bank account? Almost anyone who claims benefits including state pension needs to have an account with a card. Yes, there are a minuscule number of people who pick up their benefits in cash but it's a severely limited system and not approved without a strong reason. Honestly, who does he think is using the public pool who also has no access to a bank account?

Oh & while he was being an eejit about cash/card for himself; if he’s time to contact your local councillor about it as an access issue, that would be a really good thing to do. Someone with no skin in the game making a noise about it (& a man no less!) tends to get their attention. (Asking if the Council did an Equalities Impact Assessment before making the change no pun intended & asking to see it is an excellent way to put the wind up them. Because in this instance they’ve either not done one; they’ve done one & failed to consider the needs of certain groups

Which groups?

Oh come on! It's not a good point at all. It's a vanishingly small number of people without a bank account - less than 3%. The days of small brown envelopes are gone: wages and benefits are almost exclusively paid into accounts and withdrawn with cards. Your husband isn't championing 87-year-old Ivy who is still paying the butcher from the suitcase of cash her husband left under the bed when he shuffled off this mortal coil. He's just annoyed on his own account and being a bit of a tool about it to the receptionist.

*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

Shops / businesses can make a 'reasonable adjustment' for a disabled person but still insist able bodied users pay with a card.

Also my carer has a spare card for my credit card, I often ask him to pick up shopping and it's easier for him to have a card.

You can also get pre pay cards, often used for holiday spending but can be used at home.

Who can't use a debit card but can manage cash?

DD with learning disabilities. People whose religion forbids them to use electronic devices, like The Plymouth Brethren. Elderly people - 95 year old MIL can't use an ATM, mobile phone, computer you name it! SIL has to buy her white goods as similar to her old one, as she can get!

There was a case against HMRC. They insisted everybody submits VAT returns electronically. It was found this discriminates against religious groups and the elderly. HMRC had to accept another method of submission.

Shops don't have to accept cash. Look at amazon, they're going to stop accepting visa credit cards. Their shop, their rules.

My coffee shop was card only for about a year during these covid times.
The amount of times I was shouted at for it being illegal to refuse cash! 😂
We get one delightful lady who would walk down during second lockdown (it would take her ages because she’s in her 90’s) she only ever had cash so she would pay us with a bag of chocolate eclairs.

CloseYourEyesAndSee the adults with learning disabilities I work with in a supported living environment all have bank accounts but these are managed to varying extents by their legal guardian (in several cases a lawyer, where they have no appropriate family member willing to do it). Their benefits etc. are paid into the accounts but they can't buget from or manage them - they don't have capacity. One or two have cash cards to withdraw cash, others have no understanding of the value of money and can't remember PINs or operate cash machines safely, and/ or don't feel safe doing so unaccompanied. So far only one trusts himself using a card to make payments, and he regularly runs out of money on his preloaded card during a single trip out of the house unaccompanied because he forgets how much he's spent, can't add up the amounts and gets overwhelmed trying to check his bank app/ loses his phone/ transactions haven't shown up etc.

Cash gives my clients freedom and an element of independence because they can see that they have (say) two 5€ notes and a 10€ note. Even though most of my clients can't work out that 5+5+10= 20, they can understand/ remember that a 5€ is enough to pay for a coffee and slice of cake at the local bakery, or for two bottles of beer for the weekend, or that the 10€ means they have enough to order a pizza and walk down to the restaurant and collect it.

If they had to use a card they'd have to ask for help to understand what they could afford on any given day and be that little bit less independent. The little things they can do alone matter hugely in terms of self esteem and confidence and quality of life.

My DH is the same only uses cash.
He hates contactless payments.

And no he doesn't have a good phone either.
£4.99 from Argos.

One day he will get into the 21st century.

LetHimHaveIt having a bank account doesn't equate to being able to manage that bank account. Many people who's bank accounts are managed by a legal guardian or a family member with power of attorney can manage small cash sums to maintain a level of independence but can't manage electronic/ card payments due to learning disabilities or dementia.