Cash only

[antelopevalley]

We are visiting family in Yorkshire and have been having days out. I have been really surprised at the number of places saying cash only or cash preferred. Everything from an Indian restaurant this evening, to a small gift shop. I have no idea why this seems so prevalent here as I have rarely come across this in other places.

Given the costs associated with dealing in cash, the risks and the effort, my starting assumption would be tax fraud.

You think lots of businesses in Yorkshire specifically are defrauding on their tax?

It’s not only Yorkshire. There are takeaways and small shops all over that are cash only. You are maybe just noticing it more when travelling.

Card companies like visa and Mastercard charge about 3% to businesses. Perhaps they are doing cash only to avoid these charges

That makes sense. Especially given how much businesses are struggling at the moment.

I live in Yorkshire, and I very rarely have cash on me. Our local pub is cash only, but every other pub you go into, there is always a card reader. I was surprised on Saturday night though. We went to a lovely restaurant in a village with quite high traffic, and there was a massive sign on the door saying 'Cash only', I initially assumed it was because there was a fault with the card reading machines, but realised it was a fixed sign. I don't know why? 🤷‍♂️

This was shared recently by a friend:

Banks also charge a fee to deposit cash, so the card processing fees are irrelevant. I run a business, in the hospitality trade actually, cash only is almost always suggestive of suggestive of other dodgy goings on, paying cash in hand or reducing VAT and corporation tax.

I also live in a tourist area, it’s usually the independent businesses that request cash only.

I think sadly this is going to become more of a problem, our energy contract ran out this month, I begrudgingly renewed it in January to start this month - obviously not being aware of the further price increases.
I managed to renew at £32000 per year, up from around £8000 per year - if I had left it to renew this month, we’d be looking at costs of around £60k per year.
For perspective, my premises is only 2500 square feet, and we’re only open for 10 hours a day.
Theres not much media coverage on commercial energy costs though, and unless something is done soon and quickly, then lots of smaller businesses are going under in the next 12-36months, cash only could certainly just be desperate people trying to save enough to get by once they do go under.

Its just another example of how much shit the country is in.

I always assume it’s the first sign of a business struggling and avoiding their card machine charges or giving the machine up altogether.

There’s a barber near me who has only ever been cash only. The owner drives a Porsche 😉

Theres not much media coverage on commercial energy costs though, and unless something is done soon and quickly, then lots of smaller businesses are going under in the next 12-36months,

I read last week that up to 400,000 small businesses may be forced to close due to the energy costs crisis.

I always assume it's because they can then not declare some of it 😜

Depending on where you are, the signal to contact the bank may not be strong enough or reliable enough.

It's not illegal to pay cash you know !
It's also not illegal to not bank the cash and pay your staff with it , all through the books and kosha

This assumption that anyone wanting cash is up to no good is really irritating. Lots of people like using cash, it is a perfectly legal way to do business. The hostile attitude to businesses using cash will only accelerate its decline.

And it helps some people budget better. If they spend only the cash they draw out for that week, they won't overspend. Older people find it easier to manage their money this way. Using actual money also helps children learn the value of money. It's far more real to them in physical form.

My local cinema prefer card payments. Our takeaway is cash only. Sometimes its annoying as my cash could be low so I would only have my card.

I would much rather use a business that is cash only than one which is card only. Refusal to take actual money is a worrying sign

The Post Office reported the amount of cash being drawn out over the counter was the most for years last month . It does help people keep track of spending

Indeed, but let’s be honest here, given the costs and risks of being cash-only a great number if cash-only businesses are laundering money or evading tax.

I had to go to Yorkshire during the height of the pandemic to sell my deceased mum's house.

I'm in the South East where every business was card only & arrived in Yorkshire to find every business was cash only!

I found it really odd - and inconvenient because I didn't have any! 🤣

No idea why!

I've noticed cash-only places for years, all over country.
Typically places that do high volume of relatively low amount transactions.

So no need to pay bank handling charges for cash or card charges. It has been small independent businesses that only accept cash so saving 3% on transactions is pretty significant.

The hairdresser was cash only after the pandemic as she couldn't afford to renew the card reader. I don't go there anymore as I found somewhere cheaper but I appreciate she must have been struggling.

It can be a sign of financial issues. Businesses may want cash only so they can keep it out of the bank longer (where it might be taken immediately to pay down an overdraft), or so they like have it handy to pay bills immediately. If a businesses is new or has poor credit, some suppliers will insist on COD (cash on delivery - basically they will not hand over the goods unless they are paid there and then in hard cash).

Remember there is a big difference between accepting cash as one payment method and insisting on cash only. In this day and age I would view the latter as either a sign of something dodgy or a business that is experiencing temporary or permanent cash flow issues.