Places that encourage cash increasing

[ItsAllAboutTheDosh]

I am finding more restaurants, bars and shops are encouraging cash payments due to the card payment costs. These are always independent places with the owner on site actively involved.
Just wondering if others are finding the same?
Although if you never or rarely go to small independent places that would be helpful to state. I find chains prefer card payments.

Banking cash costs a lot too.

I suppose they could be paying costs out in cash and banking the balance, so saving on cash deposit costs, but most people want bank transfers not cash nowadays.

Cash payments cost money to process too.

I’ve not seen it myself to be honest, the other way in fact as it keeps insurance costs down.

Cash costs way less to handle in smaller owner run businesses. I used to run one myself so I do understand this. You use the cash to legally pay the cleaner and sessional staff and for small everyday costs. And any you bank, you do it in your own time, you do not pay staff to do it.

But times have changed since COVID. Who wants to be paid in cash? It's a right hassle. Have to bank it as the majority of household costs are bank payments.

Most take away places are cash only.. chinese places especially.
Is this to hide money or the expense?

Have noticed this in small establishments (fish and chip shops!). I just don’t carry cash anymore as for so long shops wouldn’t accept it or did so reluctantly it’s become a habit not to carry. Not going to wander about hoping a working cash machine appears. On the plus side it’s stopped me
making a lot of purchases.

Times have changed. Card handling is now very competitive and lots of options for cheap merchant accounts. Not only have bank charges for cash bank8ng gone up, there are also fewer banks open, so harder and more time consuming to take cash to banks.

If a business is encouraging cash it’s more likely they’re not declaring it and tax evading.

Totally disagree this is about avoiding taxes. It is about their margins being very low and needing to reduce costs i.e. bank charges.

I always think cash only businesses are trying to avoid tax or money laundering fronts.

Money laundering fronts are obvious. I see them in my city. They have strange opening hours, no menus or prices as they do not want any customers.

It’s not always the case but it is much easier to fiddle the books when it’s cash. Also, with card transactions, you are less likely to have someone with their hand in the till.

I agree with the others. I've worked in the finance dept of national retailers. I will always recommend card usage, particularly because customers are more will pay larger sums on card which is good for sales. There are cash handling costs like security van collections services or staff time off and security for them to bank large sums themselves. Banks charge for cash deposits on business bank accounts. Insurance costs due to having cash on site and finally, there is the actual loss of cash or theft.

I own a restaurant and we don't handle cash at all. The charges are way higher than our card merchant and it means there's no cashing up/faffing about with banks/nothing to nick. We do accept cash tips for our staff though, but that's the only physical money we have on site.

People who steal can not steal card transactions. They can steal in other ways such as undercharging friends and family and stealing stock.
But I have said that I have noted the increase in encouraging cash in independent businesses where the owner is on site and actively involved. It is often them or a family member collecting cash.
In small businesses like this the profit margin is often not large and they need to keep costs as low as possible. Encouraging cash does that.
It is interesting someone talking about seeing this in small fish and chip shops as they are facing increasing costs alongside reluctance by customers to pay those costs. Many fish and chip shops have closed as a result over the last few years. Those still open need to cut costs wherever possible.

Fine you are all going to talk about larger businesses now. If you are paying staff to cash up and bank then yes cash is more expensive to handle. That is not the type of business I am talking about.
And I never used to see small independent places with owners actively involved on site encouraging cash. It is becoming more common. We go to a pub and a restaurant that encourage this. In one the male owner of the pub is the chef, and the other the chef is a family member and the owner serves alongside a staff member.

The type of business you're talking about is exactly the type of business I own. My husband is the chef. You obviously don't know what you're talking about at all!

@FranklynDawg okay. Not my experience or what I see happening.
I should add we are not well off so I am talking about places where people will spend £20 a head or less on a meal and drinks, not anywhere fancy. Margins are tight.

Yep, as I said, exactly the same business we run - under £20 a head. We live in an area with many independent cafes and small restaurants and most encourage card use due to low transaction fees vs higher fees to handle cash...

I have a small high street. Most of the shops encourage cash sales because they get charged for people paying by carde. Definitely not money laundering......but I wouldn't say no to an offer from the butchers Lol

A few posters have told you that banking cash is also costly, and one has told you that insurances charges are cheaper for card-only businesses. They seem to know what they’re on about.

The reasons some businesses encourage cash IMO is either because they feel a cashless society is morally wrong/discriminatory, or because they are evading tax or washing money.

I’ve not come across this at all - still using Apple Pay and being encouraged to do so.

Maybe a location would help OP?
I'm in East Manchester and many small businesses encourage cash but we're within easy drive of ATM's and banks. And these places are cheap. So people get out cash to pay. Wouldn't bother for a similar priced place unless the food is really good.
Further up closer to the Peak District all cards, mobile places like food van etc also all card they have nowhere to store the cash and a big risk of being robbed!

Actually being able to bank cash is becoming more and more tricky as more and more bank branches are closing or reducing hours.

Personally I've seen the opposite- smaller businesses wanting card payments in order to not have the problem of trying to bank cash.

I seen it increasing too.

My hairdresser stopped accepting card payments at the beginning of the year as the fees were too high.

It's now cash or bank transfer only. Took seconds to set up a bank transfer so I've no problem with it.