Is it ridiculous in this modern age to be a business that only takes cash?

[PingpongDingDong]

We sometimes visit a cafe in our city that takes cash only. While you're sitting there you see people realising this and one of them having to take a hike to tie closest cashpoint to pay. While we were in holiday we visited a couple of places like this and it made me wonder why they do this. Are bank charges so high? It seems archaic to me.

Yes I would.

I don't like carrying cash...never have.
Had my purse stolen twice with quite a bit of cash in when I was younger and I will never forget my poor dad (paid in cash in a brown envelope - it was the 1970s) losing his weekly pay on his way home - must have fallen out of his jacket as he was in his motorbike. It was awful :(
When I was younger I used a chequebook rather than pay cash (yes, that's how old I am! :))
And of course If you pay via card you get automatic payment protection. I always buy large items on a cc for that reason.

I always buy larger items by CC because of the protection and for convenience but never for anything under £5 and rarely for anything under £10, the risk of losing cash is very small and for me the convenience of it massively outweighs the risk, if it helps small businesses that's even better. I can understand why those who have suffered losses would be reluctant and also for cash flow reasons but I have a friend who never carries cash and she's always faffing in cafes over minimum spends and it ends up costing her more and taking longer.

It's not tax evasion!
Banks charge some businesses 2.5% of the total taken on a card be that debit or visa, not just on credit cards.
So I would imagine this is why the cash only.

I can't see how it's tax evasion tbh.
But I do wonder why - if you have adequate cover and signal - you wouldn't want to make your customers lives easier?

Surely if you have a business you factor in those costs before you set up!?

Re charges; dh has just handled a case involving this and said the machines were £20pcm to rent or £150 to buy. Transactions were 1% for credit cards and 45p for debit cards.

If you factor in the costs so your customers pay more then you are likely to lose business that way too. I don't want to pay more for my coffee because other people don't want to carry cash.

Dh has just said it varied between banks. He says small businesses are better off with the Worldpay zinc. £40 machine 2.7% of transaction if you opt to pay nothing monthly or you can pay £6 a month and it's 1.95% a transaction.
So a £2 cup of coffee with cost the cafe 4p transaction fees if they pay the £6 a month.

I never expect a cafe or small business to take card payments - but am often surprised they do knowing the costs of doing so. These charges are implemented by the bank who already make money out of the small business accounts

Ego, some of the packages do have minimum fees, some don't do you must check. It's why some small businesses have the £5 rule as no point selling something for 20p and it costing you most of that. Some offer no minimum for first year then minimum. It's far more competitive market now that there's not just Nat west streamline so a better deal for small businesses. But check it out carefully.

That might be another thing, that they looked into it a few years ago and decided against but haven't realised there are more options now.

It's annoying when you can't pay how you want but people who never carry cash annoy the piss out of me.
Last night was a classic example. Big group of us, had a quick meal out before needing to be somewhere, had to wait for waitress to process 7 separate card transactions.
I meet some friends for lunch once a week and we go to a food market. Every week at least two of them announce they need to go to a cash point, which is a massive detour and we only have an hour. Then they'll only draw out £10 so sure as shit we'll be doing the same thing next time.

I always buy larger items by CC because of the protection

Which isn't necesarily there anymore. There have been an explosion of mobile payment options available, which is making them accessible to more businesses, but not all of these options are as secure as others.

As i understand it, if you pay by card through a mobile payment device or service that is not endorsed by your credit card provider, they'll pay the retailer, but if anything does wrong (fraud, mulitple transactions etc), you're not covered.

Its up to you, as the consumer, to ensure that the mobile payment technology you are using is validated by your card company. Hence the need for retailers to display signs sayin they accept visa, mastercard, Amex etc. They are only allowed to do that if their mobile payment system meets the standards required of those payment cards.

Where I live there are still a few businesses that don't take cards, but still accept cheques.

I can't be arsed with the palaver of going to the bank, taking out the money and handing it over.

If a business won't accept cards, I won't use it.

That was me that said about credit cards for larger items. I meant traditional credit cards, I haven't ventured into any of the pay by phone type systems available now, perfectly happy with debit/credit cards and cash for the time being. I also pay for a lot of services by bank transfer.

I've been shopping this afternoon (all cash) and thought of another reason I like it, that of teaching the DCs how to use it and pay for things in shops, check change etc, I frequently hand one of them a tenner and get them to go and pay for things, add up, check change etc. Couldn't do that if I didn't have it on me.