To ask you what legitimate reasons a business/store would have only accepting cash?

[InTheBox]

I don't include tradespeople in this or one-man-band types. I mean shops and businesses on the high street.

I've been going to the same boutique for years and they've always requested that everyone pay cash. Same with a cafe I went to a while back. When I questioned them they say it's just how things are done.

In this day and age with contactless, smartphone payments etc what legitimate reason would a business have in not permitting card payments?

They are charged for these services so they obviously don't feel it is worthwhile.

They have to pay a fee for each cc transaction, and on small purchases it can really eat into the profit. They've looked at how much they were paying in bank charges and decided it's not worth the fees.

My hairdressers have never accepted card payments and since cheque guarantee cards were phased out they stopped accepting cheques too. So are now just cash.

It's annoying. Tight-fisted owner won't pay the chargers for a card reader. Having said that, customers still go so can't be'that' annoying

The card machines are not free! They need to be bought or rented, some require a phone line. On top of the monthly rental, there's a charge for each transaction, either a fixed charge, a % or sometimes both, depending on what type of card is used, and whether the cardholder is paying in person using their pin or over the phone. Plus there's a requirement to complete an annual compliance thing online to make sure you have policies and procedures in place to protect any card data. It also opens the business owner up to chargebacks, where disputed payments are simply taken back, which can happen without any communication between the business and customer.

Er, the hideous cost of card machines should do it!

Fees.

I guess if we don't like it, we vote with our feet.

If I ran such a shop or cafe, I'd be nervous with all that cash on the premises. There must be increased risk of robbery. I wonder if a card-less policy affects insurance?

I think businesses that only take cash can't measure how much money they lose due to such a policy. I know I sometimes walk past a cafe like that if I haven't got any cash on me to one where I don't have to go to a cash machine first. Could this cost them more than bank charges in lost profit?

My parents have a small business and the margins are very tight. They get to keep a tiny percentage of the cost of item they sell. When people pay by card they lose a significant amount if that profit

It is getting less expensive now with the new ways of doing it, but I still think it's fair enough for a business owner to choose not to take cards.

I think there does need to be a sign of some kind up though especially with a hairdressers. Otherwise you'd be stuck there with a haircut you can't pay for.

Its all down to costs
Are you implying they are tax dodging?

I think it's reasonable so long as it is signposted from the outside. Cash is still very quick and easy, I still use it for pretty well all transactions under £10. I find it easier to keep track of what I'm spending that way.

I hadn't considered the idea that fees could be to such an extent as to not make card payments viable. Thanks for that.

scarlets You raise an interesting point and one that I have considered but don't know any business owners personally enough to ask them. But I'd like to think it must to in some way.

mudandmayhem01 I've often thought the same. Especially the lunch time rush. I don't have time to go and wait by a cash point so I often end up in buying a sandwich or whatever in a supermarket.

ottothedog Not implying that all are tax-dodging. I know that some are and some aren't. It isn't an SME-basing thread. I just sometimes feel put out by it especially when I didn't know from the get-go that it was cash-only.

Maybe they want to buy a bunch of lotto scratchcards on the way home.

It's down to fees.

There is a charger plus a % of the bill, the charge for it to clear in the bank and charge to get the money out of the bank.

If you have small margins it can hit hard.

Insurance is fine as long as you don't keep above a certain amount, that you decide with your insurance company, on the premises.

When they break it's a pain because people expect they can use the machine then get arsey because it's broken. It can take days to get someone out and cost a lot to fix. And when people start splitting bills on cards it's ridiculous.

Customers have the choice. Vote with your feet and go elsewhere.

The business owners also have their choice to make. They don't feel it's value for money and so vote with their feet and don't use it.

Maybe it's a principle thing, they would rather people use cash? They aren't required to provide a "legitimate reason". Or another way of looking at it is that "because we say so" is a legitimate reason. Don't like it, don't buy from them. Simples.

It also costs about £1.00 for every £100 in cash paid into a business account.

Bank charges all around can be crippling for a small business, which often customers are not even aware of.

Account fee before you even begin to pay money in costs £6.50 per month. Every cheque costs about 0.65 to pay in (or write), plus a fee for the transaction slip itself. So for small amounts, eg, £30.00, each cheque paid can cost around 70p per cheque for a small business. If a business does lots of small transactions, this adds up to a lot of money each time deposits are made into the bank.

(Fees vary slightly according to the bank used, but this is a ball-park figure).

The UK is quite unusual in the level of low value card transactions, in a lot of other countries they are years behind. I've just spent some time in Belgium and cash is the norm even in restaurants, I quickly learned to look for the VISA sticker in the window before assuming I'd be able to pay by card. Bank accounts are fee paying in most countries except the UK so we have no real idea how much these services cost.

I have a small independent business and I take card payments. And on products priced at as little as £1. During the week the card reader broke. I advertised this on Facebook and the website and popped a sign on the door. The rudeness I have had from some customers has been inbeliveable. They've wanted to come in and have food and drink for free because of it. A good 8-10 of them. Sometimes technology fucks up and having cash if you are planning to go somewhere and spend smallish amounts of money is a good idea.

Sometimes, sadly, it is a sign of a failing business that doesn't want to pay money into the bank to keep it away from an overdraft so they can carry on trading. Also, some new businesses don't yet have the facility set up.

With a small or independent business though, I would fully expect there to be a limit - such as 'no card transactions under £5/10' which could remedy the situation?

Every nail bar i visited has been cash only,and average transaction would be approx £16-£20

I only take cheque or cash...reason bank charges and my mostly eldery population that doesnt have have wifi. Every single one of my patients over the last ten years have understood why! I give receipts and do my tax return with every single expense and payment! ( i usually do my tax return boxing day..outed myself here. Am i only one who loves the online tax return. Ive almost found the tax office very helpful)