Food places and cafes not accepting cash

[Annoyedtiger]

Yes I understand covid and I normally always pay with my card but today I accidentally left it at home and I went to three cafes including Cafe Nero which wouldn’t take my cash.

We know covid is airborne and everything is mostly back to normal.

AIBU to think everywhere should be tasking cash now?

I forgot my M & S credit card pin. The account is locked. It’s such a palaver getting it unlocked and a new pin that I haven’t bothered and now only use it for online purchases.

Marwell Zoo is the same. I took my Brownies group there and they had all brought money for the shop. I had to pay for it all in my card and they gave me the cash. Such a bloody pain and then I had to go and back the cash.

Cash needs to be protected for the sake of the elderly.

It’s all great for those pensioners people above have mentioned, who use iPads and iPhones and bank cards, but many don’t. My grandparents are in their 90s, have no devices and travel into town to visit a bank branch in order to take cash out, rather than use a bank card. They don’t have the technology to keep an eye on their accounts online, which is essential if you use cards.

How do they get the cash out and keep an eye on the account now ?

They get cash out and do any transfers at a branch. There is no need to keep an eye on accounts between visits they know exactly what’s in their account and cards aren’t being used anywhere so there is very little chance of fraud. Apparently there are massive queues when they go in the mornings so they aren’t the only ones doing this!

Haven’t read the full thread yet. So apologies if this has been said already but I believe legal tender only applies to the repayment of debt.

There's at least one café in my town that only takes cash. I've been caught out by that recently.

I know a couple of people who work in cash in hand businesses, declare a fraction of what they earn, but pay cash for everything, so I think this move is a good thing. Plus much easier for businesses to balance the books etc.

SO?

cash is filthy, why shouldn't she try to prevent getting sick?

The cards are not being used anywhere? Do they not use a card to get money out over the counter?
I can imagine there are massive queues although I suspect that's to do with banks shutting huge amounts of branches.
This situation is only going one way with cash , it won't go completely but less and less will carry it.

Many toilets in London take card payments for the 20p. Paddington Station and the toilets in Hyde Park both only card for a wee wee.

I bet there are more types of excrement on a coin that's been in circulation for 5 years than there is on a public toilet seat. Pop one on a petri dish and see what grows.

So many banks are closing branches that it came become a slog for businesses to actually bank cash at the end of the night. Card payments are much simpler in that regard. I'm not saying it's perfect but banking cash can be a pain in the bum

A petrol station I sometimes use couldn't sell any petrol because their machine had broke down. Some people probably ran out of petrol that day, they had a long way to go to find the next one.

They use.....a card 😂

You think they're too stupid (to run a business)?

oh the irony

www.hsbc.co.uk/opportunity/financial-independence/?gbraid=0AAAAAB93qOsSGdGJxr_RZGtMu67IgtGpY&gbraid=0AAAAAB93qOsSGdGJxr_RZGtMu67IgtGpY&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8O-VBhCpARIsACMvVLPPP7xg30iaKXnhvRZa07WcQM3LF4XdJldx_5RevI6wwl_yhWob0TAaAmtZEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

HSBC does bank accounts for homeless people and people without fixed addresses ie sofa surfers.

Making cash disappear will make the inflation worse. Printing free money is not so hard but printing free digital money will be a lot easier. You think it's bad now ? Just wait till cash disappears.

The vast majority of money is created digitally. You don’t think when the Bank of England does quantitative easing they print millions of pounds and pay it in over the counter! Printing physical cash is a tiny proportion of new money

There is a faint scent of luddite on here and i understand it as change is always tricky. My brother's pub went cashless pre Covid and the professors at the University college next door wrote a long letter, signed by many, stating that he had lost their business, on principle. There are all back now, happy.

Times evolve, as do solutions. Needs, must etc

I was late to the card on phone party, and love it for simply being so easy ( and contactless!). I have no wallet. Drivers license and cash card are my everyday bag, JIC.

Seems to be the way now.A little cafe in the New forest has a screen that you press your card against! So no contact at all with machine even .Covid has helped things along ,but this has been in the pipeline for some time now . A cashless society beckons!

I don’t like the idea of card/bank payments only. Once everything is automated, whoever is in charge can control who has access. Like in Handmaids Tale, yes I know that is fiction and I’m not saying that’s going to happen (though looking at America right now it is very scary)

At this point in time it’s more complex to withdraw money from a bank than it is to use a card to pay for something. Keeping track of the balance is really the only stumbling block if someone isn’t able to use a smartphone/computer to access online banking

I agree that it's more faff to go into a bank. You don't need online banking to keep track though, you can ask the bank to give you a mini-statement each time you go in, so if you only use cash, you can get one each time you withdraw cash.

Agree with the pp who said it's harder for someone to control their own money if they live with someone who is financially abusive. Although it might work the other way, you can open a secret account and withdraw money from it to spend (assuming you can fund the account in some way).

I want cash to remain, mainly as I think it is a competition of sorts for banks, who otherwise would hike up charges to business. The other reasons given elsewhere on this thread are equally valid.

However, with the closure or limited hours of so many banks, and the general uselessness in my experience of cash collection security companies, I can understand why some businesses do not want the expense or hassle of accepting and paying in cash. I understand in the Netherlands the move away from cash is partly to reduce robberies.

I'd be willing to exchange actual cash for fresh baklava!!

My first thought was street homeless.

I'm autistic and was able to manage my money much better when it wasn't virtual.