Can shops refuse cash and insist on card payments only?

[AlternativelyWired]

A local deli moved to card only during lockdown and has continued to do so. There's a sign up saying card only and I wonder if there's a move towards a cashless society now. I get paid in cash and a take away drink and maybe a cake would be a weekly thing at most and I'd have cash on me but not necessarily any money in the bank. It's a first world problem I know but are shops allowed to say no to cash?

You really think I'm doing my 9 year old a disservice by not giving him a card. That's such utter bullshit and we both know it. He saved up for something he wanted that cost £350 over 18 months starting when he was 6. He is better with money than the vast majority of adults. I use virtual cards all the time mainly through Google pay on my watch. I couldn't be more detached from cash but children learn in specific ways and virtual money at too early an age teaches bad habits and is very specifically pushed by financial agencies because it encourages people to take on easy debt. I used to work for one of the world's largest financial institutions providing consumer finance. I know for a fact how year on year, the goal is to get more and more people taking on debt through finance, paying in a way structured to maximise interest payments to the bank.

How we would 'reward' consumers who made repayments in ways that maximised company profits. The 'reward' was of course, more debt. I know how these companies work. I know that all the studies show it's easier to budget with cash. Yes children do need to learn about how cards work. Not just from the perspective of a consumer. But first, from the perspective of the bank. Long before a child ever has access to a card. They need to be old enough to fully understand interest rates from the perspective of those who profit off it.

I actually feel pretty lucky that I worked in that industry at a young age because the reality is that financial institutions spend an awful lot of money working out how to best part you with yours. It insured that I would never take on debt apart from a brief mortgage in my 20s. And by brief I mean 2 years. There is a very, very significant difference between buying a house with a mortgage and buying a house for cash. The difference to your life is genuinely incomparable. Especially at this time of awful financial turmoil that we probably are only at the very beginning of.

One good thing about no cash is that tips aren't expected, no rounding up to a fiver or tenner now.

The other thing about cards is the issue of fraud. I had an awful experience a few years ago whereby I was the victim of fraud but I still had my card (not lost or stolen) but it resulted in the bank freezing my account. I had to go into a branch (miles away) with ID and had to beg for £50 cash to see me through to the end of the week as I had no other source of money (other accounts online and linked to the frozen one). It was immensely stressful and took over a week for me to have access to money and online banking again. I always have cash back up now.

It's all very well saying 12 year olds can have cards but they can still be subject to fraud and scams etc. Be careful what you wish for I say, cashless society sounds great but when everyone goes cashless I expect there will be charges attached to various things (bit like the GoHenry card)

@Wanderingowl no, I think what I actually said - which is that you are doing him a disservice to think he is incapable of understanding how to use a card. Most kids play video games nowadays where they can spend virtual money, it is not an alien concept. I work in financial services too. No one thinks we should give credit cards to children. But debit cards are a safe and easy way for them to access money and they don’t need to understand anything beyond what they need to understand for cash. Interest rates and how MasterCard makes its money are completely irrelevant to the use of a debit card.

Yep, and aren't the parents often on here moaning because DC has spent loads of money because they haven't a clue what they are doing.

Which is because 1) the parents haven’t bothered to teach them about how they work - this scenario is helped by teaching kids this stuff sooner rather than later and 2) they haven’t bothered to set up spending controls - which aren’t an issue for a debit card as children can’t get overdrafts.

Speaking to a local shop the issue with cash is a lot of the local banks have closed so for them they don’t like carrying/leaving sums of money around. What was a maximum 10 min round trip to walk to the local bank and back

It's a vicious circle. The more people adopt this cashless nonsense, the more branches will close.

Sorry I've not read everything here so might be repeating.

My nan who's in her 90's has always had a little book that she records all her card spending in, so she can keep track of what she's spending/how much she has in her account Which seems to work for her,

I got a card when I was 10 in the 90's and loved going to the cashpoint to print out paper balance slip/pay money etc, my mum made it an exciting event to keep track of my money (admitted there were more cashpoints then And I lived in the countryside so anything in the town was exciting) ... Now I'm in the habit of checking it regularly (on my phone) .... but thats probably down to my personality types.

Ohh just realised this is an old thread, sorry

If Starbucks can do it then I’d imagine smaller businesses can. I have the opposite issue where I live, it’s a small town and some small shops are still stuck in the 1950s so won’t accept card! I never carry cash at all so just avoid those shops.

I think most 12 and 13 year olds use a card now eg GoHenry

Most 12/13 year olds have debit cards!

My son has special needs and got one when he turned 11.. very normal now tbh !

Chippy near me is still cash only, he's open about taking cards being too much hassle and paying his casual staff in cash weekly.

Grandson got a go Henry card on his 6th birthday. He's stopped asking for comics and has worked out four cornertos are twice the price of generic ones 😂

I hope he’s declaring all takings for tax and notifying HMRC of all wages paid to his staff.

Why wouldn't he it's an outgoing

I'm up north too and my kids had cards from 12 and also used Apple Pay as soon as they were 13. They are pretty self sufficient for paying for things.

im at the stage where I don’t even carry my wallet and card a lot of the time now. I find myself paying on my watch mostly.
I usually find myself struggling in our local village though where the car park machines are cash only with no card or app pay option and I’ve never got change on me.

With card payment fees often being cheaper than cash banking fees, I guarantee it’s a tax fiddle.
Owner takes payment in cash, small suppliers discount for cash, staff paid in cash… etc etc

Our local Chinese is the same, there’s absolutely no reason not to take card unless you’re fudging figures.

any shop thats cash only, probably fixing the books.

Shops can do what they want regarding payment, customers can choose whether to use the shop

I only use a credit card for shopping, I have several and pay off each month, I never use a bank card in case they freeze my account in case of fraud. People need to be careful using their current account for everyday card transactions.

Exactly, I think people used to expect the rounding up with cash.

Sorry, ignore this thread, it's a ZOMBIE

"With card payment fees often being cheaper than cash banking fees, I guarantee it’s a tax fiddle."

Absolute rubbish. It costs me 0.65% (65p per £100) to bank cash. The cheapest card payment I take is debit card which is 0.88% (88p per £100) to process (plus authorisation fees, plus charges for the card machine etc). Card processing such as SumUp are 1.69% (£1.69 per £100) regardless of card type.

The thing with cash is that you can use it to pay suppliers for goods/services meaning that you bank less cash and therefore incur lower bank charges. With card payment, you have to pay the merchant fees to process the payment, then pay bank charges to receive the money into the business account (business bank accounts are not free unlike many personal bank accounts) and then pay fees again to the bank when you spend what is in the account. In the last 8 years, my card processing fees have trebled. Cash handling fees haven't changed. One of the many reasons the cost of living is going up.

Handling cash doesn't always mean people are on the fiddle. It really is cheaper to deal with and doesn't rely on technology/electricity. Power cuts have never stopped me taking payments in cash.

He is being dodge, cash is far more hassle than cards for a business.

It costs more to bank cash than take card payments

Insurance companies put limits on home much can cash can be kept on the premises and how much one person can to take to the bank if they are not accompanied

There are money laundering rules on how much cash can be taken

it's easier to steal cash

I am so glad i dont have to deal with cash anymore it was alway a huge pain