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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

The shop not accepting card payments AIBU

55 replies

Appleofmyeye05 · 02/10/2022 14:07

where I live is on a smallish housing estate and lots of residential properties near by and we have a convenience shop at the top of the road.

my gripe about this shop is that for gas and electricity top ups they do not/ will not accept card payments. I have previously had a fuel voucher and they would not accept it there stating that they didn’t have a scanner ( they did as I could see it) they say they will only accept cash for this, they have a cash machine in the shop which charges £2.99 to use and is always out of order so it’s useless anyway.

AIBU to be annoyed by this? Is there a legitimate reason why card payments cannot be accepted? Is it the shop keepers discretion? I’m trying to be reasonable about it but it seems unreasonable being the only shop close to all these residential properties and not offering card payment as it’s widely accepted now. They have a pay point machine which is what they have at another shop further away and they have no problem with scanning or taking card payments.

no hate please

OP posts:
InCheesusWeTrust · 02/10/2022 14:09

Not even supermarkets do. It's cash everywhere for top ups on counter?

Cottagecheeseisnotcheese · 02/10/2022 14:10

a lot of small shops are charged excessively by banks for small card payments so £5 for you becomes about £4 for them so it is not sustainable this is why you see notices like no cards for under £5 or £10

InCheesusWeTrust · 02/10/2022 14:12

Pay point is cash only service btw

Everydaywheniwakeup · 02/10/2022 14:12

I have a prepay meter and everywhere locally is cash only, £49 max per transaction on each utility.

Quveas · 02/10/2022 14:19

It doesn't matter whether cards are widely accepted. Cards are not legal tender and so nobody is forced to take them.

Original poster
Appleofmyeye05 · 02/10/2022 14:21

Oh I didn’t know it was a cash only service as I have always paid by card apart from at that shop

OP posts:
InCheesusWeTrust · 02/10/2022 14:39

Neither asda nor tesco accept card either. It is possible some small shops have very good deals with payment companies so they may run it through their card system and take out cash from own register instead but that would be an unusual deal to make it wort it for them.
Paying by card is the unusual thing here

SecretVictoria · 02/10/2022 14:40

Shops can put whatever restrictions they like. They can only accept carrots and turnips as payment if they choose. I can see it’s annoying for you, is there no option to top up online using a card?

Glitteratitar · 02/10/2022 14:44

Shops get charged a fee for every card transaction. So you top up your account by £5, and pay the shop £5, but actually once the fee is deducted the shop has to pay the difference to Paypoint.

user29 · 02/10/2022 14:48

I don't think i have used cash for months. I have been on holiday twice this year abroad and not taken a coin of currency either

InCheesusWeTrust · 02/10/2022 14:49

user29 · 02/10/2022 14:48

I don't think i have used cash for months. I have been on holiday twice this year abroad and not taken a coin of currency either

This is about energy top ups....

melj1213 · 02/10/2022 15:02

I work in a supermarket that has a Paypoint machine, we only accept cash payments.

This is not done to piss people off but because it is a separate 3rd party system that is not connected to the store's card readers. Paypoint provide the machine, they have their own internet connection and everything is processed via that machine (nothing gets processed via the store's tills), we just have to provide a secure place to store the cash. At the end of the day it goes to the cash office and is processed separately from anything else.

The only way to pay by card would be if Paypoint had their own card readers connected to their tills but then store's would have no control over them (eg if a card reader stops working we can swap for a spare one or reboot it on our system, but we couldn't do that if it was a separate system) and so of there were any payment issues due to card reader issues the store staff would have no way to fix it and the customer could potentially be left out of pocket and without their electric/gas top up until it is sorted.

Compare this to the lottery machine, for example, where we process tickets via the lottery terminal (printing tickets/confirming winners etc) but payments are done via the store's tills as tickets/scratch cards are sold as any other item is in store. At the end of the day cash office just have to reconcile the "Lotto ticket/scatchcard sales" from the tills with the daily sales report from the lottery machine and ensure they balance.

CeeJay81 · 02/10/2022 15:09

We except cards in Coop for pay point transactions. Didn't realise this wasn't the case in other shops.

melj1213 · 02/10/2022 15:43

CeeJay81 · 02/10/2022 15:09

We except cards in Coop for pay point transactions. Didn't realise this wasn't the case in other shops.

Do you process the transactions via your main till system or on a separate paypoint machine?

In my supermarket the paypoint unit is a totally separate system and there's no integration between the two systems.

CeeJay81 · 02/10/2022 15:47

@melj1213 through the main till system.

ichimedin · 02/10/2022 15:49

of course it’s at the shop’s discretion, they technically don’t have to sell you anything at all if they fancied it

InCheesusWeTrust · 02/10/2022 15:54

CeeJay81 · 02/10/2022 15:47

@melj1213 through the main till system.

Yeah this is probably example of what I was talking about. The fees might be very small so swollowable to drive in more people.

moonypadfootprongs · 02/10/2022 16:00

I have never once paid cash for electricity top up! Coop, spar and post office all take card payments. Really odd not to!

InCheesusWeTrust · 02/10/2022 16:05

Ah. Cracked it. It's because they use payzone no paypoint, isn't it

phishy · 02/10/2022 16:05

Is it the shop keepers discretion? I’m trying to be reasonable about it but it seems unreasonable being the only shop close to all these residential properties and not offering card payment as it’s widely accepted now.

Yes it is at their discretion. They have to do what’s best for their business. They are not a community service.

they have a cash machine in the shop which charges £2.99 to use and is always out of order so it’s useless anyway.

That’s not their fault, they don’t control the cash machine.

sobeyondthehills · 02/10/2022 16:40

I have previously had a fuel voucher and they would not accept it there stating that they didn’t have a scanner ( they did as I could see it)

Are you with payzone?

With fuel vouchers you have to go to a superagent to do the fuel vouchers, as other shops cant process it.

Also if you use the post office, they take the money via cash off your card, so its processed like a withdrawal rather than debit off your card.

Plump82 · 02/10/2022 16:43

This is good to know as we will also be getting voucher's for our electricity discount.

Anyone know where I can check to find out where to go to use them?

InCheesusWeTrust · 02/10/2022 16:44

Plump82 · 02/10/2022 16:43

This is good to know as we will also be getting voucher's for our electricity discount.

Anyone know where I can check to find out where to go to use them?

Your energy supplier will have that info online

Plump82 · 02/10/2022 16:47

InCheesusWeTrust · 02/10/2022 16:44

Your energy supplier will have that info online

Show quote history

It does and shows me the shop I normally go to. But they don't accept card payments.

InCheesusWeTrust · 02/10/2022 16:54

Plump82 · 02/10/2022 16:47

It does and shows me the shop I normally go to. But they don't accept card payments.

Show quote history

They should accept the vouchers of it's said by the company.
Mine says more details will ome with the voucher, some specified post office.