The shop not accepting card payments AIBU

[Appleofmyeye05]

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

Not true.
I've topped up in my local co-op

Well yes. We cracked that few posts down

Thank you 😊

I pay mine by card, so that's incorrect

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.

^ this is the reason

why should the shop lose money? If the card payment costs them 5%for example and you put on £50 that’s a lot for the shop to pay out £2.50 each time and they get nothing in return 🤷‍♀️

pay mine by card, so that's incorrect

which shop are you paying at counter?

Again. Cracked that few posts later

Always paid by card and never been asked for cash - that’s at Co-op, Spar, local garage and local corner shop (in my town and a friends). Unusual to only accept cash - do they give you a paypoint receipt after? I’d be worried to pay in cash if I wasn’t getting the receipt.

Hope it's not Post Office only. My nearest one is 10 miles away and not open at weekends. Not sure how I'll be able to use it if that's the case.

I work in a shop and we've always taken debit card payments for pay point. We can't use credit cards but debits have always been accepted both when we had a separate pay point machine and now when it's built into the main till.

I am surprised at how many people pay at PayPOINT by card when even their website clearly state it's cash only which means the shops using PayPoint, not PayZone, must be making loses on the top up sales. Must be worth it for them though I guess (except tv licence where you can use other payment methods)

I can get mine with card in Scotmid and Premier Asda are only cash though annoyingly.

We used to have to pay ours in cash too. Recently got a smart meter and can now top up online which is much easier. Might be worth calling your supplier and seeing if this is an option for you.

Anyone who topped up a lot before yesterday, should stick with dummy meters for a bit😁
I am still on March rates! Worth the pain of cash top ups in AsDA here

I always used to top mine up at the Paypoint machine at the Co-op. Never used cash, always on my card. Asda always insisted on cash, so I stopped going there.

However during lockdown, my energy supplier made it possible to top ip online - an absolute lifesaver and have not been to a Paypoint since then.

This is one of the gripes I have about the advent of a 'cashless society'. I am quite happy to pay by debit card for the majority of the stuff I buy,but my local shop will not accept debit or credit card payments for gas card/electric key top-ups.

Their shop. Their choice. Don't go there is it's unacceptable to you. Our local chippy, excellent one, is cash only, we just take cash!

Yes they always give a receipt after, I never leave without one in case its not gone on properly

yes i have contacted them to make an appointment, the paypoint system is currently down so its not like i can top up anyway! but hopefully once the smart meters are installed, ill never have this problem again lol

Are they using a Paypoint or Payzone machine for the top ups? You can report this to your energy supplier who will report them to Paypoint /Payzone.

I work in the coop. We take card payments for PayPoint.

The fact that coop takes card doesn't change fact that paypoint is cash only service (except tv licence)😁 others still don't have to take anything other than cash for it.

How is Paypoint a cash only service if the Co op let you pay by card?

Their q&a.
It cots them but obviously is worth it for them

Sure, but the fact that the Co op let you pay by card for Paypoint transactions makes this a load of rubbish.

Sounds like it's very much at the discretion of the shop.