Starbucks don't take cash

[CoastalWave]

AIBU to think this is ridiculous?

Took DS yesterday for a treat after school with his birthday money. We only spent £8 but as he handed over his £10 we were told, sorry we don't take cash anymore, card payments only.

Is this just the start of the slippery slope down to a cashless society ?

Really annoyed me!

Neither do I. I think they're banking on very few people caring about it. I really think we all need to vote with our feet but also maybe contact these companies and make sure they know why we aren't using them

Doesn’t bother me in the slightest as I never go there as I hate their coffee, greasy paninis etc. They are perfectly entitled to ask you to pay by card only, the term “legal tender” does not mean that they HAVE to take cash.

Unfortunately, that's not what legal tender means. Legal tender refers only to what should be accepted for the payment of a debt. If you're paying for something upfront, there's no debt. (I'm not sure how it can work for things you pay for afterwards, like in restaurants. It ought to qualify to my mind.)

However, I agree that it should work like that. The principle of adopting cash has been accepted elsewhere - in Poland merchants now can't refuse to accept cash payments from retail customers.

I pay almost exclusively in cash, because I feel strongly that cash should be maintained as a method of payment.

I live in Sweden and it's been pretty much cashless for a few years now. You can still use cash at the supermarket, but most other places don't handle cash. Some restaurants have signs outside saying they accept cash, but most don't. You definitely can't travel on public transport or go to most chain coffee shops and expect to pay cash or even buy stuff at the market, we have this app called Swish that everyone uses if they are buying apples at the market or something off of marketplace etc. It's quite liberating in my opinion. Hate carrying cash around and finding change.

It's more hygienic though

Good. I don't want people fannying about with small change when I'm trying to buy a cup of coffee. The queues are long enough as it is.

Get DC a Nimbl card and come into the 2020s.

@CoastalWave

Cash is legal tender. How can they just refuse it?

It's only legal tender as a form of payment for a debt.

Shops have the right to refuse to serve anyone or anything (unless it's classed as discrimination under a specific disability discrimination law, so basically as long as it's not discriminatory on the grounds of race, sex, or disability).

Someone wanting to pay cash for a coffee doesn't fall within the disability discrimination laws, so Starbucks can legally refuse to serve you if you want to buy a coffee and pay in cash.

Here (not uk) there are lots of shops,bars, cafés etc. that are turning back into cash only places.

Spoken by someone who has money.....

Ah thank you - wasn't aware of the distinction.

It's pretty common now. How old is your DS. He needs a card once he's old enough to spend his own money.

Why?

He's 8.

YANBU but I believe they only have to accept 1 form of payment, so can refuse cash if offer another means of paying.

Won’t make a jot of difference. The overwhelming majority pay with card now, even for small amounts in pennies.

I prefer to pay by card and have had the same £50 in cash in my purse for years now. But the place I’m always shocked by not taking cash is the M6 toll. And the roadside sign saying this is after you’ve committed to taking the road.

YANBU at all. Look at Shetland a few weeks ago where all their comms went down and card machines weren't working.

Another instance of us sleepwalking into something without truly thinking about the consequences.

Debt charities have research showing people budget better using cash, too.

A couple of shops/pubs in our rural village are "cash only" but that's because of the crap internet (both landline and mobile) which makes the card machines slow and unreliable, and they couldn't do with the hassle and wasted time of people trying to pay by card only to hold up the entire queue whilst waiting for the hamsters to power the internet on their treadmill (well it feels like that some days). It'll be very different in places with reliable broadband/mobile.

I pay 99% of the time with cash. I will only use card only places if I really want the item and can’t get it any where else.

We have stopped using Pizza Hut/dominos etc as they are now card only. We use independent restaurants that are more than happy to except cash.

Our local Tesco has just updated roughly 20 new flash self service tills that are card only. The four old remaining self service tills that accept cash are the ones everyone’s queueing for down the aisles the new card only ones are hardly used!

was there signs up saying card only? If there wasn’t I would have walked out leaving the made drinks/food as there should be signs up letting people know before getting to the till point.

I can't believe how many people seem happy to hand over control of the currency to third partys.

Those that don't control the currency are slaves to those that do.

Please elaborate on the 'slippery slope that is a cashless society'... what do you think happens when we no longer need to carry around bits of paper and metal? (i haven't in 10+ years btw and never had any issues)

That ship has sailed. Very few, if any, people can live their lives without a bank account of some kind, so they're already under the control of third parties, whether they get their wages/benefits paid into their bank account, pay bills by standing order/direct debit, have savings in a savings account, have an occupational pension (controlled by a bank or insurance firm), etc.

Fine if you get paid your wages in cash and somehow manage to pay all your bills in cash, and don't have savings, pensions, etc., but that kind of "off grid" living is very rare these days.

Exactly.

Paying by card gives you zero control as you think , oh it's only £4. Problem is DH is also thinking, oh it's only £4 and before you know it you've spent £30 a day.

We have cash for the week and both of us take cash out of that pot. We write down what we buy so we can track it.

Stops us wasting money.

I am interested what happens if there's a power cut and the card machines don't work. Do they shut the shop to new customers? Until card machines don't need internet /electricity, I can't see a fully cashless society being possible.

took my mum out for lunch. my dad decided he would have a macdonalds as he was on his own for lunch and he had never had one. he queued up at the drive through, gave his order but when he came to the payment window they wouldn’t take his cash. he still has never had a macdonalds! he’s 85 and does have a chip and pin card but bad arthritis means he struggles to use the card machine plus he didn’t actually have it with him anyway. he’s had massive problems before with parking as a lot are machine only and require him to type in his registration number which he really struggles doing on a small keypad. the ones that need you to download an app are impossible as he doesn’t have a phone. he has a blue badge now so that makes it easier but the world is becoming increasingly difficult for him to interact with.

Easy to block people's access to their money. Trace purchases. If the grid/power cuts out then there's no way to buy anything.

Have you read/watched Handmaid's Tale? It starts with the women having their bank access withdrawn and handed over to their male relative.