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!

Our village shop went cashless during covid. All the people who had previously insisted on paying cash started using cards . They have never gone back to cash so we just carried on with cashless.

I know, yes. I was responding to a poster who thinks tips would decrease in a cashless society and I was saying it would just be another good reason to go cashless.

Agreed. They don't take cash, they don't pay tax if they can help it, and their coffee is awful!

I agree. The cashless society is being forced on us and I for one, will vote with my feet. Bought a L’Or Barista machine a little while ago. Tired of being fleeced - £5.50 for a medium latte at our local Costa. I believe McDonalds have had trouble introducing cashless at their drive thru’s - people driving away after placing an order and being told their cash was not accepted. It’s legal tender and I wonder about the legality of insisting on plastic. It seems that as well as government, business has forgotten that they serve us, not the other way around.

YANBU

Not to mention facilitating the avoidance of tax/nic on the tips.

Probably implying the person is being paid in cash and DODGING TAX!
You know, Dodging tax like the uber wealthy do all the time.

Why ?

Some shops near me say “ Cash only”.
Greengrocers &c

Many previous posters have posted why shops don't have to accept cash. Saying cash is "legal tender" is irrelevant when it comes to shops, cafes, etc.

I suspected that was what was being implied. Nothing like preferring to use cash or anything, must be a tax dodger.

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
Genuinely I struggle to understand this argument - why think « it’s only £4 » when paying by card but not when paying cash? Why would handling the coins make you think twice but handling the plastic card wouldn’t?

Re 2nd hand sales on marketplace, I noticed that buyers don’t always bring cash anymore and do a bank transfer instead (setup in a few seconds, I was able to see the payment received notification immediately)

I’m frequently in petrol garages around Essex and in London and never come across one that is card only. Unless they have a sign on the actual pump saying card only it would be a bit too late once the petrol was in the car tank to say they were not taking cash.

Someone mentioned Mc Donald’s drive thru not taking cash I use these too many times to grab a coffee fix and always pay cash. Was at one last night and paid cash even during covid they took cash.

My phone is too old to have all these 'apps' on.

All relies on fancy phones with banking apps on.

I have a 9 year old phone.

I sell things on Marketplace all the time and never have to deal with cash - people bank transfer or Paypal me and I post it out to them.

You should get your thread title changed to ‘the coffee franchise branch I went to chooses to accept card only’, since your current title is a lie.

It's illegal for businesses to refuse to take cash in the EU, but not in the UK.

The advantage of cash will always be that it doesn't require a third party to authenticate a payment - so it's not reliant on any communications technology. That's an advantage on a practical level (where I live card payment systems went down for four hours recently and supermarkets and other shops and restaurants etc. could only take cash) but also an ideological one obviously.

YANBU, and it's a serious and concerning step towards more centralised control of the population.

Look what's happened recently with some of the big high street banks, as well as fintech companies providing digital payment services. They take a view on ideological positions and then enact policy on the basis of it, locking people out of their own accounts and restricting access to what they thought was their own money.

People have accounts or services suspended, but unlike a Twitter or Facebook ban, this affects peoples' day to day living. If you can't access your money, you can't eat!

It might seem innocuous enough to begin with, as most people use cards, or digital services, to pay for goods and services most of the time anyway, but it isn't.

Many people, including our most vulnerable members of society, still rely on being able to use cash, and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that we will lose an aspect of our individual freedom and power if and when we become a cashless society.

George Orwell's 1984 comes to mind!

Burger king don't either both local McDonald's and KFC are always busy. But in comparison BK hardly get any customer's. They only opened not long after coming out of first lockdown.

I usually do pay card but sometimes have to pay cash if there is a problem. If it's card only you don't have that option. My daughter is in supported housing and isn't able to pay by card. Staff have to withdraw a set amount each week for the day to day running costs of her house. She has to keep all receipts it's a nightmare because most forget to give a receipt.

Dont use drive thrus very often, but last time in Mcdonalds we had to order first, then pay and next window and then pick up the window after that, so i dont see how they can drive off without paying

Within a few years, the "old" style of mobiles will be obsolete and everyone wanting a mobile will have to have an internet enabled "smart" phone.

For a start the "texting" network will be withdrawn where texts are sent/received over the mobile signal, that's already in the planning process, to be replaced by internet based messaging services.

Ultimately, the "mobile" phone signal network will also be removed, to be replaced by internet based VOIP phone apps.

So probably by 2030, your old mobile will be just a door stop anyway.

I'm also doing this and hopefully more people will realise before it's too late.

In a natural disaster etc cash will be worthless anyway. people will end up trading products.

Card only shops/cafes is pretty normal in Scandinavian Countries and Northern Europe.