Cash - am I out of touch?

[Anewuser]

AIBU thinking I should still be able to use cash?

I accept that most places, and people, find it easier using cards but shouldn’t you still be able to use cash occasionally?

Went out for lunch the other day. The bill came to over £100 but as it was something planned, I had cash. The pub said whilst they can take cash, they don’t give change. Since when was this a thing.

At work, when people get married/have babies/leave etc, we do a collection. You always used to stick your contribution in a pot or envelope but now you have to do it online. Not everyone gives now because it’s obvious how much they’ve contributed.

AINBU, that I should still occasionally be able to use cash or AIBU cash has had its day.

My hairdresser also takes cash only. I prefer to pay cash anyway so it suits me.

Having principles is attention seeking? Really?

That's the point of cash; change can be given, so you don't need the exact amount......l.!

This is one of the many reasons why it's important to keep it.
When there is no alternative, surcharges will increase.

I like to pay in cash if I can , especially the small amounts. Not sure if that is legal for the pub to refuse to give out change, that needs checking out.

Ultimately everyone has the right to do what they need to do for their business but I do think people should be able to pay cash in most places and refusing to give change feels really dodgy - excuse me?? Especially in a pub where it should be normal to work in cash and do lots of transactions, it's hardly a farmer's market stall.

Why the nastiness? It’s so unnecessary

I'm a waitress so will normally have cash from my tips but I use cash for my driving lessons, window cleaner, lemonade man and milk man. Maybe it's because I live in a small village in Northern Ireland we still used a lot of cash. The local cafe, Chinese and chips shop only accepts cash as well.

But when I go and visit my family in England I just use a card as they don't accept our Irish pounds (we seem to use a mixture of the northern Irish bank notes, Scottish bank notes and English here but when I flew to Newcastle I couldn't get anywhere to accept them).

I always use cash and I would have kicked up a fuss if I was told this when coming to pay for a meal out.
I for one, do not want to live in a cashless society.
I went to Home Bargains yesterday and the girl behind the checkout didn't even ask how I was paying and as I was packing, she'd set it up as a card payment, which she then had to cancel!
A lot of places where I live have put signs up saying "Cash Welcome". And they will get my full support.

I hope they had it on display that they didn’t give change when paying cash, that’s just ridiculous.

I prefer both. I do use my card in supermarkets but I prefer to use cash in small shops and for small purchases. The banks make loads from it whilst the shop has to pay that fee. If they add this fee to what we buy then it’s just another thing pushing the prices up.

Someone my mother knows went to a pub/restaurant with several friends and when the bill arrived (around £200) at the end they all put their cash contributions in and waited.

They were then told that the establishment didn't take cash. This had not been made clear at or before the time of booking. They informed the owner that cash was all they had brought and they would have to leave without paying if it wasn't acceptable.

Suddenly, the cash was acceptable.

Also, I remember a large branch of Costa near us which tried to go totally cash free following Covid and the lockdowns. They lasted with that only until one day when the card reader systems went down. Suddenly, they too could accept cash again and still do now.

I like to use a card/phone for convenience, but I like cash occasionally too. I can need cash when I use taxis because I find that sometimes their card readers are a bit hit or miss and don't always pick up the mobile signal strongly enough (or at all, sometimes).

Cash has its place. It is legal tender too.

So you’d turn down a £4000 sale for the sake of £60?

A pub not giving change from a cash payment? That's ridiculous, you're giving them legal tender so they have to accept it and give you change.

Nor me. I think my cheque book has been gathering dust somewhere since around 2018 😆.
I still use cash though - my hairdressers, the nail bar and the local chippy only accept cash.

@ArchesOfsunflowers absolutely we would. It's not just the cost, it's the safety and security element too, the time involved in checking and counting large amounts, checking it's genuine, the time for one person to drive 30 minutes to a branch and back to pay in, and their safety travelling alone with large amounts of cash. If it isn't banked immediately then there's the added issue of keeping it secure on site when people know it's on site . It's just a pain in the arse quite frankly. And legally we can't take more than 10k euros (don't know why they classify it in euros) in a single transaction anyway as we aren't registered with HMRC for anti money laundering. We have to turn down regular cash payments, typically from hand car wash owners and builders, so pretty likely they're trying to use cash to avoid paying some tax. Card payments and bank transfers are so much cheaper, safer and more convenient. I don't think we will be alone thinking this, other sectors will face similar issues.

I find it strange how for years lots of places only allowed card on a minimum spend because it costs to process card payments (my mums local chippy prefers cash for apparently this reason), yet people on here have said their companies refuse cash because it costs money to process! So actually it would seem that it costs a company to process money no matter what the form of payment and therefore seems a pointless argument for not accepting one over the other!?

I find it interesting how different peoples minds work too. I find it so much easier to budget using cash. My wage gets paid into one account, I transfer the amount I need to cover bills into another account that my direct debits go out of so its safe from being spent. I then withdraw my monthly shopping budget and split it into weekly amounts for groceries and meal plan to that budget. Anything left in my bank (usually not much) I know can be spent on anything extra and online purchases without the worry of over spending into my food shopping budget.

My window cleaner only accepts cash which I don’t like because I’m often at work when they come and then have to try make sure I’m home in the evenings following waiting for them to come to collect so I can pay them, they don’t come on a set day and sometimes call quite late so its not the most convenient, they also clearly don’t keep accurate collection records because they frequently tell me I owe double as I ‘didn’t pay last month’ when I know I definitely did but have no way to prove it which transfer would solve.

I think both have their place but if you only accept one or the other it should be made very clear from the outset to prevent any awkwardness or issues.

Nobody is legally obliged to give change actually. If you're forcing a business to accept cash when they prefer card, it's on you to have the correct amount to give them

@mitogoshi you REALLY need cash in India.

We found it difficult to get cash out of ATMs as not all cards work in every machine. For subsequent travel we have taken out half a dozen different cards (Starling, Revolut, etc) to give us more options.

Local butcher gives 5% discount for cash payment. Was like the good old days giving them the extra 30p whatever on the bill to get an even amount of change back!

A pub that behaves in this high handed manner won't be getting my custom any time soon.

Illegal in the UK. Report to trading standards!

Apart from vending machines and some buses

Both meat and cash will be obsolete one day

The op was discussing restaurants, and most subsequent posts have bedn about shops; I take your point, of course.

Cash is easier if you're on a strict budget as you can't overspend but card aren't "real " money and it's easy to spend more than you think.

On holiday the local supermarket had problems because their computers kept breaking down so it was cash only