Tesco ditches cash payments at 40 cafes

[sunnydaytoday0]

I was reading this article (can read for free via Yahoo link) that Tesco are going card only in 40 of its cafes and customers will have to pay by card at self-service machines. I know it's something a lot of fast food places do already although I'm not sure how many give you no other choice but to use them. Would you be bothered by this or if all cafes (maybe even restaurants) eventually went the same way?

I don't mind self service tills when shopping in general although not for more than a few items. Interesting decision given recent news about different supermarkets deciding to actually put more staff on tills.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/tesco-ditches-cash-at-cafes/
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/supermarket-customers-forced-order-cuppa-134836134.html

YABU: I don't mind if I had to use these ordering screens in a cafe, and it being card only.
YANBU: I prefer the option of ordering via a person and/or having the option to pay by cash.

I was in Asda today when their card readers went down, it was carnage! Cashless is all well and good until it doesn't work.

I work in a cashless business , we do take cash for exceptional circumstances . We can only take notes - we literally have no way to bank coins . We don’t take small amounts of money though .

i agree though touch screens are minging

You get what you give.
Maybe consider not calling people 'cute' for making a stand.
You've answered my question anyway.

As long as they close when the systems go down instead of being hypocrites and staying open and taking cash for the rest of the day

I wouldn't use that business on principle. I do appreciate that you probably don't care and have enough business already but I think it's really, really important we don't go completely cashless.

I'm more surprised there are still cafes in Tesco. They're nearly all Costas round here.

I said you've already answered my question, no need to keep illustrating. Tschüss.

You are an idiot if you think money is clean. Money is absolutely filthy. So much so that when I worked in a shop 30 years ago they used to tell us to wash our hands before eating etc. Putting it in your mouth is probably a bad idea for the person who does it by it likely doesn't add much to the bacterial soup already on it. Touchscreens are probably worse.

Some of them are okay - I wish our Tesco had one. Our town is full of overpriced poor and/or quality so-called local cafes (who often source from Lidl, Tesco etc anyway).

I now boycott my local tesco café, since it went cashless.

There should always be a choice.

My local Tesco has both a Tesco cafe and a Greggs cafe inside, the latter I find better value even though the menu is obviously smaller.

Just back from my home country, so refreshing to have the option to use cash or card everywhere. This country is definitely a cashless society as far as I can see. Have also seen a info blog from a Mexican student advising new students that the UK is a cashless society, how sad,

This. I was in Co op a few weeks ago when the self service tills packed up, it was hilarious seeing how arsy the cashless people were getting as I paid for my shopping with cash.

I budget using cash, it works better for me. I also don't want to go cashless on principle. I wouldn't bother fucking with my system for a latte.
No one I know would be wanting card users to not be able to use their cards in the shop anymore, they don't object to people having the choice, I often wonder why people are cunty to cash users on these threads.

Why feel joy at someone else losing out?

I much prefer digital payments. More secure and lower cost all-in. And itemised spends in a bank account are much easier for budgeting than “atm”….”atm”….

There are two bits to this and I don't like either.

I hate ordering from screens in cafes and the like. I find them slow and impersonal (I like self checkout at supermarkets, though!) and they make the experience far less of the treat that I'm looking for when I spend money on eating out. I would stop at a cafe far less if it was screen only ordering.

The no cash thing is also a concern but not on a personal level. I rarely carry cash nowadays. But I do think it's worrying that places can offer things for sale and refuse to take cash payments. It disenfranchises people, and generally the least well off with the fewest choices.

We've had it a while in our local Tesco. It has caused an uproar with the elderly regulars. Not because they can't use the screens but because they can't make the adjustments to their meals (swapping items out on a cooked breakfast). A lot of the regulars are really missing out on the social interaction. Thankfully our cafe staff are aware of this and making time to chat with people.

Rationally I see why some people want places to drop cash - Cash users do tend to be slower on average, especially for a quick transaction where a most of the interaction is taken up with payment. And, of course, in low margin businesses like cafes, when it increases costs for the business, it increases costs for the customers too.

But I think there are a lot of reasons around access that mean businesses should be required to accept cash for transactions below a certain amount.

Social interaction:

”£7.99 please”
”thanks”

I hate the idea of no cash flow think we should have a choice .

No cash is not the way to go

I just wouldn’t hit drop there cafe . Tbh I’ve stopped using Tesco already not keen on it and the prices are too high for the quality .

Id rather shop local

I've not used cash for years and I'm not bothered by a cashless society. I don't see cash offering any advantage.

That's totally fine for you to feel that way about your finances. Others do see advantages to using cash in some circumstances though, and it should still be an option.

The next step will be diy coffee at a machine