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.

Its essentially cashless where we live, around 2% of transactions involve cash and the majority of those are at airports. I don’t know anywhere in Stockholm that takes cash. It works perfectly fine, as old people aren’t stupid it works fine for them as well.

Our local Tesco café is like this. They had complaints, which they ignored. Until the day when the tills were out of action and they were only able to accept cash. They magically were able to have a few days with cash only, and had to ask customers with cards, to go round the corner to the cash point, so they could pay. When they tried to revert back to card only, they had complaints, so they now accept either.

I think it’s good to have choice. It’s more equitable in my opinion, I don’t want to see a cashless society.

It's not about being 'stupid'.
It's about choice.

I hope everyone that doesn't use cash has more than one bank account with money available and an amount of cash at home in case the bank decides to freeze your account because it suspects money laundering and yes it does happen as there are sometimes threads on here about it. We don't want to wish fo be cashless and places like Tesco shouldn't be encouraged in it. You should never rely on one bank and have enough cash available for a few days food, fuel etc.

I guess I wouldn't like it going completely but that's more the nostalgia really.

Isn't it' those who get paid cash in hand etc who will be most sorry surely 😂

mo more rolls of fifties out down the pub 🤣

I hate this.

The option to use cash is important and this is a very bad development.

– what if your wallet is lost or stolen and you’re waiting for replacements?
– what if someone is overdrawn or in debt and they cannot credit their accounts to buy essentials?
– what if you’ve forgotten your pin?
– what if you don’t want every single transaction you make, your location and your purchase history to be traceable / saleable?

I think it will benefit the banks and shops and be a loss to us. They are legally robbing from us with all these hidden charges.

In fact I dislike the idea so intensely that I’m going to change career and begin a new one as a cashless shop robber dressed like Miss Havisham.

Pardon?
This poster is not saying they cannot use a card, they're saying they choose not to.

The "cash is king" people, haven't worked retail when the till doesn't balance at the end of the day. Or at Head office trying to reconcile the cash banked vs the cash declared on the tills. There are ALWAYS discrepancies due to various reasons, theft, staff giving incorrect change/ miscounting cash given by customer etc. Cash is expensive to bank, incurring bank fees and security firms to collect large deposits from stores and risky if large sums are banked by a member of staff. Also, banks are closing down at a huge rate meaning staff have to travel further to cash in. The examples above mean that the business is absorbing those costs and the staff are at personal safety risk of crime. Whilst card payments and bank transfers occur their own costs, the staff are not going to be robbed for those payments.

Cashless is 100% the way forward. Personal bank accounts should be available to all regardless of circumstances.

I've worked in the cash office of a supermarket. I still think cash should be an option.

If your wallet is stolen and your wads of cash are in there, it's gone forever.

If your wallet is stolen and your cards are taken, you cancel the cards and your money is still in your bank.

If people don’t like it, they should vote with their feet. Find another cafe.

Using cash doesn't necessarily mean 'keeping wads of cash in your wallet', or keeping 'wads' of cash anywhere.

With the exception of your last point none of these are an issue. The pin is visible in the app, a replacement card is usable immediately in applepay and equiv, you don’t need to wait for a replacement card to arrive. If you are overdrawn or in debt you can’t withdraw the cash in the first place.

If you are part of the tin hat brigade though, no you are right. But so what?

That's what I do when businesses refuse cash. My choice. There are generally other options.

No need to attempt to insult someone just because they don't share your view.

Your choice is to go to the cashless cafe or a different cafe though…cash is legal tender but it can also be refused. Same way cards are legal but places can be cash only.

My point is the money is gone, as much or as little as you keep in your wallet.

I don't know how people can cope without having a bank account in this day and age,

Also if you have a purse/wallet full of cash and gets lost or stolen, you have zero chance of getting your money back. If bank cards are lost or stolen, banks can put a block on the card and if customer knew the last transaction they made, any transactions made after that above transaction will be credited eventually. Had my card used fraudently at a shop in London for Western Union transfers for a country in SE Asia and I didn't know the name of that country's currency.

Our M&S has been like this for a few years. Four of the five order screens were down yesterday lunch and they still wouldn’t take payment via a person.

To be fair, it’s always absolutely full of families and old people, it’s a good wait for a table. It doesn’t seem to have done them any harm.

Cash is for an ever increasing minority. Businesses prefer it as it’s more convenient and more secure. My elderly neighbour was very against card only establishments then COVID hit and I help set up Appel pay on her phone. A double click opens her Apple wallet and she pays everything contactless. An app lets her set up a budget and the app categorises each transaction so she makes via Apple Pay.

What makes you think you need to point that out? Do you think those who withdraw cash haven't already weighed up the pros and cons?

Ever increasing minority?

Why are you so angry about this? 🤔