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.

Of course I do. But under the status quo, it’s much harder to link it to the person. And yes, I know that’s already possible with reward cards and so on, and this is how supermarkets “monitor” our purchases all the time, and yes, the government could access this information with a court order, but that’s easier said than done.

Now Suppose the rhetoric of “buying Easter eggs kills granny” was taken seriously by the government, and they decided to actually make it illegal to buy them, along with other “luxuries”, and enforced this. With cash: very difficult to enforce. Yes, they could probably stop the highly regulated supermarkets selling them, but not informal market stalls, where people could pay in cash. But if the only method of payment was a system called “the Blob’s Barcodes”, where the every single payment was directly linked to the government-approved barcode on every product, every individual allowed a certain quota of goods, with no cash alternative: this is what a supposedly benign “cashless society” could morph into. An extreme idea, I know, but one that could happen if we allow the “cashless society” to take hold. Do we want the state having that level of micromanagement? Completely cashless would be a step closer to this possibility. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but this is a possibility we should be aware of, if we let it happen.

One of the hospitals has only cash payments machines for parking. Plus only takes coins. Hence why there is an ATM and change machine in the main entrance 🙄

This always catches people out. I have change on me when i visit this hospital

Honestly my first thought is supermarket cafes serve mediocre food at an inflated price (all eat out food is inflated price) in venues that aren't appealing (what supermarket cafe is ever truly nice?). It's the sort of place I'd generally never go to, would have no need of & would try to avoid spending money at.

I can't comment on what sorts of people use such venues because I'm just not one of them. Presumably Tesco did careful market research at those specific sites & know the change won't cause net irritation to their customers at those sites. Even more reason why someone like me couldn't comment.

Technically a phone will last a lot longer than 3-5 years. The only thing stopping it lasting longer is the loss of security updates.

Absolutely this. One massive hack and all our £ could disappear!

Presumably Tesco did careful market research at those specific sites & know the change won't cause net irritation to their customers

Given the extent supermarkets have increased the number of self service tills in their shops and reduced their till staff, I wouldn't bet on that. More than one supermarket recently has admitted they went too far.

After the experience of covid we should be especially wary of disposing of cash. Cash is freedom from Big Government, Big Bureaucracy, Big data infringement, Big AI, Big political tyranny (want to give a donation to a persona non-grata? Not without being traced)

We shouldn't comply, but this started ages ago starting with transport. I disagreed with a card in which all your public travel moments could be monitored then!

I am deeply worried about Big Retail - actually that's not fair it's the small shops that are worse about requesting cashless - pushing us into having everyone of our transactions traceable.

I hope the cafes die as a result of this. Tesco can get lost.

Are you one of the Borrowers??

And yet here you are... commenting 🤷‍♀️

Problem is that supermarkets used average transaction spend to determine how many self scans. Don't look at the demographics. My store has many elderly living alone - a mix of never married, divorced in their 40s/50s and stayed single ever since and widowed. Plus there are blocks of flats nearby, which are actually studio flats. So don't have big fridges or may not have a freezer section. The former don't eat much and the latter don't have the luxury of storing enough food.

This creates a low transaction value plus people who have got nothing better to do with their lives than queue twice - once at the kiosk for purchasing a newspaper then at a till for their groceries.

Our local McDonalds has several screens. If it's not busy I use them, if it is I go to the counter and place my order - and I'm sitting in my seat waiting for my food while others who were there at the same time are still standing at the screens.

I also refuse to scan my shopping. I'm not being paid to do the work and the cost of everything keeps increasing. Those foolish enough to want to pay over the odds and also do all the work can continue to do so if they wish.

My favourite fish and chip shop only accepts cash, the local taxi service has a charge for card use. My exDH always has cash at home now after a big earthquake. No way to use anything else for several days. Cash simply cannot just disappear.

All these posters who don't know anyone who uses cash - do you really never see anyone standing at an ATM getting some? I see people all the time, sometimes I have to wait behind others to use the machine.

Yes - it's rarely I don't have to wait to use an ATM.

My nearest ATM is 15 miles away and I last went to one in 2021.

I thought that everyone had to have an ATM within 3 miles

Funny enough more and more businesses where I live (especially food / cafe types) are going cash only. I like it.

Our last house was over 3 miles from our nearest neighbour! So no, that is not a thing.

We are still rural these days but not remote, but still 6 miles from a shop. There used to be an ATM there but they closed it due to lack of use.

We have found this when we go on holiday so take about £200 in cash so we don't have to search for these elusive cash machines.

I think it was a new law or something but obviously if you live that far from places there won't be one if there's not a shop, it probably means towns

I wasn't specifically speaking to you @Cobblersorchard.

I live in a small town and there are numerous ATMs outside all the banks and at the supermarkets. I can assure you they are well used.

And you’re missing the fucking point…

Well done on being one of the few of us that can actually see through the hidden agenda of these bullshit changes…

What's the point then?

Oh yes and then they are delighted to accept cash.

The tills went down in my Sainsbury's this week.

Everyone from the self check outs were expected to wait there like good little hostages because they didn't want to leave without their shopping and the assistant was insistent that they weren't allowed to take them in case the transactions hadn't completed.