Increasingly when we buy, we reach not for our wallets, but for our phones. When we check our balance, we feel the vibration of a notification, not the rustle of loose change in our pockets. But is cash making a comeback?
A report in January found a pub Herefordshire was giving customers a 5% discount on pints if they paid in cash.
Alan Davies, landlord at the Trumpet, told Wales Online: “We decided that paying bank charges for the machine, it equated to the same amount as paying an extra member of staff.”
Card machines charge businesses on a transactional rate, taking a percentage off each payment made.
Making cashless payment more expensive for independent businesses. However, the cost of a transaction now is a small price to pay in a society that is becoming contactless.
Chris Hawtin 54, who works at Basil and Ruby Animal Empire and Pet boutique in Twickenham, told the SW Londoner that taking cash is now impractical.
“You have to have a flight of coins for change, making sure you have enough pennies, 5 pence and 50 pence, it’s quite a big thing,” Chis said.
The closure of local banks in the area has also added to the problem. Currently there are now no local branches in Twickenham where Chris can deposit money, meaning the nearest location is a 25-minute bus journey away in Richmond.
This has led to new shops, choosing not to accept cash at all.
Chris said: “It’s a security risk, you don’t want to leave it overnight and you have to take the time out or pay the staff for that journey once or twice a week to go to the bank.”
Kris Cheshire, 64 and living in Limpopo Biltong in Twickenham, said a varying customer base of the area makes moving away from cash inevitable.
He said: “With loyal customers you could run on a cardless system, but on Church Street, we rely on tourists and these people might not be carrying cash.
“They want us all to go cashless which I don’t necessarily think is a good thing. It’s all about control.”
Does anyone use cash?
Although cash is falling out of fashion, people still view it as an important part of our society.
Chris, who still regularly spends with notes and coins, said: “Cash is king.
“I like the physical thing of having money, I don’t like all my money being in ones and zeros floating around. I guess I am a bit old like that, it just makes me a bit nervous.
“It’s easier financially cash, I know what I am spending.”
Karen Stokes who runs Humbugs sweet shop in Chippenham believes people are less carefree with their money when using cash.
She said: “People who carry cash worry about how much they have on them, but with a card they just tap and think I’ll have this and that, because they have the funds in the bank.”
The gap between cash and card is becoming a generational divide.
Karen said: “Youngsters use their phones to pay all the time, it’s all they know. Whereas those aged 70 and above will pay with cash because it is what they are used to.”
For an industry that depends on low value transactions, the charges of a card machine would surely be too costly.
However, for Karen, who has run the shop for 18 years see it differently.
“I think if we didn’t use a card machine, we would lose a hell of a lot more money,” she said.
“If we started putting card limits then the youngsters wouldn’t spend in the shop.”
So, will cash ever see a comeback?
Since introducing the 5% discount Alan has seen card payments go from making up 95% of transactions, to now dropping to 50% as people use more money.
He said: “For me it’s a bit of a no brainer to keep it. Cash is still good, if the bank went down tomorrow, you have no way of paying.”
Featured image credit: Towfiqu barbhuiya via Pexels
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