What do people think of shops that only take cash

General Chat
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why do people think some shops only take cash

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:man_shrugging:

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That is a very taxing question

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To add to the above


  • They’re old school and don’t like technology as they believe it causes more problems than it solves
  • They don’t like change
  • They believe it’s too expensive to switch to a payment processor
  • They don’t understand what they need and are overwhelmed by choice so just ignore it
  • They’ve convinced themselves that their customers don’t need it and are happy to pay cash.
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Similar to the Change comment - but inertia and status quo is a factor too -

“We’ve always done it this way”, and “our customers have always paid cash”/“there’s not enough card custom to warrant a separate system”.

I think the latter can be true for many - if 80% of the potential customer base is happy paying cash, is the potential to capture the remaining 20% worth the investment in systems.

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But if they only accept cash, how would they know this? Survey?

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That is a fair point, and my view is more about what shop keepers themselves may think not what is neccesarily true of the market.

But I think it’s a fair point of view - if they do well enough as a cash based business, hitting targets, etc etc, what is the reason to take card?

I’d more say “shop keepers instinct” than anything else. Local Cafe that primarily serves Cream Teas and Scones to the Elderly - less likely to have a desire for Card. Etc etc.

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It’s a lot fewer shops than it was pre-lockdown, because of the health issues with handling cash which have overridden other concerns.

But even pre-lockdown I witnessed shops going bust that were cash only because customers would simply walk down the street to the shop that took card. Yes they had regulars who like cash, but not enough, ultimately.

I guess if you’re in a situation where there’s no competition it can work. Even in our small town though you can’t throw a brick without hitting at least 3 cafes, so anything that puts customers off can be fatal.

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11

Because it’s their decision what payment methods they want to accept.

In the same way, you could ask:

a) Why do some businesses only accept cards?
b) why others only accept debit cards?
c) why some don’t accept Scottish* notes?
d) why some accept vouchers and others don’t
e) why someone only takes one of MasterCard/Visa/Amex and not others etc.

(*An example)

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I don’t that’s the reason they went bust.

Much more likely they were in trouble and saving money by not having to pay fees etc + accepting cash helps with a businesses cashflow

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I can totally see why smaller shops are reluctant to take cards, here’s just some of the things that they have to foot the bill for

Credit card merchant fees include:

  1. Credit card transaction charges – Usually between 1% and 3%
  2. Merchant service charges – 0.2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards
  3. Minimum monthly service fees – around £10 (if applicable)
  4. Transaction authorisation fees – 2p per transaction
  5. Card machine price – £50 – £80 on average
  6. Set-up cost – £50 – £100 on average (one-off fee)
  7. PCI compliance fee – £3.50 per month
  8. Chargeback fees – Usually between £10 and £20

Somebody has to cover these costs so its a catch 22 for the shop, do they raise prices by a few pence for everything or swallow the costs and eat into their profits?

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Or hope that more people spend there because it’s now easier for them?

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Hope doesn’t pay the additional costs being incurred.

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i have seen sum shops do it to avoid paying tax

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Do they excel at it?

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i am not one to grass

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2 shops I semi regularly use don’t take card

Barbers
Chinese

The barbers is standard where I live however they now have a booking system so slow and steady.

The Chinese are just stubborn but with Covid I have not been in there and until they accept card I won’t but looking on there Facebook someone asks about card payments at least 2-3 times a week.

Anywhere else such as other shops I refuse to use unless they take card - it’s too convenient not too and I don’t want to handle cash for the future. I would rather go elsewhere that does take card or just go online.

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Which is when you point him towards Monzo or Starling, etc


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I looked at my ATM withdrawals earlier and most of them for the past 3 years have been for getting my haircut and I would always tip the change.

Now they’ve moved to take card payments, they are losing out on tips too.

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I avoid them, I can’t stand cash, in my eyes if I was to pay for a £4 product and I had to pay cash it would actually be a £10a as that change would have to be spent at one point

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