Cash is No Longer King

8/10/2019 Cash is No Longer King

1/12

Food is the one big essential that can still be bought for cash with out penalty , but a t least one London

resturant has a non-cash policy. Photograph: Alamy

Can you remember what you were doing at 13:03.57 on Friday 28 October 2011?Perhaps you were queuing to withdraw cash from an ATM machine, for that was the

single busiest second in the Link network's 25-year history, with 482 transactions made

simultaneously nationwide.

Economic austerity has prompted a resurgence of the bank note, as squeezed households

try to keep on top of their finances. In 2011 an extra 5.5bn was withdrawn from cash

machines, according to figures from the Payment Council, the first increase since 2008.

And yet, as our fondness for hard cash grows, there are fewer places where we can

flaunt it. The Post Office is the only broadband provider that allows customers to pay in

cash without incurring financial penalties, and some will not accept cash at all. Orange,

which makes no provision for cash payments, claims its intransigence is for theconvenience of its customers.

Utility companies are notorious for penalising customers who either can't or won't fill

their coffers with direct debit payments. Extortionate premiums on prepayment meters,

mostly used by the poorest households, were outlawed in 2010, but customers who

settle their bills by cash or cheque are charged up to 100 a year more than direct debit

conformists.

Research for the Channel 4 programme Dispatches found that anyone attempting to pay

for a holiday by cash or cheque could see their bill increase by up to 400 and, on

arrival, there's no point waving a wad of notes at a car rental desk: the majority of UK

Why cash is no longer kingPenalties for paying with cash or cheque are being dressed up as

a convenience for the consumer. But who really benefits?


2/12

Previous

Staff

Contributor

Link

Recommend? (32)

Responses (0)

Report

rental firms only accept plastic. The corporate line is that the policy protects the

customer from the dangers of hauling large bags of swag round airport arrivals to fund

the rental and deposit.

At least passengers on UK airlines, once airborne, can resort to an old-fashioned tenner

to feed and water themselves from the trolley; more than a dozen US airlines have

declared cash-free cabins on domestic flights, prompting an unsuccessful lawsuit against

Continental Airlines, which refused to accept cash from a cardless passenger for a $3 set

of headphones. The passenger had totally failed to appreciate that the ban was for his

own benefit. The widespread policy, says a spokesman for American Airlines with

baffling logic, "simplifies the in-flight transaction process for both customers and flight

attendants".

It is probably only a matter of time before UK airlines also discover the joys of this

simplification. In the meantime, food is the one big essential that can still be bought for

cash without penalty. Or is it? At the bottom of the bill at Shrimpy's, a new London

restaurant, is a warning that cash is not accepted. Is this a moral stand against tax-

evasion or a simplification of the in-house transaction process? Is it, I wonder fiercely,

the start of a cashless revolution across the hospitality sector? "No, no!" stammers the

bewildered receptionist who picks up the phone. "It's because we don't have a safe."

Amazingly, there is no cap on the penalties that companies can inflict on the cash-reliant

minority, provided the fees are clearly stated and alternative suppliers are available. In

2008 a judge threw out a lawsuit brought by an elderly customer against BT's levies

because the charges were a core term of the contract between the telecoms giant and

the customer.

So what's to be done? Should companies be forced to accept cash? Have y ou ever been

caught out by a policy like this?

Ads by GoogleNo Bank Account needed

to pay and get paid online. Easy, Fast & Secure. Sign up for free.

www.moneybookers.com

Techincal Analysis Tool

Get support & resistance levels for 14 yrs & 2900 instruments for free.

www.dynamiclevels.com

Jaypee Greens Orchards

Lavish Golf Homes With Meditation Club & Kids Play Area. Enquire Now!

jaypeegreens.com/orchards

Comments

41 comments, displaying 6Oldes first

Open for comments. Sign in or create your Guardian accou nt to join the discussion.

Blog home

Stuart Wetton

5 July 2012 1:43PM

In my case, an insistence on using plastic for my first purchase

deters me. Unless you can be absolutely sure of the vendor's


3/12


4/12

Link

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (28)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (8)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (28)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (5)

Responses (0)

Report

mandydog

5 July 2012 1:49PM

The airline one was actually introduced for a good reason. NO

cash = fewer trolley-dolly fiddles and less unofficial booze on

board. I suspect a few others had the same thing in mind.

Lerryn

5 July 2012 1:49PM

Refusal to accept cash in order to sett le accounts for goods and

services

certainly appeals to institutions and traders since it rids them of

cash handling

costs. In addition insistence on the use of bank/computer based

products to

settle accounts is welcomed by "big brother" as a means of

information.

However not everyone is either able, or content, to use cheques,

credit cards,direct debits and standing orders: no doubt numbers will rise

following the

ongoing RBS computer problems! So, in conclusion, I am of the

opinion that

CASH should be made to be a legal acceptable means of payment

for all

goods and serv ices within the UK.

si8bqm

5 July 2012 1:51PM

Legal tender needs a law to make it illegal to charge penalties or

refuse to accept it. Otherwise, how long will it be before it

becomes illegal tender.

However, this move makes payments "off the books" pretty

much impossible. Is the tax man behind all this ?

parttimer

5 July 2012 1:51PM

Never mind cash being banned - it should be compulsory on

payments of less than a tenner. Few things are mor irritatingthan queuing while some t0sser at the head of the queue pays for

some gum and a can of Tizer with a card.

luckybear

5 July 2012 1:53PM

Prepayment metres? That's going too far...

[already in the cab]


5/12

Link

Recommend? (54)

Responses (1)

Report

Link

Recommend? (7)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (3)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (6)

Responses (1)

Report

Link

Recommend? (2)

Responses (0)

Report

damasene

5 July 2012 1:54PM

Response to stevenjameshyde, 5 July 2012 1 :44PM

You googled the phone number on the receipt in the photo? Are

you completely mental? I don't think they were trying to claim

that that was a photo of a receipt from the same restaurant they

refer to in the article. I think it's from a stock-image site.

khall54

5 July 2012 1:56PM

I always pay cash for groceries and anything I buy over a

counter, including railway tickets, clothes, and anything up to

100 at eg Argos, because it's convenient and I want to keep the

option open. I'd rather lose 30 pounds than my debit card

anyhow if someone steals my purse - don't take cards out unless

I need them.

However I was bullied into using Direct Debit by the utilities

some years ago - reckon they mostly do it so that however broke

you are, they have first call on your bank account, eg if there is

enough in there to cover the electricity bill and to buy food for

the week, you are expected to starve.

dedicatedtutoneilove

5 July 2012 2:05PM

. The widespread policy, says a spokesmans baffling logic,

"simplifies the in-flight transaction process for both customers

and flight attendants"

OR in otherwords perhaps ; " hey we can make ways for the

workers to hog all the means of any transaction "

Ordinary members of the public in the real world get treated like

roadkill - we're all going to hell in a handcart, it seems to me.

Existangst

5 July 2012 2:06PM

You try to deposit 1 0,000 or more cash into a bank and they

look at you as if y ou were a criminal.

Oraea

5 July 2012 2:07PM

Ive hired a house in the south of Ireland later in the year, I have

to pay the balance of the rental in cash...... in sterling

Restrictions paying by cash are one thing....ever tried to pay in

cash to an internet back. Intelligent Finance Im talking about you


6/12

Link

Recommend? (12)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (26)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (9)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (0)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (6)

Responses (1)

Report

.....

Deniski

5 July 2012 2:17PM

I find it appalling that our opportunities for paying in legal tender

are being withered away.

After being ripped offby a bank years ago without repayment or

apology, I decided that cards were not in my interest and haverefused to have one. A few things are more complicated because

of this decision but I sleep easy nonetheless.

As the corruption and exploitation by the banks and financial

firms comes to light; as the common man and woman pays more

and more as income drops; as venality and hypocrisy ooze out of

the political body into the public gaze; I stand astounded at the

pacific acceptance of events that are ripping the humanity out of

our society .

Pay cash, defend society !

DrPlokta5 July 2012 2:19PM

If you offer a restaurant cash and they refuse to accept it, you

can just walk out -- you have paid. An offer of legal tender settles

a debt whether or not it is accepted -- that's what legal tender is.

If you pay someone up-front, they can refuse cash, but if you're

paying them after you've incurred a debt, they have to accept it.

davefb

5 July 2012 2:19PM

"we dont have a safe"

no probs.. I dont hav e a card.. Bit late on the bill isn't it?

Mokujin

5 July 2012 2:23PM

Charging more to pay utilities bills by anything other than direct

debits is not because of handling costs but because customers

who pay by direct debit are statistically much more likely to

meet their payments on time.

Kipperphill

5 July 2012 2:31PM

What sensationalist twaddle.

The ex amples given are:

paying for utilities (of which broadband is probably one) - well

there is an obvious additional cost for the utility companies in you

not paying by direct debit or over the phone - the post office and

banks charge them a lot for allowing people to pay their bills in


7/12

Link

Recommend? (10)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (5)

Responses (1)

Report

Link

Recommend? (2)

Responses (0)

Report

cash

paying for your rented car - this isn't new - they don't like you

paying in cash because it is harder to track y ou down and/or bill

you more ifyou damage the car

nothing about shops or restaurants, which is where anyone would

normally pay cash.

JustBeaze5 July 2012 2:32PM

Having worked in IT security and analysis, I made the very

conscious decision that I would be using cash for as much as

possible in my life. It's so very easy to build up a profile of

someone from their electronic receipts, and it's so very easy to

buy that information legally. However the information in

question is used almost exclusively for marketing rather than

spotting criminal behaviour or tax avoidance. Big brother is most

definitely watching, but he's more interested in making money

from your details rather shopping you for fraud.

hexyar

5 July 2012 2:37PM

Response to matt71, 5 July 2012 1:49PM

Your frustration is understandable but say ing this country is shit

because it is at the forefront of the inevitable demise of paper in

favour of electronic money seems like ranting to me.

I, as opposed to you, came and stayed in this country because

even though the weather is really depressing me, I found that the

opportunities, level of civility and individual's power and rights

are way better than what I was used to in my country of birth.

Have been here 14 years now and no intention of leaving.

A friend of mine who runs his own restaurant moans about

everybody wanting to pay by card. He doesn't like having to pay

for a dedicated phone line and having to pay fees but what he

likes the least is having to declare all his takings.

Was it not for PAYE and electronic money, we'd be like Greece.

People only pay tax because they can't avoid it and then gets all

stroppy when others manage to.

I personally like to pay for everything I can by card. It makes

managing my spread sheet much easier. I account for every

penny in and out of my household.

spainfan

5 July 2012 2:49PM

Response to stevenjameshyde, 5 July 2012 1 :44PM

I imagine the subs meant to put "at least one restaurant has a

CARD-only policy" since such a restaurant is mentioned in the


8/12


9/12

Link

Recommend? (1)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (3)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (4)

Responses (0)

Report

money in your bank account here, because the chances it's going

to go walkies are incredibly high. On the day I'm paid I make any

internet purchases I need, then go straight to the bank and

withdraw everything apart from what I've just used. Having

been extremely poor when living in UK I learned the hard way to

budget extremely efficiently. I ev en managed to buy a house

here with hav ing no credit card (i.e. no credit history either) and

even though it cost me 1% more in cash down as they obligingly

informed me one week before closing the transaction, it was do-able. The only thing which has thus far defeated my cash-only

lifestlye is my intention to hire a car in US, but I have actually

found a low-limit, low-fee occasional-use credit card which is

ideal for me through my mortgage provider, which, if I really

HAVE to give in, is fine with me. With any credit card here, we

have the highest interest rates in the world and again, the

incidence of credit card cloning & fraud is endemic, (and in

Mexico YOU, personally, are responsible for all the money stolen,

NOT the bank) so I have zero interest in anything more. In UK

one takes it for granted one's money is safe in the bank and one

has recourse if anything dodgy happens with a credit card,

whereas actually in other places anything other than using cash

for everything can be courting disaster. Unfortunately.

thisismycreed

5 July 2012 2:58PM

Response to Existangst, 5 July 2012 2:06PM

You try to deposit 1 0,000 or more cash into a bank

and they look at you as if you were a criminal.

Well I certainly won't be doing that then

CaptainMurdoch

5 July 2012 3:00PM

Response to Lokolo, 5 July 2012 1:43PM

I've always been suspicious of paying tips by card. I prefer

paying the waiting staff in person as I know they have/will

receive it. Plus I can show my appreciation with a thank you as

well.

lilithingreen

5 July 2012 3:07PM

only a couple of years ago a good friend of mine couldn't get a

bank accout. he'd had poor credit history for years, and while all

debts were now either paid, or being paid (in cash) we really

struggled to find a bank that would give him an account. there

was a stage where we genuinely weren't sure what to do, as his

new employer wouldn't pay him in cash - only into a bank

account, or by cheque - and while there are plenty of landlords

who would take rent in cash, utilities were out of the question.


10/12

Link

Recommend? (0)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (2)

Responses (1)

Report

Link

Recommend? (1)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (0)

Responses (0)

Report

Recommend? (1)

Responses (0)

i can see plenty of perfectly sensible reasons for this march

towards electronic money, but for those who have been locked

out of the financial market (if that's what you call it) due to

poverty and endebtedness surely this isa really worrying trend?

Jimjimjeroo

5 July 2012 3:15PM

Response to earhole, 5 July 2012 2:50PM

In the wake of the Natwest cockup ... can anyone

doubt that a cash free economy is a really, really bad

idea?

Hear hear, sir.

Not only do I pay cash as often as I possibly can, I keep a good

500 of it at home for these scenarios. While the media are

constantly regurgitating articles claiming that cash is on life-

support, they hardly mention other occurrences such as that in

Germany at the start of 2011, when one-third of cards could

not be used for about a fortnight due to a (ahem) computer glitch.

IMHO we need more incidents like that, just to give those drippy

"I-buy-chewing-gum-with-a-card" hipsters a proper kick up

their frikkin arses.

WhatsMyPoint

5 July 2012 3:15PM

Response to damasene, 5 July 2012 1:54PM

No, no. This conspiracy goes deeper than we first feared! I too

have taken the time to Google the number on the article's stockphoto (...I know). It leads me to a Little Italy restaurant, indeed

not the non-cash restaurant quoted. And there's more... the kids

menu.... it's 5.95, not 3.99.

New. World. Order.

Run.

LinRichardson

5 July 2012 3:17PM

How is reducing the payment options av ailable to the customer inhis or her interest?

puljon

5 July 2012 3:22PM

Simply not right.

AllOutPious

5 July 2012 3:22PM


11/12

Link

Report

Link

Recommend? (0)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (1)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (0)

Responses (0)

Report

Link

Recommend? (0)

Responses (0)

Report

To take cash as payment should be a legal requirement. Pisses

me right off that the big banks get to grow fat of just about

anything these days. Plenty of countries are largely cash based

and they sure as hell aren't doing worse than us.

imjakethepeg

5 July 2012 3:26PM

Try Soutj African banks, even for personal accounts. They chargeextra for depositng cash and extra for withdrawing it, and even

for a balance request. That is why i say they are like prostitutes,

you have to pay to put it in, pay to take it out and even charge

you just to look at it!

JimGriffin

5 July 2012 3:29PM

Response to Kipperphill, 5 July 2012 2:31PM

Apart from the restaurant Anna mentions

Trollopean

5 July 2012 3:29PM

Response toWhatsMyPoint, 5 July 2012 3:15PM

Kid's menu - Evidence, I think, that the photo was taken some

time ago and is from a library .

One of my favourite small restaurants in Paris does notaccept

credit cards - settlement by cheque or in cash required. Some

restaurants here accept cheques only from clients they know.

Apart from utilities, most department stores and businesses I 've

dealt with in France seem happy with cash, cheques or credit

cards.

tiresiae

5 July 2012 3:30PM

I didn't have any trouble making payments during the Natwest

problems. Anyone who did would have had just the same trouble

taking money out of a cash machine, so it doesn't really work as

an argument - unless you want to go back to, what, everyone

gets paid in cash and then you all do your tax returns at the end

of the year?

Nah.

And frankly paying for a handful of groceries with a card takes no

longer than fumbling about for change, whether I'm doing it or

the cashier is when I've paid with my mandatory tenner that I

apparently have to carry around in order to show the bankers

what's what.


12/12

Link

Recommend? (0)

Responses (0)

Report

Open for comments. Sign in or create your Guardian accou nt to join the discussion.

201 2 Gu ardian News and Media Limited or its affil iated compan ies. All righ ts reserved.

tiresiae

5 July 2012 3:31PM

And it should be pretty obvious why utilities etc. prefer card or

bank payments - because it can be automated and doesn't

require human admin to count it out and accept the payment.

Like it or not, that means paying someone to accept the cash and

so incurs fees.

Cash is No Longer King

Documents

Transcript of Cash is No Longer King