MANY retailers are banishing cash from stores, including major supermarkets – find out if yours is impacted.
In a huge shake up for shoppers retailers such as Tesco and Asda are cutting cash payments in some of their outlets to cut queues.
So, whether you’re filling up the car or ordering a sandwich for lunch, you may get to the checkout to discover you can’t pay with cash.
Retailers have said the move will reduce queues, but its not been without controversy.
Many have said it will make life harder for some customers.
One customer commented on X: “Even if you ‘don’t mind’ cashless, stop being so smug and inconsiderate and think about the elderly, disabled and those on lower incomes who budget better with cash.”
The move towards cashless shopping accelerated following the Covid-19 pandemic, when many retailers, pubs, cafés and restaurants were forced to go card only.
However a YouGov survey commissioned by the Payment Choice Alliance in early June 2023 revealed that only 3% of the adult UK population have stopped using cash entirely.
Concerns were also raised in March when a tech meltdown left Sainsbury’s stores unable to take contactless payments, causing chaos.
This was followed by a global tech outage in July, that left many retailers unable to accept contactless payments.
Here’s a round up of where you can and can’t use cash.
Tesco
In August Tesco revealed it would be going cashless at cafés in 40 UK sites.
At the same time the cafés will require shoppers to order their food and drinks on a digital self-service screen.
Despite the move, Tesco has said it offers a choice of payment options for customers across its stores.
The supermarket also has 3,400 Tesco Bank cash machines in its stores.
Asda
Supermarket giant Asda has 267 cashless petrol stations, where customers must pay at pump by card to fill up.
An Asda spokesperson said it made the move as more than 90% of all payments at superstore fuel station forecourts were via card or a contactless device.
Asda has confirmed that customers can still pay by cash in the rest of its outlets, including manned and self checkouts, cafés and concessions.
Asda has more than over 1,200 sites in the UK.
Morrisons
Morrisons offers customers the opportunity to pay by cash in all of its outlets.
While it has card-only self service checkouts in some stores, its manned checkouts all accept cash payments.
The supermarket also accepts cash in its cafés, petrol stations and other concessions.
Morrisons has almost 500 UK stores.
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s has said the vast majority of its stores and petrol stations accept cash payments.
But, it has not provided details of those areas of its 1,500 stores that do not accept cash.
In March a tech meltdown left Sainsbury’s stores unable to take contactless payments, causing chaos.
Customers also reported difficulties when a major global tech outage left shoppers unable to make card payments across the UK.
Aldi
Aldi has said that all of its stores accept cash across both manned tills and self-service checkouts.
The retailer has more than 1,000 stores across the UK.
However it does not have any cafés, concessions or petrol stations.
Co-op
Co-op accepts cash payments across its 2,400 convenience stores.
Its stores have a combination of manned checkouts and self-checkouts.
All manned checkouts accept cash.
Some of Co-op’s self-checkouts accept cash, while others are card only.
Waitrose
Waitrose accepts cash at all cafés and manned checkouts.
The supermarket’s self-checkouts only accept card payments and have not taken cash for more than a year.
Waitrose has more than 300 supermarkets in the UK.
Law says shops don’t have to accept cash
By Sara Benwell, consumer reporter at The Sun
MOST people think it’s their right to use cash to pay for goods at the shops. But the reality is, that’s not the case.
Even though our pennies and pounds are often referred to as legal tender, it is actually the business owner’s right to decide what payment methods they want to accept.
After an online petition was launched to make it unlawful for shops to refuse cash, the Government confirmed in April that it does not plan to mandate cash acceptance.
Cash transactions remain important to millions, particularly the vulnerable and elderly, but it is the choice of individual businesses.
As we move ever closer to a cashless society, I worry about the elderly and those who are most vulnerable, as many rely on cash for budgeting and it’s easy to overspend when you are using a card.
With so many people still reliant on, or keen to use, notes and loose change, it really does make sense for businesses to continue to accept it.
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