Major firms including restaurants, bakeries and petrol stations from big supermarkets are now refusing to take cash in some or all stores, in a move that has been branded ‘completely unacceptable’ by a pro-cash campaign group.
Italian restaurant chain Zizzi’s has now gone fully cash-free in most of its restaurants. It only accepts card, Apple Pay or Google Pay transactions and otherwise will only take cash for tips. Gail’s Bakery, which has more than 150 outlets across the country, only accepts card payments in all of its branches, while restaurant brand Itsu has been rolling out card-only rules since 2019. At the same time, many supermarkets have opened card-only petrol stations and cafés.
Zizzi’s FAQs says: “To provide the smoothest and fastest payment experience, and to keep our teams safe, we are cashless and we encourage card, Apple Pay or Google Pay transactions. You can pay up to £100 contactless on your card and unlimited when using Apple Pay and Google Pay in most of our restaurants.”
Gail’s Bakery says: “We only accept card payments. This practice has environmental benefits as it eliminates the need for cash collection and delivery, which used to be done by car several times per week across over a hundred locations.
“Additionally, being cashless has had a positive impact on the security of our bakeries by minimising the risk of criminal activity.”
In 2019, Itsu announced it was rolling out cashless stores. “We trialled this earlier in the year at stores with the highest percentage of card transactions in order to assess customer feedback before rolling out to others,” a spokesperson told RTIH. “We now have 12 and have plans to continue as the response so far has been largely positive.”
In August, Tesco announced it would be going cashless at 40 UK cafe sites. The cafes ask customers to order food on a digital self service screen and then accept only cards or contactless phones as payment.
Asda has also gone cash-free in nearly 270 petrol stations, where customers can only pay by card at the pumps to fill up. The supermarket giant said it made the decision because more than 90 percent of payments at its petrol stations were already via card or contactless. Asda still takes cash at the rest of its outlets and all supermarkets, though.
Sainsbury’s says that the vast majority of its stores and petrol stations still accept cash, although the number which do not is not currently known.
Chairman of the Payment Choice Alliance Ron Delnevo said it was ‘completely unacceptable’ that some stores were no longer accepting cash. The pro-cash campaigners want new laws which would mandate retailers to accept cash.
He said: “The vast majority of the public want cash to be honoured as a payment. These businesses are letting down the public.”
According to Full Fact, it is legal for any shop to refuse to accept cash.
The ‘legal tender’ myth is a common misconception and refers only to those who are offering to repay a debt. The rule says debtors must accept any form of ‘legal tender’ – in England and Wales, coins and notes, in Scotland, just coins – offered to repay a debt.
Shop owners do not have to accept cash or any specific type of cash (like Scottish bank notes!)
Full Fact says: “It’s not illegal for shops or businesses to refuse to accept cash. They can also refuse to accept card payments. And while cash is ‘legal tender’, this has a narrow definition that doesn’t mean businesses must accept it.”
According to the Bank of England, shop owners can choose what kind of payment they take.
The Bank of England says: “Legal tender has a narrow technical meaning which has no use in everyday life. It means that if you offer to fully pay off a debt to someone in legal tender, they can’t sue you for failing to repay.”
