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Daily Express article on cash

ended 25. April 2022

A journalist at the Daily Express is looking for pro-cash opinions in light of research from Which?, which is warning that the use of cash will peter out in short order unless businesses/shops/etc emphasise its importance to both commerce and consumers. The use of cash is particularly important to older people, who are important consumers, and who do not have smartphones with Apple Pay or access to online shopping and banking. Few Qs:

  • What are your thoughts on this?
  • Should we resign ourselves to losing cash or should businesses do more to ensure we continue to use it?
  • Would the end of a cash economy hit you and your business?

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Seena Gosrani
Owner / Goldsmith at Bottlebee
"Covid has had an impact on cash changing hands and put an emphasis on people paying with cards, phones and even watches. Despite this, all businesses should provide the option of accepting cash, as many of the older generation rely on this and they shouldn't be penalised for it. "Personally, I am a goldsmith and sell my jewellery online, so payments have to be cashless. However if I'm participating at an event in person, I will always have the option for people to pay in cash. The drawback is that a lot of my items have a higher price point and people generally don't have that amount of cash with them. I myself don't carry cash and rely on ApplePay to pay for the smallest of things, like buying a packet of crisps. We are heading towards a cashless society."
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Rob Peters
Principal at Simple Fast Mortgage
"The digitalisation of currency was already taking over the world before the pandemic, but Covid expedited the speed at which the change has happened. It's now more an exception than the norm, to see a shopper paying with cash. This is simply because as well as the hygienic aspect, electronic payments bring speed and convenience to the vast majority of individuals and businesses. But like any change, it is the most vulnerable in society who can find it the most difficult to adapt to change. These are the people that need access to cash payment options the most and shops and services that offer 'card only' should think long and hard about whether they are excluding vulnerable people from accessing their goods and services. There is a social imperative to offering cash."
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Barry Whitehouse
Owner / Tutor at The Artery
"As a small independent retailer, we are always advocating the use of cash as payment, as we know that it is a vital service for older people, or those who do not have smart phones or online banking. Even throughout the pandemic when non-essential shops were permitted to be open, we continued to accept cash, as it was the only method of payment some people had or understood. 10% of our transactions are currently cash-based, which may not seem much, but for a small business, it is what oils the cogs and helps keep us going. It has a double benefit, as it potentially could mean losing 10% of our customer base if we refused cash. Some businesses may be using small, mobile card terminals, many of which do not allow transactions under £2, so they would either have to upsell (not always possible), or lose the transaction altogether if cash was not in use. The added benefit is that older people use town centres to access banks and witdraw cash for their shopping. No cash withdrawals means even fewer banks on the High Street. For a small business and consumer, cash still plays a very important role."