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. (FULL LIST)
