Can shops legally refuse money.

[Alex321]

Well given that debit cards, and contactless aren’t legal tender in the UK, I'm not surprised.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender

"Legal tender" is completely irrelevant in day to day transactions.

It is only meaningful when settling a court debt.

 

[Alex321]

Not read the whole thread, so apologies if this has been said - but you can't refuse to take cash if it puts your normal customers at a disadvantage. So I guess a shop that has a high proprortion of sales going to, for example, children, has to take cash,

Do you have a link to the law which mandates that?

I do not believe it to be true.

 

[nickyboy]

Given the sea change in cash v electronic payments in the past 20 years it's interesting to consider what the landscape might look like in another 20 years. Most of the old folk who prefer cash will be gone and replaced by the middle aged who largely accept electronic payments as part of life. Maybe cash will become one of those marginal ways of paying and only used for very specific types of transactions and use of cash will become solely linked to black economy transactions. I suspect the idea that some trades rely on cash (such as market traders) will go and you will buy your oranges with a phone tap, just like buying a coffee

I'm on a train to London as I type. Haven't got a penny of cash on me

 

[wiggydiggy]

I don't think anyone's mentioned campsites yet, unless they offer online payment pre arrival I always have cash ready for them. As recently as 2021 I paid a man who came to the tent in the morning with an quality street tin of change lol

 

[Svendo]

The IOM and similar coins have the same dimensions and weight as the regular UK coins and are accepted by vending machines. They sometimes get issued as change by these machines.

The exception is the £1 coin where the Isle of Man still uses the old format.

Does this mean I can spend the English round pounds from down the back of sofa in the Isle of Man? I’ll have to get them out of the kids piggy banks thinking about it…🫣

 

[Ajax Bay]

Was the exchange rate 4 for 1d or am I really really old?

Just really old. When I was paying for sweets, blackjacks and those coloured,striped ones (?Trebor chews) were 8 for a penny (1/240 of a pound sterling) iirc: you could get four for a ha'penny; and if really flush Mars Bars for a shilling. While we're at it, I recall being astonished when the fish & chip shop put up the price of a 'bag of chips' from 6d to 8d "price rise due to new potatoes" . Did it go back down? Did it f!

 

[markemark]

What I find really odd is the people who put minimum card spends on. Our local newsagent has a £5 minimum for card transactions. Both the Co-op opposite and the off license sell similar stuff and just accept cards. They must miss out on a tonne of impulse buying transactions when people drop off parcels.

Coop will pay a fraction of the card handling fees the small independents do. However, depending on the profit margins, it is still not always best business practice. For debit cards which often charge a fix rate rather than a %, it might be 30 or 40p. Means a bar of chocolate they may lose money. £5 is probably a bit high though.

 

[Tenkaykev]

Just really old. When I was paying for sweets, blackjacks and those coloured,striped ones (?Trebor chews) were 8 for a penny (1/240 of a pound sterling) iirc: you could get four for a ha'penny; and if really flush Mars Bars for a shilling. While we're at it, I recall being astonished when the fish & chip shop put up the price of a 'bag of chips' from 6d to 8d "price rise due to new potatoes" .

That brought back a memory. I can now remember the " price rise due to new potatoes " signs outside the chippies.

 

[icowden]

Coop will pay a fraction of the card handling fees the small independents do. However, depending on the profit margins, it is still not always best business practice. For debit cards which often charge a fix rate rather than a %, it might be 30 or 40p. Means a bar of chocolate they may lose money. £5 is probably a bit high though.

I'd have thought they could easily go with a provider that takes a % per transaction. 3% of a £1 bar of chocolate is 3p. Surely better to have 47p profit than no profit at all (assuming a 50% margin).

 

[markemark]

I'd have thought they could easily go with a provider that takes a % per transaction. 3% of a £1 bar of chocolate is 3p. Surely better to have 47p profit than no profit at all (assuming a 50% margin).

From my experience most large card processing companies charge this way - fixed for debit and variable for credit, higher for customer not present. Some newer mobile based companies may charge a different way but their overall charges are much higher.

 

[simongt]

Went into Aldi today to deal with an overcharge and was asked if I'd prefer cash or a debit card credit. I said whichever is easier for yourselves; and I was given cash - !

 

[Low Gear Guy]

On Monday night a restaurant offered me a 10% discount for cash. I have not come across this before. The card handling fee must be less than this.

 

[icowden]

On Monday night a restaurant offered me a 10% discount for cash. I have not come across this before. The card handling fee must be less than this.

Yes, but the money in the back pocket means it doesn't get taxed!

 

[oldwheels]

Coop will pay a fraction of the card handling fees the small independents do. However, depending on the profit margins, it is still not always best business practice. For debit cards which often charge a fix rate rather than a %, it might be 30 or 40p. Means a bar of chocolate they may lose money. £5 is probably a bit high though.

I am not up to date on this but when I was involved with an Arts Centre run by local volunteers the banks initially wanted 7.5% of every card transaction.
In our shop days the figure varied from 3% to 4.5% so we did not encourage card transactions as they cost more than depositing cash.
It still cost to deposit cash into our account but much less than card transactions.
Banks generally IMO are robbers.

 

[markemark]

I am not up to date on this but when I was involved with an Arts Centre run by local volunteers the banks initially wanted 7.5% of every card transaction.
In our shop days the figure varied from 3% to 4.5% so we did not encourage card transactions as they cost more than depositing cash.
It still cost to deposit cash into our account but much less than card transactions.
Banks generally IMO are robbers.

I would suggest that’s a little outdated. Busy Shops can get 1.5% and I would imagine a group such as coop would be <0.5%