Forum Topic

Bayley & Sage

When I went to pay cash for my small quiche in Bayley & Sage on Turnham Green Terrace yesterday the assistant apologised and said they no longer take cash, only card payment. For an item costing less than £5 this seemed ridiculous.  I left without my quiche.

Felicity Langton ● 2427d23 Comments

That might be a hygiene thing, if so, quite reasonable for a food store.

Alastair Banton ● 2427d

Can't remember when I last paid cash for anything. The £50 note my mum gave me at Christmas languishes in my wallet because I keep forgetting it's there.I appreciate a cash-free UK won't suit everyone, but I do wonder why you wouldn't use contactless if you are able to.PS. Great French sticks a steal at £1.50, and excellent Scotch Eggs in B&S!

Gordon McDonald ● 2427d

We have no intention of going cashless.  I can understand trying to use it less right now.  What will they do when the electronic till stops working?  We've experienced that every so often.

Philippa Bond ● 2427d

I'm with you  on this one!

Jeffrey Cope ● 2427d

Firstly it is a great shop, although personally I preferred its predecessorSecondly, this is the way the world is going.  I now very rarely get cash out, maybe £50 once a month.Thirdly in the current climate of Covid19 asking people to use contactless payment methods where possible seems rather sensibleFourthly, I can fully understand why shops want to move away from cash - it is more secure and safer for staff

Justin Stephenson ● 2427d

Isn't there an issue for independent non-chain shops who have a high fixed costs for the machines that allow them to take contactless payment?

Diane Brown ● 2427d

Agree Philippa, also have been charged for the wrong transaction on occasion, the most expensive mistake was for petrol one day when I was in a hurry, always use cash at the garage now.

Janice Evans ● 2427d

I find if I take out cash from an ATM and tell myself that's my limit for the week I spend less, rather that using my debit and credit cards. I wouldn't be  happy with a cashless society, we should have the choice of how we spend our money.

Loraine Pemberton ● 2427d

Agree Loraine, I lose track of what I have spent on the card.

Janice Evans ● 2427d

I agree there should be a choice of how to pay. Cash only businesses raise a few alarm bells. There can be no real justification for a legitimate shop/coffee shop not to accept cards. I’m thinking of one particular place not in Chiswick but nearby.

Stewart Jones ● 2427d

Yes, only today, my credit card kept coming up 'card error' when I have a load (to me) of money on it for use - never put your faith in machines.

Micki Hawkes ● 2427d

Monzo could be your friend. You can load a set amount on it and when it is used up, that's it.

Carl Wynne ● 2427d

I know a very good friend who is head of cyber fraud at a major high st bank and a few years back after my acc being attacked, asked him if he uses online banking, a grin and a wink said it all, online banking closed the next day and not had to sort out the mess after a cyber attack. Cash is and will always be King!

James Smith-Jones ● 2427d

"Cash usage is shrinking in Britain faster than in most places, and the debate about what to do about it is getting louder. That’s important because, like just about every country where digital payments are taking over, the UK doesn’t have much of a plan for what happens next.In the UK, plastic payment cards are the most popular way to buy things. Only about 30% of transactions use paper notes and coins, and that figure is expected to fall to as low as 10% in the next 15 years. The ratio is already at 15% in Sweden, which will become effectively cashless in a few years time."

Steve Taylor ● 2427d

So others will have total control over our funds, what happens when it all goes pear shape.

Janice Evans ● 2427d

What will the Tooth Fairy do?!  🧚‍♂️

Georgina Flint ● 2427d

Exactly, I do the same as Loraine draw out enough for the week otherwise I lose track and that's why so many people end up in debt.

Janice Evans ● 2427d

"Cash only businesses raise a few alarm bells. There can be no real justification for a legitimate shop/coffee shop not to accept cards"To me this is a dated notion.Terminals are not the same despite appearances. They can run on different technologies and, as such, are limited to quality of service and location like cell phones.Recently we had our terminals stop working. No clue why. If we weren't set up to take cash we would have been further restricted. In the end, we learned the processing company opted to do maintenance/upgrade during business hours without prior warning. Given they have all the data they need on us, I thought it odd they didn't do it off-peak let alone overnight. At that moment I thought why bother with cards when it could just be all cash and eliminate the fees and the headaches.We also had a similar experience with MetroBank which opted to discontinue the light blue card in favor of the new dark blue card. I found that out when I tried to pay a bill and the terminal at the supplier showed up "application denied" an alert I've never seen nor had anyone at the supplier.Cash has no such limitation.

David Lesniak ● 2427d

Why is cash frowned upon? Ok it may be a bit unhygienic at present but I doubt people clean their plastic much. Nothing is more annoying than when u come across a business where all of a sudden there has been some computer failure and cash is the only currency but it truely comes into its own when this happens . I do not like my spending controlled by "Suits" so much favour cash for most transaction of a smaller nature . Long may it stay with the cheque .

John Martin ● 2426d

As I said there should be a choice, But there is a shop in Kew which does  not accept cards at all.  Ripping off tourists and HMRC?

Stewart Jones ● 2426d

One issue is that bank cash handling charges are actually very high. Together with counter services disappearing,it all becomes too much for smaller businesses especially.

Cecile Parfitt ● 2426d

Whilst in Barnes yesterday I noticed that a couple more of the smaller outlets had gone cashless citing the corona-virus outbreak as the reason.  One wonders if they will ever go back to cash after it is all over?

Philip Coe ● 2421d

Entering a pin on those machines is not germ free, or is it contactless.

Janice Evans ● 2421d