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Cash is no longer king, but it is also a long way from death.
In the world of payments, many consumers, as well as our own restaurant owners, love the idea of a cashless system. Paying quickly just by bringing your phone or card closer can speed up payment and improve security.
The problem is that not all diners can or want to use electronic payments. That is why New York became one more city that decided to ban completely cashless restaurants and shops, joining the states of New Jersey and Massachusetts, as well as the cities of Philadelphia and San Francisco.
The New York City bill fines companies that restrict cash to $ 1,000 for the first fine, and $ 1,500 for each repeat offense.
However, some stores can run out of cash if they offer a way to convert cash to cards, such as in laundries or even a place like Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center, where most food stalls only accept cards.
The constant search for automatic payment
Not even a decade ago, the idea of a cashless system seemed unthinkable. Imagine back then if someone told you that you could enter a store, take what you want, go out and get a receipt automatically sent to your mobile the invoice for the items in your shopping cart. Did you ever think that you could order food on their mobile phone, pay for it, and then just walk in to pick it up on your way back to your job?
The most recent exposition of the National Retail Federation (the world’s largest retail association) was packed with technology like smart shelves and sensors that, when combined with learning algorithms, allow retailers to design their own stores with automatic payment.
These were presented as solutions for traditional stores, or even for independent retail stores for locations such as in a university or in a commercial office park.
From the customer’s perspective, this technology has several benefits:
- Customers can skip frustrating experiences like waiting to pay. They place an order with a mobile and just want to have their food.
- Restaurant managers can reduce labor costs and reduce the chances of theft.
- Both parties get a much more efficient operational experience from start to finish.
Although only a small number of stores in New York have run out of cash and the same is true in the rest of the United States.
The best known cashless system, Amazon Go, finally started accepting cash. Sweetgreen also wanted some of its stores to run out of cash, but executives quickly realized that not all customers wanted it.
If customers can only receive their receipt via their mobile phone, then those who cannot pay or simply do not own a phone cannot participate. Since the payment is transferred from a credit or debit card that is stored in a customer’s phone, this system also does not work for those who do not have access to banks or for those who are concerned about privacy. You also exclude all people who do have a mobile phone, online banking, but whose mobile phones do not have the support of NFC technology, which allows payment with the mobile.
The paradox of whether or not to rely on traditional banking entities to advance digital money
In New York City, 1 in 5 people are unbanked, which means they don’t have easy access to electronic payments. More generally, some people are simply not comfortable with the amount of customer data that is collected during these interactions and prefer the anonymity of paying in cash.
At a press conference, New York City Councilor Ritchie Torres, who sponsored the bill, said:
“This will ensure that the digital economy includes all of us, including the most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he agrees with the bill’s intent but has not yet fully committed to signing it, with some critics pointing out that the city would be better served by trying to help those they have decided not to have all their money in banks.
The idea of not using cash, and even the backlash against it, is not just an American trend.
The growth of mobile devices around the world has led to an increase in the use of digital payments. Even so, when the British supermarket Tesco tried to eliminate the cash, but the opposition arose quickly and harshly.
Of course, while we may not be able to live without cash, we will continue to see its decline.
According to BBVA, in Spain 17% of purchases in 2019 were made through payments with mobile devices (mobiles and smart watches). That means that only 1 in 5 diners will pay with a mobile. It is very little for you to dispense with the cash payment.
But it also tells us something else: every year it will grow and without giving up the cash payment, you should implement all kinds of payments in your restaurant and always follow the trends.
Cash will never completely disappear, but it is clearly no longer king.