Wolverhampton cafe owner says cash payments are her cup of tea

A cafe owner will continue to take cash payments, as it helps customers on low incomes and cuts down card fees she gets charged.

Caty Jones has spoken after a report by MPs was published putting the spotlight on the growing number of retailers who have gone cashless.

“I think it’s important that we keep cash in society,” said Ms Jones, who runs a tearoom called K Teas Cakes in Wolverhampton.

The Treasury Committee’s report on the issue has warned that some vulnerable people prefer or rely on cash, including those living in poverty or escaping domestic abuse, as well as those with learning difficulties.

The report stops short of recommending a change in the law to force businesses to accept cash, but it said the government must improve its monitoring of the issue.

Ms Jones told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that some of her customers on low incomes preferred using cash, so they could “see what money they have in their hand” and keep track of “the money that’s going out”.

Her cafe, on St George’s Parade, has a sign on the counter saying “cash is king”.

Notes and coins were used in a fifth of shop transactions last year, according to the British Retail Consortium, with those shoppers choosing not to use a card as they found cash helped them budget better.

Ms Jones said she also preferred receiving cash payments as they don not incur card processing fees, which she said were 2% per transaction for her business.

“If I take £3 for a cup of coffee in cash, I get to keep that whole £3 and I can use it in other local businesses when I’m buying my supplies,” she said, adding that her business had a bank account where some money could be paid in without a fee.

“If I take £3 on a card payment I lose 2%, which doesn’t sound like a lot – but over the course of a year we’re talking £600-700.”

“As a small business that’s an awful lot of money.”