A cash industry organisation has urged retailers to accept cash payments, highlighting how at the height of the pandemic, one in three retailers was refusing to take cash.
Saying retailers who refuse to accept cash on hygiene grounds are doing so for “bogus reasons”, Cash Supply Alliance (CSA) said despite Bank of England research concluding that the risk of catching Covid from handling cash was low, many retailers were refusing to accept cash at the height of pandemic.
CSA is calling on the retailers to accept cash at least to the same level as the new £100 contactless limit.
Nigel Constable, chair of the CSA, said, “We are frustrated by ongoing reports of refusenik retailers not accepting cash simply due to ‘hygiene issues’ when the Bank of England’s own research concluded this was simply not true and that there was actually a greater risk from other ‘high touch’ objects.
“While some retailers such as Aldi, Co-op, Lloyds Pharmacy and Waitrose are publicly supporting cash, too many are refusing this legal tender based on bogus health reasons, rather than accepting they’re offering poor customer service to the 40 million adults in the UK who still regularly use cash.”
It added that the biggest Covid transmission risks were from shopping baskets and trolleys, and products on open shelves.
The CSA added that it is looking forward to the forthcoming report, Community Access to Cash, which is looking into the whole issue.
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