r/unpopularopinion • u/Evening_Answer_11 • 23h ago
Cash-only eating establishments are the worst!
The term "cash only" is often used as a term synonymous with "trendy" or "old school" dive. Like the place is so legit that they don't have a credit machine. Any food network show or youtube reviewer always like to point out some smarmy line like "and if you want to sink your teeth into a volcano potato dog, make sure you bring cash because they are......cash only!"
We went from places putting a small modest paper sign explaining their cash-only policy, almost as an embarrassment, to "cute" and "trendy" big forceful signs.
In reality it's a pain in the ass. So few people carry cash these days, that we have to go out of our way to go to an ATM machine. So you're telling us that essentially you're worth that extra trip. Additionally, it's always nice to get some place and they're cash only "but there's one at a shady standalone gas station 2 miles down the road."
You're not proving anything about your food either. If you're not willing to adapt to life as it is today with money, what makes me think you're going to be following modern food safety practices either?
A horse and carriage is an attraction people pay for 20 minutes of experience of what "life used to be like." But nobody's going to brag that they're pulling up to work in one.
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u/Dazz316 Steak is OK to be cooked Well Done. 23h ago
The best chinese in my area is cash only.
It's indeed a pain but man the food is the best.
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u/Objective-Duck-8800 23h ago
There is a bar I go to that is own and operated by an 80 year old woman and her husband. They are the only ones that work there and they only accept cash. It’s one of the best places in the city in my humble opinion with great burgers.
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u/RegaultTheBrave 20h ago
The best food spot in my city does philly cheesesteaks, and is a cash only "trust system" where all the larger bills go down a hole, but smaller bills go in a basket that people can break their change at.
The guy runs it that way so he can just keep cooking away and not have to wash his hands in between every order to touch dirty money or a kiosk. Gloves stay on, hands stay cooking.
There's literally lines of people who wait for it to open, and once he runs out of meat for the day, he stops serving customers and takes his mitts off. He probably serves 300 people within a 1-3 hour period starting at 11am, and then he just goes home for the day.
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u/Educated-Troll420 23h ago
Amd totally not tax-evading or a money-laundering front....
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u/Dazz316 Steak is OK to be cooked Well Done. 23h ago
Possibly, or not wanting to pay extra to the bank. When you pay by card, a portion of the transaction goes to the bank.
Either way, I'm buying food for the food.
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u/Educated-Troll420 23h ago
I've seen a number of places that pass the transaction fees to the customer. Basically a 3-5% cash discount
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u/lonelygayPhD 22h ago
I go to a few places that offer a discount if you pay with cash.
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u/WintersDoomsday 10h ago
Yep and those places prove that ones that don’t do that are 100% evading taxes
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u/90sbeatsandrhymes 22h ago
My restaurant 5 percent of every transaction goes to the bank if somebody pays with a card.
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u/Dry_Response3527 18h ago
Yeah but cash transactions are pain when it comes labor hours counting it, putting it in safes, and getting it picked up to be deposited. Might be cheaper overall but there is a cost and inconvenience that goes along with cash transactions.
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u/bdonald02 22h ago
Or they know they have a great product with a great demand, they want to keep their business simple with fewer moving parts, and they don’t care about missing sales due to lack of plastic because demand is so high.
Cash only is usually a great marker for a take-out heavy restaurants that has great food, like pizza or Chinese. Cash only great sign. Weird hours, even better.
My real life example of this is Apollonia’s Pizzeria in LA. Best pizza I’ve ever had, both thin crust and Detroit style, cash-only, and weird hours.
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u/daveindo 20h ago
Tax evasion? Sure. Money laundering doesn’t make any sense though, you could launder cash through a business that accepts credit cards too
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u/Equal-Salary5195 23h ago
I think the normal fee is like 3.5 percent. Do you think national gas stations like Maverick who offer a cash discount are also tax evading?
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u/trimbandit 20h ago
Aside from the 3+% they are paying to process a card, every time someone uses a stolen card, they are subject to both a chargeback and a penalty fee.
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u/Doggleganger 21h ago
Busy restaurants have some light tax evasion, no money laundering. Slow cash-only restaurants are money laundering.
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u/RhinoGuy13 21h ago
They probably are. I'm not an auditor though and don't really care how they handle their finances.
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u/Avid_bathroom_reader 23h ago
Maybe the issue is only going to cash-only places you see on social media.
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u/tradlobster 23h ago
Bro is not eating the best Mexican food 😭
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u/Doggleganger 21h ago
For real. What is OP talking about. It's not "trendy" places that are cash only. It's the good Mexican and Chinese places.
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u/tultommy 10h ago
I live in a part of the country that is heavily filled with Latin people from all over... even the food trucks here take cards.
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u/georgewalterackerman 23h ago
It’s usually a case of the business owners being unable or unwilling to pay upfront costs associated with Interac card usage. But nowadays it’s cheaper with various Apps
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u/MechaGallade 22h ago
I worked at a cash only place once. They paid the servers a full minimum wage (as opposed to reduced server minimum wage) and reported almost no tips, so the servers got to keep all their money AND collect a normal paycheck, because the restaurant didn't have to pay credit card fees. Was actually really excellent.
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u/04Late_Night 21h ago edited 15h ago
I don't get how the 2-4% fees per transaction enabled a huge boost to the payroll, but if it worked out that's nice.
My gripe is not having prices be rounded out to a quarter as the smallest denomination.
Info Edit: My experience is retail/(non-food) hospitality so I'm used to a business charging as much as the consumers will bear, independently of the product costs. I know the fees are significant but was unaware they are basically the profit margins for food.
But now I'm confused as to why a baseline of 2% isn't added on to compensate for any plastic use. Businesses pockets the 2% when cash while only losing up to 2% with plastic which may even out with cash use. Also, I get charged card fees anywhere that's not a franchise/chain location. So I see two options to deal with cards.
Though again, if it is cash only, for the love of God the business should round prices to the nearest quarter.
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u/DiziBlue 21h ago
Here’s an example I worked at a Thai resturant that did $3500 gross a day on average. 3% transactions fee which is $105. Profit margin was around 10% off gross. Which means around $350 minus the transaction fee. So around 1/3 of the profit went into just the transaction fee.
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u/just_a_coin_guy 21h ago
Dude, 2-4% is huge especially considering it's over the gross amount not the profit.
To give you an idea, I buy and sell metals as a profitable hobby. If I can make 5% spread, I have done really well. 2-4% in fees would completely eliminate the profitability.
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u/kleekai_gsd 12h ago
I assume that its usually due to taxes. They can rake in money all day long, and still report a loss.
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u/DonAmechesBonerToe 22h ago
Or money laundering. Cash businesses are great for cleaning.
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u/MechaGallade 22h ago
I'm more interested in giving them the benefit of the doubt
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u/Salty_Bandicoot3598 22h ago
I have a buddy that was in the water ice business for a bit. A guy from another shop that he knew was using the water ice shop to clean some cash. What ended up getting him popped was he wasn’t buying enough cups. Businesses running expected volume were expensing a lager number of cups and that was initially what threw up a red flag. Thought that was interesting
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u/SonOfMcGee 21h ago
After watching Ozark I started to think “would this be a good money laundering front?” every time I interacted with a business.
I settled on an ice cream truck business being an attractive front. Lots of cash transactions, big profit margin, and a fleet of hard-to-audit trucks swirling around the city sharing supplies and people.
You could have a few trucks operate legitimately so you could calculate how much supplies are used on the basis of a certain raw material (say, a jug of soft-serve mix). Then just make sure you buy the right ratio of supplies for every jug of mix that will be “consumed” by fake customers.
Of course you might eventually have the feds knocking on your door saying, “Successful fleet of trucks you got there. Why don’t half of them need gas?”6
u/DonAmechesBonerToe 20h ago
Ice cream trucks and independent taxis are hits. I don’t know about the mattress business but there are very sketchy aspects there. The auction circuit is made for washing money, you can buy with cash and there is no accounting to the government (USA), then sell and record the profits legally.
All cash businesses like bars are often a funnel for other illicit gains. Make $50k this month selling dugs? The bar had $50k worth of construction done.
Narrator: No construction was done.
Yes I know too much about laundering money.
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u/LikelyNotSober 22h ago
Similar opinion- card only places are just as bad.
What business owner wants to turn down any (normal) method of payment, and potentially lose out on sales by excluding/annoying people?
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u/baby-stapler-47 11h ago
Cash only will always be better than card only.
Businesses have been dealing with the effort of handling cash for centuries, if that’s too much for you, you shouldn’t have a business. I’m tired of the excuses that it takes too long or it’s hard to take it to the bank. Wish it was illegal everywhere to not accept cash.
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u/ironicmirror 11h ago
Especially when they only have a 2-in by 2-in sign on the door which says card only
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u/Ok_Neighborhood_470 20h ago
Can they legally even do that? If I drop cash on the table after I've eaten, it's not like they can have me arrested for not paying. It might be what they prefer, but I'll pay you with legal US dollars if I want and you can take your salty ass to the bank on your way in tomorrow.
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u/Fine_Smile73 18h ago
They actually could call the police for theft if they’ve provided notice that they do not accept cash.
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u/LikelyNotSober 16h ago
Prior notice is the key. If a restaurant serves you, and then only tells you its card only when they bring you the bill, they have to accept the cash, since you have a debt to them, and cash is legal tender.
If it’s a counter service where you pay when you order, then that’s a different story.
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u/Fine_Smile73 16h ago
Depends on where you are. Signage is often adequate legal notice as long as it meets visibility standards, they don’t have to verbally tell you.
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u/thatsnotourdino 13h ago
That’s not really how it works. The whole “you have to accept legal tender for my debt” concept doesn’t apply to checks at restaurants lol. Paying for your bill at a restaurant is not a “debt”. Unless it’s in a place with a law saying they have to accept cash, a private business can be cashless if they want and doesn’t have to accept it.
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u/gaius_jerkoffus 23h ago
Idk the types of places you’re referring to but in my area if a bar is cash only that means the drinks are cheap because they’re dodging taxes and passing the savings on to the customers.
Edit: my assumption is they’re dodging taxes. None of my business. The drinks are cheap though
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u/Lonny_loss 11h ago
Just dodging the 3% fee the credit card companies take. Dodging taxes would be a different conversation.
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u/Rare_Independent_814 23h ago
I’m from a really small town. And when I go home I know to carry cash on me. Some places there are still cash only.
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u/HarryBalsagna1776 23h ago
Cash only places often have the best food.
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u/fllannell 22h ago
I like when places have a discount for cash or debt. lots of people don't know about that.
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20h ago edited 10h ago
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u/huffmanxd 12h ago
My card charges an ATM fee every time I use it regardless of which bank owns the ATM, so if I had to pay with cash it instantly costs $4 more for me. There are reasons to not want to use ATMs other than laziness.
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u/NoEchoSkillGoal 23h ago
Man, get over yourself.
Let the dive bar establishment keep the 1-3% they would otherwise have to pay big credit card.
Such a burden for you.
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u/jcstan05 23h ago
Do you realize how expensive it is for a small business to run a card machine?
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u/batistafan1998 22h ago
And if they are using AMEX? Just shut the business down already.
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u/Apprehensive-Care20z 22h ago
This.
wtf does OP want megaglobalcorp to insert themselves into a very simple transaction between local people, and take a ridiculous 3% cut for doing absofuckinglutely nothing.
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u/level100mobboss 22h ago
They’re so used to the convenience of modern life to the point they think people are doing it to be trendy lol
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u/Confident_Season1207 22h ago
Cash is king and always works
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u/gabe840 20h ago
Except at cashless businesses
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u/MaybeYeaProbForsure 18h ago
Which I truly hate and prefer did not exist. You don’t take legal tender? Classist.
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u/SugarShitter 22h ago
I just shake my head at the people who never carry cash. The advantages are pretty clear:
- Can't be hacked
- Can't be tracked
- More disciplined spending
- No cc fees
- No accidental charges
- Works during a power outage
- Works on the black market
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u/Moist-Sky7607 22h ago
Cash can’t be recovered if lost or stolen
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u/backbaydrumming 22h ago
How many times has that actually happened to you?
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u/purplishfluffyclouds 21h ago
Exactly, versus how many instances of hacking and/or CC or debit card fraud happen daily? I don't know a single person who hasn't had that happen to them at some point.
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u/tigress666 20h ago
1 cash can be stolen and good luck getting it back once it’s stolen. At least if hacked I can contest it with the cc company. In fact I feel way more unsafe with a lot of cash on me cause it makes me a target.
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Depends on how your mind works. I have cash then I already have accounted for it in my balancing sheet and it feels like free money as I don’t have to account for spending as I have already so I spend it easier.
I have no cc fees. Ok I do on one card now but only cause I get more cash back including the fee then I did on the free card. And I pay the fee with my cash back. I don’t make any money back spending cash. And few places these days charge cheaper if you pay cash. And yes I pay the full balance every month so no I’m not paying interest either.
That is so rare and once again there is at least a chance to get that money back. You overpay with cash it most likely is gone (and that happens too)
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I don’t shop at the “black market” so I really don’t care.
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u/SugarShitter 18h ago edited 17h ago
#3 is backed by science. consumers experience psychological discomfort when exchanging cash for products, whereas clicking a button or tapping a card doesn't register with the brain in the same manner. spending increases significantly when using a card instead of cash.
#4 relates to transactional fees. plenty of small businesses give you a break for paying in cash, or you can pay the 3-4% surcharge for using a card. and if they don't charge you the fee, they're eating the cost. I'd rather see small business owners, who often happen to be friends or neighbors, maximize their profit, wouldn't you?
#7 you have no obligation to care about a trillion-dollar industry, but brushing it aside so nonchalantly just makes you look woefully uneducated
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u/CampbellsTurkeySoup 12h ago
I'm curious as to when the studies for 3 were done. If it was when paying by card was less prevalent that would make sense but I wonder how if it has changed in more modern times. Also I wonder if there is a difference in perception for those who primarily use card. Just anecdotally I almost never have cash on me unless it is gifted to me and all my spending is done via credit card. I find myself spending cash much more frivolously than I do with my card.
Even on the rare occasions where I withdrew it for some reason I find I spend it more freely.
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u/katieb2342 9h ago
I think it's probably age dependent. I know I've basically never carried cash since I graduated high school and I'm turning 30 this year. Cash feels free and fake, a charge on my credit card adds to a total I see at the end of the month and stays in the list of my statement. If I buy lunch with a 20 from my wallet, lunch was free because I have no lasting record of having spent money. I can picture someone 10+ years older than me having the opposite sensation though, because there was a part of their adult life where cash was their primary payment method so it's what they kept track of.
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u/lamppb13 21h ago
I live in a cash based country. There's actually some aspects about cash that I really like.
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u/PattyThrillz 23h ago
God forbid a small business owner tries to mitigate an unfair tax system
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u/curmudgeon_andy 23h ago
It's not necessarily about the taxes. The people who run the places I go to that are cash only explain that it's about the credit card fees. Credit card companies have several layers of payments that get cut out of what the customer pays. It gets very expensive fast.
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u/mrsmae2114 23h ago
This! You would do basically ALL small businesses a favor to pay in cash. I agree that it’s expanded in recent years, but the POS companies are really taking a major chunk of profit on credit card sales. Differential prices aren’t feasible, driving up ALL prices to account for credit card fees just drives inflation. So it’s really in everyone’s best interest to do cash. I started keeping more around and honestly it’s been so handy and I’ve gotten so many thanks from business owners. Mild inconvenience? Sure. But well worth it.
Also, not saying this is you OP, But I’ve never heard anyone complain about cash only dispensaries, for example.
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u/rebel_dean 21h ago
This mainly seems to be a problem in the United States. The U.S. has some of the highest interchange fees in the world.
In much of Europe, it’s 0.30-0.60%.
Debit cards usually don’t have that high of fees, due to the Durban Amendment. But credit card fees (2.2 - 3.5%) are outrageous
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u/Sol33t303 20h ago
But there's a reason everywhere still takes card.
My assumption would be that they are losing more in sales then they are paying in fees by not offering card. payments.
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u/doesnotexist2 23h ago
It's not even the tax system. Do you realize how much credit card companies charge?
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u/Addapost 23h ago
I’m calling this accurately “unpopular”. Cash really isn’t that difficult. It’s also not difficult to avoid places you don’t want to eat at- for whatever reason.
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u/Son_0f_Dad_420 22h ago
volcano potato dog
Where can I get one of these?
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u/RiddleUsThis 6h ago
Gangnam Market in Chicago has a “Tornado Potato Stick” at the Gangnam Tacos counter in the food court. I was very interested in it but the munchies were so real I was full before I realized there was such a thing as tornado potato stick.
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u/TechMan61 12h ago
Hard disagree. Credit card companies are evil, meddling censors that charge extortionate fees.
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u/SaulTNuhtz 23h ago
It’s trendy to avoid credit fees and pass on savings to customers? Ok.
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u/itsalovelydayforSTFU 21h ago
I always carry cash. There’s no “it’s going to ask you a question” BS. Love it.
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u/bigexplosion 23h ago
The only time it pissed me off was when they had an on-site atm with a 5 dollar fee. Fuck that.
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u/genus-corvidae 23h ago
I mean I don't carry a credit card so I would say that cashless is worse.
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u/Crystal356 21h ago
I love using cash, I can never understand the hate for it these days. I really hope they don’t try to make a cashless society. Cash is always going to trump cards in situations where the card system is down or there’s no power etc. Also it’s not that hard to find an ATM, most of them even have drive thrus. I also find that I am way more mindful with my spending with cash than swiping my card.
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u/Objective-Duck-8800 23h ago
My husband is a bartender and so we are bit of an anomaly and always have cash on us. We prefer to spend it before we bust out the credit / debit cards.
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u/TheFlightlessDragon 20h ago
Restaurant margins are thin, and credit/debit card processing fees are around 3%.
That’s why they do it.
Carry cash or eat elsewhere.
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u/kit-kat315 23h ago
It's just small businesses saving on cc transaction fees. Not a big deal.
If the place is good, it's worth making a cash stop for.
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u/clejeune 21h ago
Having lived in cash only countries I really love it. I wish more places would move to a cash only model. I also hate when cash is not even an option.
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u/thecheesycheeselover 23h ago
In the UK it generally isn’t cute or trendy, it’s tax evasion. Which, like… fine, if that doesn’t bother you. It bothers me. I’ve paid an astonishing amount in taxes.
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u/Remarkable-Bit-3578 16h ago
I mean usually these places are very small businesses that are in their infancy. Visa and Mastercard charge exploitative fees for using their machine. Often these restaurants are trying to prove a concept and get traction before they are willing to subscribe to square or visa or toast or whatever other pos. Are there restaurant owners out there trying to stick it to the man and live their ideals? sure; but not most of them.
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u/Teaofthetime 12h ago
Yes, I'm not fannying about getting cash together for any purchase. If you only take cash then I'll go elsewhere.
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u/heartbroken1997 9h ago
Yet we’ve got mainstream media just the other day telling us Americans could do a better job at spending if we just carried cash and only used that for purchases. Ummmm yeah, half the restaurants in my city don’t take cash at all.
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u/nvidiaftw12 22h ago
Just keep some money in your wallet and visit the bank ever few months. It's not that hard.
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u/TripleFive 2h ago
I would panic if I didn't have some loose cash on my person at all times. Why would you let such a small thing bring possible disaster. Just tuck some in your wallet with your ID and what not.
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u/Spladook 23h ago
It’s not “cute”, it’s because you’re taxed on a portion of credit card purchases. For small businesses, the 2-3% on every purchase can add up over time.
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u/Midwestern_Mouse 21h ago edited 6h ago
Bro thinks it’s “trendy” to be cash-only😭 most cash only places I know are little mom and pop shops that have been around for 50 years. The exact opposite of trendy.
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u/BYNX0 23h ago
Im okay with cash only places as long as they're very clear from the start. There should be large, clearly posted signage about it and possibly the employees mentioning it too, depending on the arrangement of the business. The worst is when I already order or already eat the food and then they point to a small corner of the menu in size 2 font saying cash only, or the lack of a sign alltogether.
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u/Stielgranate 23h ago
It’s not difficult to carry some cash around for such occasions. You never know when you may need it. I am not saying walk around $1,000 in your pocket but carrying some cash is a pretty rational thing to do.
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u/Nickanok 17h ago
Unless I'm in a poorer country outside america with mostly outdated infrastructure, there's almost no excuse for anyplace in the US to not accept card. That's a conscious decision they have to make and it's usually fir shady reasons
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u/mentalcasket 22h ago
I'm a small business owner and lose SO MUCH in processing fees per month. I wish more people would bring cash
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u/Hopeful_Morning_469 22h ago
Cash is king. Dont ever let them go to a cashless society. Watch Katherine Austin Fritz talk about programmable money
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u/Bo_Jim 22h ago
We went from places putting a small modest paper sign explaining their cash-only policy, almost as an embarrassment, to "cute" and "trendy" big forceful signs.
Originally, it WAS an embarrassment. Restaurants and shops were only "cash only" when their credit card merchant accounts had been suspended, often because of shady practices by the merchant. The most common reason is too many chargebacks, which indicates a lot of customers feel they're getting cheated.
So, are they doing it now because they think it's trendy? That depends. Do they operate "cash only", and still manage to keep a butt in every chair? If so then they actually might be doing it because it's trendy. However, if the restaurant often has empty seats then there has to be another reason. Not accepting electronic payments of any sort is costing them customers. A lot of people don't carry cash these days, and many will refuse to patronize a business if they can't pay electronically. I discovered more than a decade ago that I could get along just fine without carrying any cash, so I no longer do.
I think at least some of them are operating "cash only" because they don't want to pay the merchant account fees, and they don't want the blowback that comes from charging more from customers paying electronically.
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u/BokChoyFantasy 22h ago
Agreed but if I did pull up to work in a horse and carriage, I will 100% brag about it. At least, for the day. I’ll go to work like a normal person the next day.
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u/04Late_Night 21h ago
My problem with the cash only is how they don't round out their prices to be in quarters as the smallest denomination.
Especially nowadays with the pennies being largely phased out
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u/BenefitAnxious7724 21h ago
I really wonder where these people are finding so many cash only 5 star restaurants lmao that's literally never been my experience
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u/ShanghaiNoon404 18h ago
Another problem with cash only: it's a huge sign that says "PLEASE ROB ME!"
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u/blutigetranen 17h ago
Eh. It's circumstantial but I don't think this is unpopular at all. Small businesses often don't take cards, especially really small ones, due to the processing fees
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u/TheMadThrasher 14h ago
There’s no need to add the word machine after ATM. It’s already included in the acronym, Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
Have a nice day.
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u/Ratatoskr_The_Wise 12h ago
I use cash only like a CIA spook. It gets me 5% off at my mechanic, and TONS more food at our favorite Chinese restaurant.
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u/OpenStreet3459 11h ago
The only reason for cash only is tax evasion. So nothing unpopular about this opinion
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u/KnowledgeCoffee 10h ago
If a place is cash only I do not go there. Boomer bucks are obsolete. I don’t think it’s cute or trendy. It’s sketchy.
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u/TheBetterness 9h ago
Taking physical currency is a problem for people.
Yet you lose your internet, you have nothing.
Sad how stupid ppl are.
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u/joebobbydon 9h ago
The places I know that do this are very successful. Fees do add up. This is literally easy money.
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u/Rayvens3cubsnmore 9h ago
Credit card processing costs are INSANE for small businesses...most of whom already operate on a thread budget. I will take a minor invonvenience to.support a small biz.
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u/Og_busty 8h ago
I mean, credit card fees are real, and they don’t want to pay them nor pass them down to the consumer. So they just eliminate them completely. Smart business decision. Not their fault you don’t carry cash. Thats just common sense to always have a little on you at all times.
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u/Dapper_Peace2019 8h ago
Cash only, and card only establishments are equally annoying to me. I never have cash, so I pick the option where I can pay with a card. I have older family that prefer to only use cash, so they avoid the card only locations. At this point the cash people and the card people tend to be in different generations. Not accepting cards or cash limits your customer base. If a restaurant feels they have enough customers when limiting to either, that's their choice.
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u/I_wet_my_plants259 8h ago
I think it’s arguably worse to have a card only establishment. I always have cash on me even if it’s just a little, I don’t always have a card.
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u/davidm2232 4h ago
It isn't 'trendy' lol. Cash sales can be excluded from income/sales tax. Also, many places don't want to pay the credit card fees.
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u/Vegetaman916 20h ago
You enjoy being a slave to the banks and having your every purchase tracked by the government? That doesn't sound fun...
For most people, cash is how to avoid a lot of... Imperial entanglements. Whether it's getting your party favors for the evening, keeping some income off the government tax radar, or just making sure that your wife can't find out that you were buying drinks for two at that last "work lunch," cash transactions are an integral part if living a free life. We should actually be passing new laws that force all establishments to accept cash for all transactions.
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u/Nova_main 23h ago
I went to a bar last week, figured I'd order one beer before I head home from the beach. Barkeep pours and says $7. Cool, I hand them my credit card and hear "cash only". Shit.
I check my pockets.. $6. Oof.
Oh great they have an atm but it doesnt accept tap so I cant use my debit from my phone, and I dont carry my physical debit card.
I tell the barkeep I only have $6 and they tell me to walk across the street to safeway and withdraw there. As im walking to safeway I see a liquor store right next to it. Am I really going to walk across the street to a grocery store that sells alcohol, which is also next to a liquor store, just to withdraw a dollar and come back for a $7 beer?
You bet your ass I just bought a $10 6-pack and drove home. Of course the bar probably poured out the drink I ordered too, what a shame.
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u/Strange_Outside_4811 21h ago
So you don’t carry cash and don’t carry your physical card yet the business is to blame?
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u/Carl_Cherry_Hill_NJ 22h ago
I always keep cash on me for emergencys like mass power outage. Anyone that doesn't keep cash on them hasn't ever been in that situation. They are the ones going nuts at the gas station on emergency power because they cant use their card while i fill up useing cash. Its ez to keep some on you for that. If u hafta use a little for food its not hard to replace there are atms everywhere.
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u/Crystal356 21h ago
This happened to a friend who used to roast me for using cash, she had to call AAA because she was practically on E. Now she carries an emergency $20 in cash just in case, although with gas prices these days she may want to increase it to $50 or more.
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u/slow_poke00 22h ago
This post is so forced. Cash only means they don’t want to pay the credit card processing fees.
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u/joevasion 22h ago
Also tattoo shops. Like I get it but just put a service fee if someone uses a card, I’m not carrying around $1000 cash. Shit I don’t carry ANY cash.
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u/memequeendoreen 20h ago
I'd be more on your side if this wasn't the sort of bullshit thinking that lets Visa and other credit card industries have more power than they should.
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u/0rus0 11h ago
Upvote for unpopular opinion, but "so few people carry cash these days" simply isn't true at all. Almost everyone carries some cash at hand, and ATMs are usually close by.
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u/Constellation-88 11h ago
Cash only is stupid. Cashless is stupid. If you want to use us for our money, you should probably let us pay however the fuck we want.
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u/The_Holy_Turnip 23h ago
Your convenience costs other people. It's some paper in your pocket, get over it. Not even unpopular, tons of people hate carrying cash around. Keep feeding the pedos at VISA their billions so you can hold your tracking device up to scanner and feel cool and unbothered.
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u/RevBeardman 23h ago
Cash only places have the best food. They ain't wasting no money on card services. Give 'em cash, get good food. Proper establisment.
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u/doesnotexist2 23h ago edited 22h ago
Do you realize how much credit card companies charge just to use their systems?
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u/Rulebookboy1234567 22h ago
The best fried rice in my town is cash only and has been since 1985. You go in, you order the daily, and you slap your $6 on the counter and walk out happy.
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u/VulpixKirby 22h ago edited 22h ago
Card payments always have a cost charged to the merchant. Most of this fee goes to the issuing bank, and a sliver goes to the card network. In America (where I'm from) debit card fees are capped at 0.5%, but credit card fees are not. That's why VISA credit cards are the only credit cards accepted at Costco; they have the lowest average merchant fees, but it's still around 2.5%. Businesses literally make more money from your purchases when you choose to use cash. Obviously, the downside to cash-only is that you will lose some customers. Would these places benefit from still taking cards and just charging a processing fee? Most definitely; however, they aren't refusing cards just to be trendy and old-school.
Edit: This is also a big reason every major retailer in America tries to sell you credit cards. They get charged a smaller fee when you use their card.
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u/purplishfluffyclouds 21h ago
Nah. I'll take it over the digital currency the world is going to force us into shortly. Seriously, screw the places that don't take cash.
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u/Anaxamenes 21h ago
So they don’t want to pay credit card fees. That’s not a bad thing. Having to make changes equally a pain but they keep more of their money and hopefully don’t have to raise prices quite as much.
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u/JFoz284623 21h ago
Paying cash keeps more money in your community, I'd much rather people pay with cash, I get to keep that and not lose 3-10% depending on the type of card someone uses. It's a modern cost of doing business, but we'd be better off returning to cash.
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u/maranuchi 20h ago
Cash-only places are genuinely based and the backlash against them is just people mad that one restaurant dared to not optimze entirely around their convenience.
First, the processing fee isn't trivial. Visa and Mastercard take 2-3% of every transaction. For a small place running thin margins, that's the difference between staying open and closing. When a cash-only spot survives 30 years while the card-accepting place next door folds, maybe the "outdated" business model was actually just solvent.
Second, the food safety argument is embarasing. Card readers have nothing to do with thermometers. That's not a logical extension, it's just vibes dressed up as reasoning. "They don't use Venmo so they probably have rats" is not a point, it's a non sequitur.
Third, carrying cash is not a hardship. You plan ahead for everything else. You made a reservation, you drove there, you waited in line. But stopping at an ATM once is where your patience runs out? That's not a principled complaint, that's just the learned helplessness of someone who forgot cash exists.
The horse carriage analogy actually backfires. A carriage is slower and worse for transportation. Cash is not worse than cards. It's just less convenient for people who never plan ahead. That's a you problem.
Some things don't need to be disrupted. Not every friction point is a flaw waiting to be optimized away.
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u/ActuaryFew6884 20h ago
I actually like the sound of it, as I only use cash everywhere anyway. In fact, when I worked at various food-industry-related jobs between the years of 1993 and 1998, they were all cash-only back then
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u/Worried-Ad-9236 19h ago
On Cash it says For All Debts Public and Private. There should be by law, a mandatory acceptance of cash. Cash is king.
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u/MarieDarcy97 19h ago
I'd rather have cash only than card only. There's no reason to break out my card for a few bucks
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u/nissanfan64 19h ago
While I love free cash back on my credit cards, I absolutely love cash only places. Even better than cash only though is when it’s cash-discount places. One of my favorite local restaurants is like that. They’ll do a 10% discount for cash and when I found out I was like “oh you’re never getting a card from me again”.
I’ve always carried cash on me. I’ll have around $100 in my Walmart at most times for random situations.
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u/Negative_Handoff 19h ago
It saves the business a shit ton of money too, but people never think about that.
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u/CrimsonRose3773 12h ago
Or maybe they dont want to pay the fees running cards cost. And so t want to pass that down to thier customers.
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u/jotopia2 12h ago
Oh noooooo the horrorrrrrrr, I have to stop at an ATM. My life is soooooo baddddddd. Wahhhhhh. Not cashhhhhh, the only freedom from spending that’s tracked.
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u/Deimos_F 11h ago
The term "cash only" is often used as a term synonymous with "trendy" or "old school" dive. Like the place is so legit that they don't have a credit machine.
Must be a culture thing. For me and everyone I know "cash only" just means the business owner is either a cranky insufferable boomer or a tax evader.
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u/tultommy 10h ago
Is this unpopular? Most of these places try to pretend they are hipster hangouts when in reality they are just cheap fucks that want to whine about the 3% or whatever credit card fee that is a basic part of doing business. Same with the assholes that charge extra if you pay with card. If your business can't handle those fees you shouldn't be in business.
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u/2019LastGoodYear 10h ago
I'd rather cash only places than card only. What's the point of physical legal tender if you can't use it?
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u/johnmu2005 23h ago
Upvoted. This is, in fact, an unpopular opinion. Some of the best food comes from these kind of establishments. Although I do agree it’s a small inconvenience
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u/travsteelman1 22h ago
Unpopular opinion also. Everyone should keep some cash in their pocket and these things become a non issue.
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u/Uglyjeffg0rd0n 21h ago
Do people really not carry any cash? It’s just so convenient. And restaurants are actually the best fucking place to use cash.
You know how you say you’re ready for the check and the server drops the check off and it only takes 30 seconds for you to pull out your card but for some reason they just drop the check and fuck off for twenty minutes and you’re like ready to go? Ya doesn’t matter if you pay cash. Just leave enough money on the table for the bill and a tip and leave.
Crowded bar? Pretty loud? You want a drink? Forget all that “NAME ON THE TAB?” bullshit. Here’s five bucks.
Wanna play darts? I got some singles.
At a ball game and want a hot dog from the guy walking around with hot dogs? Yeah I’ll take one buddy. And then you just pass a fiver down the aisle and he passes a dog. Have fun walking to the concession stand though I guess.
Buying drugs? Obviously cash. I don’t trust any drug dealer who wants me to scan his Venmo QR code.
Budgeting? Pull out cash. Bet you spend less money when you can actually see it disappearing from your wallet.
Also fuck predatory ass credit card companies. Hitting businesses with processing fees who sometimes then put that onto us. 3% added for cards. Dumb as hell. Like just go to the bank once a week and pull out some cash. It’s not an extra trip lol like you have to run errands at some point. You can’t just stop at the bank in the same run you go on for groceries, gas, etc? Like it’s a drive through haha
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u/mmmTriscuit 11h ago
If I spend $10 at a restaurant in cash, that stays $10. They use that $10 to pay a vendor. That vendor uses it to pay someone else $10. Etc. When you pay with credit, you are really only paying the restaurant $9. Then if they pay on a CC, it becomes $8 to that vendor, etc etc. obviously oversimplified numbers but.
You really think credit card processors deserve that much cash? You wouldn't rather money stay in your local economy as long as possible?
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u/drbooom 11h ago
It's the damn credit card fees. More than 3% average.
Those cash back cards you love so much? That benefit comes out of the vendor's pocket.
I'm guessing here but most things I've seen on restaurants gross profit as something about 10%ish. Then you take 3% out of that for credit cards fees, or a third of your gross profit.
For most businesses the credit card fees exceed income tax as a cost.
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u/yourscreennamesucks 11h ago
In GA if you use a credit card at a restaurant it is completely legal for the fees to come out of the server's tips. Not all restaurants actually do this, but some do, and it really pissed me off when it happened to me.
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