A pub landlord who has run a cash-only business for more than three decades has said he’s determined to continue, despite a surge in card usage.
Douglas Whitney, landlord of The Chequers Pub in Essex, said he thinks card payment companies “charge a fortune” in fees.
Doug says not having to pay these charges means he can “save money”.
It also reduces the risk of pouring products only to find someone’s card payment hasn’t gone through, and has no other option to pay.
WATCH NOW: Pub landlord Doug explains benefits of being cash-only
Doug told GB News’ Lisa Hartle: “With cash, I know exactly where I stand. If you serve somebody and then their card is declined, and they’ve got no cash, what happens? You lose out.”
The cash-only pub has signs around the bar, stating: “Sorry we do not accept credit/debit cards or cheques.”
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If customers don’t have any cash on them, Doug said they often simply tend to ask where the nearest cash point is.
“Generally, they come back. Some don’t but that’s alright – they’ll go down the road and pay more. It’s their choice," he said.
“A lot more people are carrying cash because they know what they are spending and with cards, they don’t know what they’re spending – especially when they’re tapping their phones and tapping the card and tapping this and tapping that. They haven’t got a clue [what they’re spending].”
UK Finance research from earlier this month found last year, the number of cash payments rose for the first time in a decade.
It found half of all payments in the UK (50 per cent) were made using debit cards last year, but the volume of cash payments increased to 6.4 billion payments – up from six billion in 2021.
Adrian Buckle, head of research at UK Finance, said: “We’ve seen a very long trend of reducing cash payments year on year but last year we did see a small increase in the number of cash payments made.
“We think that that’s mainly due to some people finding cash helpful to them to manage a limited budget when the cost of living increasing.”
Damien, a customer of the pub, said: “I just bring cash – I’ve usually got cash on me anywhere to be fair.
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Cash-only pub The Chequers Pub in Essex has signs on the bar
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“It’s nice, an old school pub.”
While cash payments increased year on year in 2022, UK Finance predicts a trend of more people opting to pay by card over the next decade.
It forecasts the number of cash payments to continue its long-running decline to 3.3 billion payments in 2032.
Doug isn’t vowing to never allow card payments in his pub but said: “I’ll hold out as long as I can.”
