This would explain why so many damn coffee shops dont deal with cash now - the double as a coffee shop and data reseller

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smelendez 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Well, they still pay a fee, it’s just reduced.

They primarily don’t deal with cash because cash is a pain. It needs to be physically taken to a bank and protected from theft by both staff and random robbers with guns, it needs to be counted all the time, and you need to maintain the right denominations to make change.

I have reservations about businesses getting rid of cash, especially if they’re turning away people who don’t have alternative ways to pay, but I certainly understand why they do it.

It’s also always awkward when a coffee shop is like 95% credit, and you try to hand them cash and they look at you like you’re Rip Van Winkle.

	▲	wahern an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Also anyone handling cash is supposed to wash their hands before handling food, unless perhaps they're using tongs or something. Ideally an establishment dedicates one person to the register, but with the cost of labor that can be expensive without enough sales volume.

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c0_0p_ an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't think this is the reason, cash will always have no fees. In some senses it can have negative fees if you're not very diligent with your tax reporting *wink wink*.

Not accepting cash is probably more to do with not wanting to deal with it, not needing to trust employees with it, keeping poor people out, and preventing robbery.

Credit card companies and banks know basically squat about your purchase except in certain circumstances (buying gas or flights causes more data to follow, called L2 or L3 data), or if they work with a data enrichment provider. There is a lot of action in this space right now, but the banks are hardly equipped to handle more data even if it became available.

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Peanuts99 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merchants aren't going cash only to sell your data, they're doing it because it's expensive to handle cash and makes their taxes a whole lot more troublesome too.

	▲	umeshunni 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Not to mention the crime risk of cash

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foobarian 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Huh, I thought accepting legal tender was a federal rule, I guess not. Looks like a salad variety of regulations that vary by state and city.

	▲	Terr_ 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> Huh, I thought accepting legal tender was a federal rule, I guess not. I think the key word is debt when bills state "for all debts, public and private." (And a couple more categories under the law. [0]) At the moment you're asking for the drink, you are not in debt to the coffee shop, they're setting a precondition on an exchange. [1] Now, you might have a case if they let you run up a tab... [0] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5103 [1] Yes, there are a positive number of milliseconds where somebody owes somebody something, but pedantic software intuitions don't always apply to law, and overall that's a good thing.
	▲	vulcan01 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Note the wording on dollar bills: > This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private. See also USC §5103: > United States coins and currency [...] are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. Thus a private person is only obligated to accept cash as repayment for a debt, not for purchases.
	▲	RobRivera 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Well technically, all debts denominated in cash must be able to be settled with cash. Companies simply get ahead of that law by refusing to provide the service or good. Works in retail bc at the till they can just say 'no cash no business deal' Doesn't work in other ventures so easily. It is along the lines of 'we reserve the right to refuse business to anyone'

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soared 44 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Coffee shops don’t qualify for l2/l3

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mikepurvis 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I mean, cash is also expensive in its own way. It has to be handled and insured, coins may need to be rolled before being taken to the bank, a register is a mechanical device to power and maintain, petty theft by employees is a concern.

It's not really that hard to see why a business charging $5-20 per transaction from people who all have phones and credit cards anyway might choose not to accept cash.

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why-el 4 hours ago | parent [-]

> a register is a mechanical device to power and maintain,

surely a million times less expensive than a subscription to a POS....this is not a strong argument.

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nemomarx 3 hours ago | parent [-]

if you cut out all the other details they mentioned I guess. how much do you think taking the cash to the bank weekly costs?

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carlosjobim 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Nothing, because the owner is rejoicing every step of the way.

I'd say employee theft is the only reason a coffee shop would be "no-cash", and fear of robbery in a few places.

	▲	warkdarrior an hour ago \| parent [-]
		You think the owner is taking the cash to the bank?? Unless they are an one-person operation, they likely have an employee do it (among their other duties).