Cash Matters When Cashless Fails

Supermarkets across the UK went cash only for a morning this month while a technical problem prevented cashless payments. Customers had the option of paying with banknotes and coins they had to hand, visiting ATMs, or simply going without. In a ‘cashless society’, there would be no choice.

ITV News says reports of payment issues submitted to online service status provider Downdetector began at 07:50 on Thursday 11 July, peaking at 588 reports around 09:45 and trailing off until the problem was fully resolved in the afternoon. Mastercard and Visa both acknowledged the issues, but said their networks were fully operational.

iNews identified the fault as being at French payments provider Worldline, which processes card payments for retailers, and admitted to ‘a service disruption’ that caused payment failures.

While the issue only lasted a few hours, related posts poured into social media sites, with one example cited by Sky News being Vanessa Meehan in Twickenham, saying: ‘I’ve just been turned away at Sainsbury’s as they can’t accept card payments… The car is running on fumes and I need to get supplies.’

Another social media user was caught out ‘thinking they were cashless and cardless’ only to find that not only would their payment app not work (being linked to a card) but they also could not withdraw cash from an ATM.

Others were questioning the wisdom of ‘a digital world’ when physical currency is an essential backup, even for those who ordinarily choose cashless options.

There are two key takeaways from occurrences such as this: firstly, it’s always wise to carry enough cash to cover immediate expenses, and to have a safe stash at home that would cover longer term needs in the event of a prolonged outage (as advised by disaster preparedness experts).

Secondly: cash matters. For some, it’s an essential lifeline that enables them to interact with the economy, being paid and making payments. For others, it’s a choice they make often or occasionally to help manage a budget. There are also those who prefer to pay by card or app, but this is a choice afforded to them by the existence of cash. Without cash, there would be no choice, and no backup.