Martin Quinn, of the Payment Choice Alliance, handing out cash to the public outside Parliament in Westminster to stall the move towards card-only transactions
“I was so livid and angry. That night, I set up a petition calling on the government to pass a law that would make businesses accept cash and card, no exceptions.” “It’s great after the event, but big deal. I’ve already spent the damn thing. That’s hardly helping me.” He says that ultimately, he believes taking cash as well as card would benefit many businesses, as the charges they face from transaction fees when accepting plastic payments are eating into their profits – something which some small businesses have toldMost card terminal providers will charge businesses a portion of the sale price when they take a payment on credit or debit card, which can eat into their profits.
It certainly seems to be the direction things are going in. Just six years ago, a law was passed that made it illegal for any business to add a surcharge to the amount due when taking payment by credit or debit card – adding challenges for businesses that preferred to take cash.