Afew days ago, I went to the restaurant Lemonade and they had a sign saying “no cash.” The same thing happened to me in McDonalds and the more I look around, it seems like more businesses are going cashless. Is it all just a coincidence?
According to the LA Times, coronavirus has led to more stores going cashless. Only 8% of retailers in March were cashless and in April this reached 31%.
Based on the timeline, it’s pretty apparent that the main factor behind this is the pandemic. Since it has started, businesses have gone cashless to avoid handling the possible contagious change and cash.
Not only that but while people have been stuck at home, they’ve been the ones with all the coins, thereby reducing the number of coins that businesses have. So places where we usually see coins coming in, like laundromats, have seen a slowdown, if not a complete halt.
Therefore, because retailers don’t have any change in return for their customers they expect people to either give the exact amount in cash or pay with a card.
But the problem lies beyond a simple lack of coins.
Read more
According to the LA Times, coronavirus has led to more stores going cashless. Only 8% of retailers in March were cashless and in April this reached 31%.
Based on the timeline, it’s pretty apparent that the main factor behind this is the pandemic. Since it has started, businesses have gone cashless to avoid handling the possible contagious change and cash.
Not only that but while people have been stuck at home, they’ve been the ones with all the coins, thereby reducing the number of coins that businesses have. So places where we usually see coins coming in, like laundromats, have seen a slowdown, if not a complete halt.
Therefore, because retailers don’t have any change in return for their customers they expect people to either give the exact amount in cash or pay with a card.
But the problem lies beyond a simple lack of coins.
Read more
Will Africa turn cashless?
