Cash-only businesses: ‘We’re going to do this as long as we possibly can’

Patrick Fortune, manager of The Glimmer Man pub in Stoneybatter in Dublin, can remember one particularly troublesome customer well.

The man was ranting and raving about the bar’s cash-only policy. Every time he approached the bar to buy a drink, he would have a go at the barman, accusing the establishment of operating the policy to escape the reaches of the Revenue Commissioners.

His father Willie was upstairs and heard the commotion. He had enough, and marched down to present the customer with his tax clearance certificate. “Would you like a copy of it?” he asked him.

“We pay our taxes and are Revenue compliant,” says Patrick Fortune. “The more people we get like that guy, the more myself and Willie dig our heels in. We’re going to do this as long as we possibly can.”

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[ Contactless transactions soar but EU moves to safeguard cash ]

[ ‘I don’t have a card. Myself and my husband are cash people’ ]

The pub, a family-run business, has been in operation on the north side of the city near the river Liffey for 33 years and has always operated on a cash-only basis. The idea seems jarring in what is becoming an increasingly cashless society – but Fortune is not for turning.

“We don’t change an awful lot unless we have to, and it makes complete sense to do it,” he says. “That stage hasn’t come yet, even though we started getting a lot of questions about taking cards just before Covid.”

The family, mulling it over, looked into what might be involved. For starters, they would have to change the till system and update the broadband connection to facilitate the equipment.

But then, out of the blue, they were approached by an ATM company that offered to install one on the premises and pay for the privilege.

“We don’t have to worry about the terminals or the merchant accounts or the banking fees,” explains Fortune. “We said we would go for that. It’s become a bit of a defiance thing now. We are starting to get a bit of pressure, but we are still holding firm.”

That pressure is coming in the form of customers who – whatever about cash – won’t even carry a card any more. “We have people trying to pay with their watches now,” he says. “That’s becoming a bit of an issue.

“We do get a lot of people arguing with us and saying it’s ridiculous. Some staff have started taking payment by Revolut and giving the person the cash out of their own pocket, and I can’t be having that.”

The reasons why the family are sticking to their guns include the fact there is a huge turnover of staff at the pub and an electronic system would require more training. The till system they use is old, but foolproof and reliable.

Then there is the additional time is takes to process payments electronically, which, Fortune says, will cost you money over the course of a night.

“We’re a big outfit, and we’re a drinking pub,” he says. “When we’re busy, it can be three deep at the counter for three hours. The last thing I want is a big queue of people trying to use terminals. It is physically slower.

“Anything that slows down the service will eventually cost you money. I’ve seen it in other pubs. You might get an aul tip as well if they’re paying with cash. With the cards, there is no tipping at all.”

All that being said, there are drawbacks. “You would hear people outside talking about it and getting organised before they come in,” he says. “It is becoming an inconvenience because the vast majority of people don’t carry cash any more.

Saundra O’Sullivan, along with her husband Tommy, owns O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub in Dingle, Co Kerry. They opened the bar in 2011 and were cash-only until January just gone when they finally starting accepting cards.

“We didn’t want to make that change, but since Covid nobody is using cash any more because it was discouraged, and it was impacting our bottom line,” she says.

“We had signs up that said cash-only so everybody knew. If someone didn’t know, they would rush to the ATM. It was never that big of a hassle.

“But I do think that if people don’t have to run to the ATM, they are going to sit here and drink more. People think about the cash they are spending. They don’t think about what they are spending when they are just tapping away.”

Her reasons for operating the cash-only policy included banking charges and fees. “We are paying something out on every transaction now. Not only is the Government getting their piece, but now Stripe is getting their chunk of it too. You have to feed everyone a little bit.”

There is also added administration. “It’s a hassle for Tommy,” she says. “It was hard for him at first to wrap his head around how to balance everything out. But we have the system down now.”

The O’Sullivans were lucky enough not to encounter the sorts of reactions that the Fortunes have had to deal with on occasion in The Glimmer Man.

There are a couple of ATMs nearby, including one at a bank that is about 100 yards away from the pub. The problem with this though is that once customers get up to go and get cash, they tend to head on to the next bar immediately afterwards.

“If they don’t have to leave, they will just sit there and drink away and tap all night,” says O’Sullivan. “The rounds are bigger too, and the drinks are more expensive. Since we started taking cards, our top shelf is flying.

“With any cash business, the fear is theft. We have a big safe and we never had any trouble. But that’s one reason why a lot of people don’t do it. It’s easy for cash to go missing – not even purposely, there are less mistakes with card machines.”

Despite the move towards a more cashless society, the Central Bank issued 198 million banknotes last year, up 14 per cent on 2021. There was also a 31 per cent jump in contactless payments, with almost €17.9 billion changing hands virtually.

Later this year, however, the Eurosystem is due to conclude a lengthy investigation into the feasibility of launching a digital euro. Eventually, euro notes might cease to be legal tender, just like the Irish pound banknotes issued by the Central Bank up to February 2002.

Amazingly, some people still have a stash of those under their mattresses. The bank estimates that Irish pounds to the value of €223.2 million are out there somewhere, mouldering away.

Another business owner operating with a cash-only policy, who does not wish to be named, says the move towards a cashless society saddens him.

“I don’t like the way the world is going,” he says. “Trying to take out cash, our independence, our identity. It’s not good for older people. Where does it end? Are we going to be going around with just a number, and what happens if that’s wiped?”