LEE BOYCE: How can a credit card be greener than real money?

‘No cash please. Our company is committed to becoming net zero by 2030.’

That was a sign on the counter of a cafe from which I was about to buy a coffee.

But there was no information provided on why card payments were deemed greener than cash. Diners were just simply expected to swallow it.

Cashing out:  The push towards card payments accelerated during the pandemic, when we were told contactless was safer and more sanitary – which is complete hokum

The cafe is located inside a leisure centre in Chelmsford, Essex. Incidentally, I’d wanted the change to use the swimming pool lockers which require £1 coins — no card payments accepted.

But cafe staff couldn’t help or give me any explanation for their policy other than the words on the sign. 

Neither could the catering firm (Churchill, based in Suffolk, which had put the sign out) nor industry experts when we put the fairly simple question to them: Which is greener — card or cash?

Churchill swiftly removed the sign after I got in touch.

I’m fed up with these ‘card-only’ signs popping up left, right and centre in restaurants and retailers. Choice is paramount; we should be able to pay for items how we like, depending on which method suits us best.

I’m all for innovation, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of convenience. For a large chunk of society, cash is still king and firms should respect that.

The push towards card payments accelerated during the pandemic, when we were told contactless was safer and more sanitary — which, by the way, is complete hokum.

And while card payments can keep queues shorter, often the technology fails or the machines can’t connect to the network. 

Businesses say there are fewer bank branches to deposit money into these days and banks tell us that fewer people are using cash.

But if we accept that narrative, cash will soon disappear. That means more power handed over to big financial firms.

To beat technology meltdowns, I withdraw £100 in cash every payday. When I was a student working as a barman, we used to get paid cash in little brown envelopes after our shift. It was quite a thrill and, if you were sensible, a useful budgeting tool.

The only way to replicate that, I find, is to withdraw a chunk of physical money from a hole in the wall when my salary arrives. 

I use it as my float money for pints at the pub, magazines, coffees and other purchases I want to keep tabs on.

Although I also spend on my card, it just feels like numbers on a screen. So you don’t feel the impact until you check your bank statements.

Data from Nationwide Building Society shows cash usage was up in 2022 for the first time in 13 years. 

Link, which has data for 90 per cent of all cash withdrawals, says £4 billion extra was withdrawn last year compared with 2021 — despite the number of ATMs falling by 1,294.

So let’s keep up the fight to save cash. Physical money has been a cornerstone of our society for hundreds of years. If it’s allowed to go the way of the dodo and dinosaur we will all be poorer for it.

Hollywood Dave

Last week, I was lucky enough to attend a private screening at Netflix HQ in London of the film Bank Of Dave, with Burnley businessman Dave Fishwick, who I know well.

It stars Rory Kinnear as Dave and charts his attempts to open a new High Street bank, only to find plenty of barriers in his way.

The film, out now, sees his tale given plenty of Hollywood gloss.

But, fundamentally, as his story did in the first place, it made me wonder why there aren’t more local community banks making local lending decisions.

Many of the small building societies that used to do just that disappeared years ago, in most cases swallowed by bigger rivals.

But I’d be interested in saving at a local bank with my cash going directly to help local businesses, even if it meant slightly less interest than I’d get elsewhere.

Hats off to Dave for trying to shake-up the British banking system — not a simple task with huge sums and red tape involved. 

Who knows, maybe the film will inspire another Dave to rattle the cages of the banking big boys.

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This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk