SUPERMARKET giant Morrisons plans to convert scores of self-scan tills to card only in a fresh blow for shoppers who rely on cash.
The high street favourite reckons increasing numbers of punters no longer wish to pay using coins and notes since the Covid-19 pandemic.
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But some customers are up in arms at the move first spotted by Sun investigators at the Caterham store.
And campaigners have branded the move “sneaky”.
Signs at the popular Surrey branch warn shoppers that “the majority of selfscan (tills) will be converted to cards only”.
Morrisons regular Jack Catten, 68, told us: “I’m livid. I don’t have a debit card and rely on cash from my pension to buy essentials like groceries and medicine.
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“Now I’m going to be forced to queue up for a special till that accepts notes and coins.
“I don’t understand why Morrisons treats its shoppers with such disrespect.
“We’re all paying customers – whether it be by cash or card.
“My weekly shopping trip is going to be completely ruined and I know a lot of others who feel just like I do.
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“It seems Morrisons does not want our custom anymore.”
Critics say the move – which is being rolled out at stores nationwide – will leave scores of shoppers who still rely on cash struggling to pay.
Dennis Reed, director of the Silver Voices campaign group, said: “Our members regularly comment on the sneaky moves by supermarkets to phase out cash by reducing the number of cash pay points.
“There are often queues for those who can only pay by cash and sometimes these points are all out of order.
The Government claims to be protecting cash but is doing nothing to stop the supermarket giants from making cash impractical to use.
“Morrisons is saying to older customers, to hell with you if you insist on using cash, you are not welcome here. “
Marc Gander at the Consumer Action Group added: “Some people still aren’t ready for this kind of thing yet and Morrisons haven’t understood that.
“Of course, the people who will end up queueing longer for fewer cash tills will be the older and more vulnerable people.
“For a company which started in the North, I rather fancy that they are betraying their roots.
“I suppose this is their idea of levelling up. They want to become a ‘South-East England’ supermarket business and this is their way of doing it.”
Consumer campaign group Which? has previously warned about customers being left unable to pay for basics such as medicines and groceries as more and more stores go cashless.
And last year the Post Office reported Britain was a long way off becoming a cashless society after reporting a 20% annual increase in the number of customers withdrawing notes from its branches.
In 2022, Sun investigators found some of the UK’s biggest chains – including Pizza Hut, Prezzo, and Cote brasseries have all gone cash free.
Jenny Ross, Which? money editor, added: “While lots of shoppers prefer the convenience of making card and digital payments at the supermarket, cash remains a vital lifeline for millions of people across the UK.
“Morrisons must ensure that cash remains a payment option for those who rely on it.”
A Morrisons spokesperson told The Sun: “All of our stores will continue to offer a mix of cash and card payment options and so if a customer wishes to pay by cash they will be able to do so.
“Following the pandemic we have seen more of our customers choosing to pay by card, both on our colleague serviced tills and our self-service tills and so this change is about ensuring there are the right number and mix of cash and card payment points in our stores.
“As a result, in some of our stores, we will also be converting a number of our current payment points to card only”.
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The outrage comes as Booths – known as Waitrose of the North – this week announced it’s scrapping self-checkouts in most stores.
Aldi shoppers have also been warned to check receipts after fans slammed a “disgusting” self-checkouts discounts issue.
