ASDA shoppers are threatening to boycott the retailer as it rolls out a major change at tills.
The supermarket chain has gone cashless and axed manned checkouts at 14 fuel forecourts attached to nearby superstores.
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And it is understood the move to “pay at the pump” will be rolled out to a further 68 by this summer, as first revealed by The Sun.
This is when you swipe your credit and debit card at the pump before filling up, with no need to go to a till.
Asda said staff working at petrol station kiosks will be redeployed to shops and that 90% of payments at its superstore forecourts were already made via card or contactless.
They added out of the 300 fuel forecourts attached to Asda superstores, over 150 were already unstaffed.
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But news that dozens more forecourts will not be taking paper notes and coins has left some customers reeling, with one simply stating: “what a joke”.
Another said: “I boycott cashless businesses. Asda will now be on that list.”
A third commented “simple, boycott all the petrol stations not accepting cash” and a fourth added it was “time for a boycott”.
Not all shoppers feel the same though, with some praising the retailer’s digital shift.
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One said: “Just proves cash is not king. Nearly everybody has debit cards these days and so the queue to pay by cash will disappear.
“Speedier refuelling here we come.”
Meanwhile, a second shopper said: “Can’t actually remember the last time I had cash on me! Probably 2018.”
A spokesperson for Asda said: “We can reassure customers that all Asda stores will continue to accept both cash and card payments as normal.
“The majority of customers who use our drive-thru Superstore fuel stations use pay at the pump and over 90% of all payments are made on a card or contactless device.”
Retailers and chains are increasingly going cashless, including Morrisons and Pizza Hut.
Cashless transactions can be safer and less vulnerable to theft and counterfeiting than payments made with notes or coins.
They also leave a digital trail which makes it easier to track fraudulent activity and are generally faster for staff and customers.
In November, Morrisons said it had plans to convert scores of self-scan tills to card only.
Meanwhile, a Sun investigation in 2022 found scores of shops which wouldn’t take cash, including Pizza Hut which no longer takes cash across its restaurants.
But the move by chains and retailers has been seen as a blow by some consumers.
Cashless transactions can make it harder for shoppers to control their spending and leave less tech-savvy customers in the dark.
There’s also a greater risk of having your personal data stolen in a cyber attack, which turns some shoppers off.
It comes after Asda revealed plans to open 116 former Co-op retail sites, with attached petrol stations by the end of March this year.
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And in October 2023, it said it would open a total of 356 new petrol station convenience stores by 2026.
The announcement came after Asda, owned by the billionaire Issa brothers, merged the supermarket chain with its EG Group UK forecourts in April.
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