Card providers take a share of a business's sales - and owners often have to wait for the money to reach their accountJenny Blyth says taking card payments as a small business owner is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.
“When I’m selling at events, particularly those not near a cash point, I end up having to take very tiny amounts via my card machine because people don’t carry money,” she adds, saying that she has sold things for 50p on a card before. And the direction is clearly going against cash. “Over the next decade, we are forecasting further growth in the use of card and mobile payments,” Adrian Buckle, head of research at UK Finance, has said.Phil Pinder, who runs the Potions Cauldron, a business based in York and Edinburgh that sells drinks and runs experiences, also says cash can be the most lucrative way for businesses – particularly smaller ones – to be paid.
Surcharging, the practice of retailers charging a fee to the customer for using a certain payment method – such as card – has been banned since 2018, meaning if businesses take card, they cannot recoup the extra costs they face through higher prices. He says taking payments this way – particularly at some of the food festivals his business operates at – is “practically easier, faster and more convenient.”
Barry Whitehouse, who owns The Artery, an art shop in Banbury, Oxfordshire, says he will take whatever payment a customer has – and this sometimes extends to cheque, card, or cash.