A pub retailer and brewer has made a change to how people pay for drinks and food - leaving some punters threatening to boycott by taking their business elsewhere.
Greene King has stopped accepting cash at some of its pubs across the UK as it trials card-only payments in areas including the North West, South East and Midlands. Customers visiting the trial venues will only be able to pay for food and beverages by card, reports Nottingham Live.
The chain, which operates 2,700 pubs, restaurants and hotels across the UK, said it is testing cashless payments in establishments where the majority of transactions are already made by bank cards. The chain, which owns 20 pubs in Greater Manchester including Fountain House, The Deansgate and Royal Oak, hasn't confirmed a list of the pubs taking part in the trial, but pub-goers in some parts of the country have already threatened a boycott if the change becomes permanent.
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The change to how customers pay for food and drink at some Greene King pubs has been met with anger and confusion online. One said on Twitter: "I will not go into a Green King pub again. They are not aware of what is happening in politics. Come to think of it nor do many of our MPs have any idea."
Another said: "When this comes to a pub near me I will definitely go elsewhere. I do use their pubs and I am not happy about their recent price hike nor are other members of my group. They are pricing themselves out of business and I know others who only pay cash will boycott."
A third added: "Only thing we can do is vote with our feet, and stop frequenting establishments that do this. Unfortunately, there is no law against refusing cash in the UK.
While another simply wrote: "@greeneking looks like you lost me and lot more customers #paycash."
In Nottinghamshire, punters at Travellers Rest - one of the pubs involved in the trial - were also annoyed by the decision. One, who shared his views of the decision on a local community Facebook group, wrote: "We are an older couple of regulars that choose to pay cash and now, if we want to go, we have no choice.
"I personally think that is a mistake on their part. I should have the choice. We eat out a lot and no where else we go does this. It is likely we will go elsewhere in future. It's such a shame."
Many other in the group agreed and said they would not be visiting the pub, which is part of the Chef & Brewer group, part of Greene King again. One person added: "Sick of hearing 'this is the future'. Cash is legal tender. Won't be going there anymore.
"Look how many jobs card-only tills have robbed us of. The main point here is we should have the choice."
Last year, it was reported that the UK had taken a step closer to a cashless society as more than 23m people abandoned coins. A report by banking body UK Finance predicted that notes and coins will account for just 6% of payments within a decade, which prompted some concern that millions could be left behind as the move to cashless gathers pace.
A spokesperson for Greene King said: “We’re undertaking a trial in a small number of our pubs where card payments make up more than 90% of all transactions.
"This is an ongoing trial and we have not made a business decision to permanently go cashless in this small number of pubs, or any other of our pubs, at this stage.”
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