Starbucks has issued a statement to its customers following recent reports on social media that their coffee chains in the UK were about to become cashless.
The popular coffee giant has addressed the concerns after one of their UK branches went viral online for putting up a sign that said no cash payments would be accepted from October 1, reports Hull Live.
After being shared to Twitter, the image triggered an overwhelming response from shoppers who criticised the idea and led to the hashtag #boycottstarbucks to trend on the social media platform.
Starbucks has now addressed the reports in a statement where they have confirmed that "they have no plans to go cashless" in the future. The company has said that they have no blanket ban on cash at its UK sites, reports North Wales Live.
While the company has confirmed that they will not introduce fully cashless payments in their stores, they have explained that certain stores may have different policies.
The confusion began after one customer shared a snap of an undisclosed UK branch with a store sign that read "we're going cashless from 1st October 2022." The coffee chain has since confirmed that the policy is currently only available in that particular store and not being rolled out nationwide.
Starbucks has said that the majority of their UK sites will continue to offer customers both cash and card payments to customers. Legally in the UK, businesses can refuse to accept cash if they offer alternative payment methods, in the same way that some businesses still only offer cash payments. Concerns however have been raised about the move to a cashless society.
Charlie Evans, a customer in a Welsh Starbucks store, said he was unable to use cash recently. He said: "Decisions like this exclude the elderly; homeless; and other disadvantaged groups. We're not ready for cashless and there is no need."
A spokesperson for Starbucks said: "Starbucks has no plans to go cashless across our UK stores and we want to shut down any inaccuracies or further speculation on this matter. In the UK, we operate alongside various licensee business partners, which means this may vary from store to store and the majority of stores continue to offer cash payments to customers."
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