Discounts for cash makes life easier for café owner

In a snub to the growth of the cashless society, Mimolette Café owner Richy Marchandise has introduced a 10 per cent discount for customers who want to pay him with cash.

Marchandise made the move after too many technological issues with non-cash payments.

"There are so many things that are wrong with EFTPOS," Marchandise told Yahoo Finance.

"EFTPOS does not work as well as they claim. People get impatient when the system is down and we lose sales constantly. In 11 years, I have changed EFTPOS providers five times," he explained.

The Frenchman has been in the hospitality industry for 20 years and despite the cost-of-living crisis is happy for people to pay cash to avoid digital payment problems.

Marchandise also cited hidden fees as problematic, saying it costs upwards of $2,000 a year just to have the digital payment system in place.

It cost another $260 for a bulk order of receipt rolls.

Payment delays between banks has also caused headaches. He said he was unable to pay a supplier when a digital transaction took too long to process.

"We lost so much money on that day simply because the EFTPOS funds didn't arrive on time," he said.

Marchandise told Yahoo that his customers have embraced the cash discount, with around 20 per cent of sales now done with cash.

A further benefit has been bigger tips for staff.

"Before joining Mimolette, I wasn't familiar with the concept of tips. But now, our tip jar overflows regularly," said one staff member.

"At the end of each week, we divvy up the tips among the staff. It's a fantastic perk, especially since card payments rarely result in tips.”

Marchandise is part of a growing trend of businesses giving cash discounts.

One sign on social media highlighted the benefits. It read: "Cash is our preferred method of payment. With cash, we retain 100 per cent of its value. The Big Banks receive 0 per cent. The card processing companies receive 0 per cent," said one sign.”

If promoting cash payments, businesses still need to be aware of their tax obligations.

“We do know that staff are being underpaid or being paid cash in hand or missing out on their superannuation and probably not being paid the appropriate rate, and the way they do that is by taking cash,” Peter Holt, former Assistant Commissioner of the Shadow Economy at the ATO told the My Business Podcast.

"And consumers are starting to look a bit suspiciously at those businesses that are now only taking cash or offering cash discounts. And the other consideration is if you’ve been offered a cash discount, it’s possible that they’re not going to pay the GST on the file.”

Most, like Marchandise are doing the right thing.

Jonathan Jackson, 9^th July 2024