By Kathy Canavan
Special to Delaware Business Times
While restaurants from Philadelphia to Los Angeles are slowly moving to plastic-only payments, cash is still king in Delaware. At least for now.
Carrie Leishman, president of the Delaware Restaurant Association, knows of no currently cashless establishments, but she said restaurateurs will respond to customer trends. And, more of us are packing plastic. About 44 percent of Americans like to pay for purchases with debit cards and 33 percent prefer credit cards, according to a recent survey by CreditCard.com. Only 12 percent favor cash.
“I don’t think there are any restaurant owners who are saying, “˜We don’t want to take your cash,’ but restaurants have to be nimble and keep up with the times. You can draw a conclusion that today’s buyers are moving more toward a cashless society,” Leishman said. “˜
Ryan German, owner of Caffe Gelato on Newark’s Main Street, said he doesn’t know of any area restaurants that have gone purely plastic, but, if a trend got underway, he said he “would very much jump on the bandwagon.”
German said his only reservation would be a reluctance to turn away people who don’t have debit or credit cards. “The person who is most affected by this is the poor. People of means, no matter what age, are moving to cashless,” he said.
“I’m always concerned about being convenient for the customer,” German said. “I’m concerned there’s a small percentage of people who would go elsewhere. It’s really a small percentage. Most days, all our sales are credit card transactions.”
Last year Visa declared a “war on cash.” The financial services giant offered to give up to $10,000 each to 50 U.S.-based small businesses to help them update their digital payment technology. The hook: The business must agree to go cashless.
Restaurant chains such as Tender Greens and Sweetgreens have already banned cash payments, and icons
like Starbucks and Shake Shack are testing plastic-only sites.
Going cashless offers several advantages and a few disadvantages for food service companies.
The two major disadvantages are alienating potential customers and paying more credit card service fees.
Also, several states and municipalities are moving to stop businesses from eschewing cash payments.
In addition, a recent CreditCards.com survey showed 45 percent of consumers who carry cards still prefer to pay cash for purchases under $10.
Ditching cash would save time for restaurateurs, though, and make robbery or pilferage far less likely.
Checkout lines would move faster. One chain reports saving two minutes per transaction as customers no longer pull out change purses.
Cashless transactions are more hygienic for front-of-the-house employees. Workers would no longer have to do cash counts at the end of shifts.There’s no cash to tote to the bank. Money wouldn’t go missing.
Cashless transactions are less likely to attract robbers.
German, who owns Caffe Gelato, predicts credit card service fees would come down if there were a wholesale switch to credit: “I think what you’re going to see is more forms of payment and lower percentages. A local bank might say, “If you use my app, it’s a lower percentage “¦”
“The biggest advantage would just be security,” German said. “I think it would be great just from a security standpoint and not having to handle cash, but I’m waiting for some other businesses to blaze the trail.”
One business that’s bucking the cashless trend is Sambo’s Tavern in Leipsic, known for its stacked trays of blue crabs.
Owners Elva and Ike Burrows tried credit cards for a couple years, but they opted out because they found the service fees too high and the paperwork too cumbersome. They don’t intend to go back.
When customers call for a reservation there, they are told upfront that no plastic is accepted but there is an onsite ATM. It hasn’t hampered business. Ike Burrows said they just had one of their best years ever.
“The credit card company told me, “˜We’re making money for you.'” Burrows said. “I said, “˜No, we’re making money for you.'”
“We were running around like chickens with our heads chopped off working all the time, and they were collecting money sitting on their chair-shaped asses,” he added.
