Thread: CASH ONLY SALES - Version 2.0!

So small businesses have to shoulder even more cost to stay open? Not the taxes, but the cost of the eftpos terminal, bank fees etc? Do we want any businesses to stay open or do you want to force them all to the wall? Soon we'll all be selling Latte's to each other because that's all there will be to do...

Also, you take away any chance of driving a good bargain - cash is king. I think it would be political suicide to try and introduce laws like that.

Funny you should post this.
We have a new Indian take away in town. They advertise "Cash Only".
It just means tyhey don't have an EFTPOS facility. No law against that.
Yep, it's OK to ask "Cash Only".

Originally Posted by bacicat

So small businesses have to shoulder even more cost to stay open? Not the taxes, but the cost of the eftpos terminal, bank fees etc?

Thats the point Gav. None of what you mentioned carries massive cost anymore. As Aldi and others do, the business simply needs to set a surcharge whenever the machine is used.

For the peace of mind knowing the business is paying their taxes properly I would happily pay 2% to cover the service. In saying that, just getting a bit more of the dodginess out of our tax systems would be worth paying a little more for.

And you know, all those clever cookies doing "the dodge" right now could start sleeping easier and stop looking over their shoulders for the next tax office audit.

legislating against accepting legal currency could have wider consequences..

I think it is a question of directly addressing a problem. If people are taking payment off the books then taking payment off the books is the problem, not the method of payment.

Having an EFT facility is a headache that many don't want to have to deal with so I completely understand the cash only thing. Also there are many places where people have reason not to trust 'invisible' payment methods. Even if they are generally accepted as trustworthy in Australia. Don't forget also that settlement can take days from EFT and that doesn't help a shopkeeper with their cashflow.

I pay quite a considerable amount in income tax, I also rarely use my eftpos or visa debit card, I do not have a credit card..... are you suggesting I should be forced to use a method that has three times in the past caused considerable damage to my reputation and finances (think identity theft/card skimming).


I refuse to use electronic funds wherever possible and I had an interesting reaction at a fairly upmarket Resteraunt when I tried to pay with cash....they could not make change, cash money is the fundamental basis of our economy and to take that away would not work

Any business should be able to specify, in advance, what kind of payments it will accept. If that means cash only you have the option of 1. not purchasing there or 2. visiting an ATM. remember them? I believe they still dot the countryside for the use of cash challenged souls.

As a sole trader I once had a credit card facility, but with the bank jacking up the monthly fees I told them politely to stuff it. I can direct my customers to the 6 or 7 cash machines a bit down the road. My customers seem to cope...and they get tax invoices too.

Legal tender has a little write up in wikipedia:

Legal tender is a medium of payment allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation.[1] Paper currency and coins are common forms of legal tender in many countries. The origin of the term "legal tender" is from Middle English tendren, French tendre (verb form), meaning to offer. The Latin root is tendere (to stretch out), and the sense of tender as an offer is related to the etymology of the English word extend (to hold outward).[2] The noun form of a tender as an offering is a back-formation of the noun from the verb.[citation needed]
Legal tender is variously defined in different jurisdictions. Formally, it is anything which when offered in payment extinguishes the debt. Thus, personal cheques, credit cards, debit cards, and similar non-cash methods of payment are not usually legal tender. The law does not relieve the debt obligation until payment is tendered. Coins and banknotes are usually defined as legal tender. Some jurisdictions may forbid or restrict payment made other than by legal tender.

No eftpos, no sale.

I'll go elsewhere. It's not about the money, it's about my time.

Originally Posted by DT-P38

Before the great crash of 2014, I posed the question is it legal for retailers or service providers to demand cash only? I also mentioned I thought it was happening to help people avoid paying their taxes. Someone mentioned it was possibly also about rent avoidance given some major shopping centre owners charge a component of rent as a % of "reported" sales.

Answers already posted said "No, its not illegal..." so now the question is should it be illegal? Given the sophistication of the banking and financial reporting systems available in this country, shouldn't any legal form of tender (debit or credit) be able to be used for any transaction?

Imagine what massive amounts of tax dodging could be stamped out by this simple change of law. With out wishing to make it sound political, any government introducing a change like this would be able to dissolve a massive deficit and/or put big bucks in the bank. And just imagine the cultural change to the community when all that dodgy (and dodging!) business and "screw the system" mentality gets eradicated.

I pay my taxes, why shouldn't everyone else?

I have no issue with cash only PROVIDED I am given a receipt that is either recorded in a receipt book or via a register roll.... chucking money in the till or a drawer or cash tin without it being at least rung up is not on!