Popular Aussie Cafe Chain Goes Announces It Will Go Cashless

After September 11th, Gloria Jean’s will stop accepting cash at its cafes.

According to a spokesperson for the company, going cashless will allow them to improve the environment for their employees and make their operations more efficient.

Gloria Jean’s spokesperson stated that the majority of the company’s outlets are operated and owned by its franchise partners.

A sign posted at one of its stores informing customers about the change was shared on Facebook, which led to an outcry.

Some people said they would boycott the establishment’s location in Melbourne.

Customers were outraged by the company’s decision to go cashless.

They noted that they would not be able to use the establishment’s services and wondered what would happen to them when the internet went down.

Others said they would not be visiting the store.

Many establishments still accept cash. One person noted that they were disgusted by the added fees that they had to pay for transactions.

According to the ACCC’s website, businesses do not have to accept cash, but they have to include a fee in the advertised prices if a customer cannot pay with cash.

Angel Zhong, a finance professor at RMIT, noted that Australia had been leading the way when it came to going cashless.

She said that the country had become the birthplace of several payment methods, such as Afterpay and Zip. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the decline in cash usage accelerated due to the Covid pandemic.

According to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s consumer payments survey, only around 13 percent of transactions in 2022 involved cash.

Dr. Zhong noted that the decline in cash usage was a stark contrast to the 70 percent recorded in 2007.

She also noted that the amount of money that people spend using digital wallets had increased significantly.

Dr. Zhong said that people who don’t use cash may be concerned about going cashless due to various reasons, such as security risks and privacy concerns.

A study conducted by payments company Waave earlier this year revealed that about seven in 10 Australians were worried about going cashless.

On the other hand, about two in five people were worried that coins and notes would become relics.

In Australia, Dr. Zhong believes that by 2030, the country will be functionally cashless due to the preferences of its consumers.

She predicts that around 90 percent of all payments will be conducted digitally. This means that cash payments will be rare.