In response to the rising cost of labor and the increasing consumer demand, many small businesses in Queensland have started to go cashless.
One of these is Annee’s Cafe, which operates five cafes all across the state. Annee told the ABC that the company decided to go cashless after its property was vandalized.
Despite the drastic reduction in cash transactions following the pandemic, many small businesses still feel that going without cash could lead to a loss of customers.
Mark Hardingham, the owner of the Tribe Coffee Company in Brisbane, was robbed at gunpoint in July.
According to Mr Hardingham, the female employees of his other cafes decided not to work at the location due to the incident.
He said that providing a safe workplace was one of the company’s goals, but it could be very demoralizing to see such things happen. He also noted that finding and retaining staff members could be very difficult.
The staff members reportedly don’t want to work because they feel unsafe.
A couple of weeks ago, another attempted break-in occurred, though this time, the intruder was unsuccessful.
Mr Hardingham noted that the number of break-ins has increased significantly over the past couple of years.
One of the reasons why he feels that the crime rate is increasing is because fewer people are handling cash.
He said that about nine out of ten of these incidents are the result of kids being a nuisance. Some businesses also question the safety of having cash on the premises.