Furious McDonald’s customers are contemplating a potential boycott of the popular fast-food chain due to some outlets going cashless.
The uproar erupted when a disgruntled customer shared a photo of a sign at a McDonald’s drive-through in Clayton South, Melbourne, revealing cash would not be accepted at specific times.
The sign, shared in the “Cash is King” Facebook group, stated that cash payments would no longer be accepted from midnight to 6 am due to safety reasons for both staff and customers.
“Thank you for your continued co-operation and understanding,” the sign read.
The unhappy customer urged fellow group members to boycott the outlet.
“Boycott this Maccas,” they wrote. “I don’t come here that regularly, but I have been for years and (have) only seen this today.”
“I instantly questioned them why. They say because they were robbed. Either way, I don’t care; I’m paying cash regardless.”
Other customers backed the move.
“So a company tries to keep their staff safe after hours, and you’re having a whinge? Obviously, you have never been held up at gunpoint,” one wrote.
“That sounds reasonable. I agree with this. And l am all for cash,” said another.
The Epoch Times understands that the issue applies only to restaurants in Melbourne’s east and south, where cashless payments are preferred, but cash is still accepted if it is the only payment option.
A McDonald’s spokesperson told The Epoch Times that outlets in those parts of Melbourne introduced the measures to ensure the safety of both employees and customers.
“This includes asking customers to use cashless payment methods where possible,” the spokesperson said. “The safety and wellbeing of our people and customers is our top priority.”
“We would like to thank our customers for their assistance and understanding as we continue to prioritise safety in our restaurants.”
The spokesperson did not point to any particular incident that spurred the change, but Victoria Police are investigating a hooded man who robbed a McDonald’s worker with a knife at a store in Melbourne’s south-east.
“It is believed an unknown man entered a fast-food premises on Cheltenham Road on Wednesday 22 November, about 6.30 am,” Police said in a statement.
“Officers have been told the man approached the counter before producing a knife and making demands for cash from the till.”
Investigators believe the employee handed the man a small amount of cash before he left through a side door.
Some KFC Stores Going Cashless
Meanwhile, certain KFC stores in New South Wales, including Morisset, Lakehaven, and North Wyong, now only accept card or digital payments.At the fast food giant’s Morriset restaurant, located southwest of Lake Macquarie, a large sign told customers that all transactions are “cashless”.
KFC at Westfield Knox followed suit, displaying two signs that read, “This restaurant is cashless. We accept card only.”
KFC outlets eliminating cash payment sparked a second heated online debate in the Facebook group.
“Guess I won’t be eating there anymore. NO CASH, no problems I will take my business elsewhere,” one person wrote.
Further, the decision to cease accepting cash raised questions about the legality of it.
“I thought this wouldn’t be allowed, and (that) cash would be accepted everywhere,” one person wrote.
“Do they know cash is still legal tender?” a second asked.
Yet, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) states that businesses are not required to accept cash, so the move is entirely legal.
“Businesses can choose which payment types they accept. It is legal for a business to specify the terms and conditions that they will supply goods and services. This includes whether they will accept cash payment,” the ACCC wrote on its website.
Nevertheless, the consumer watchdog notes businesses must be clear about the types of payments they do accept.
Cashless Future Predicted by 2026
It comes as experts anticipate Australia becoming cashless by 2026, after commercial bank cash orders decreased in the 2022/23 financial year with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) issuing only one-third of the usual yearly amount.RMIT Finance Expert Angel Zhong said the convenience of digital transactions had led businesses to favour them over traditional payment methods.
“The relentless march of technology has produced myriad innovative platforms from mobile wallets to buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) schemes, each vying for a piece of this burgeoning market,” she said.
The Australian Banking Association’s recent report highlights the explosive expansion of the digital payment industry.
Payments made through digital wallets on smartphones and watches have surged from $746 million in 2018, to more than $93 billion in 2022.
Cash now represents only 13 percent of consumer payments in Australia by the end of 2022, marking a significant shift from 70 percent in 2007.
The federal government acknowledged this trend by introducing reforms to regulate digital payment providers.
The reforms will place Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and digital wallet services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay under the same supervision by the RBA as regular credit and debit cards.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers explained that payment systems needed to remain fit for purpose to deliver for consumers and small businesses.
“We want to make sure the shift to digital payments occurs in a way that promotes greater competition, innovation, and productivity across our entire economy,” he said
