A street vendor in Chicago told me he lost a whole day of sales because his card reader broke

I was grabbing lunch from his cart last Tuesday and he only had a sign saying 'Cash Only' after his Square reader died. He said he had to turn away at least 30 people who only had cards or phones to pay. It really showed me how fragile a cashless setup can be for small businesses. Has anyone else seen a small vendor get totally stuck like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

adams.uma3mo ago

Yeah, the "fragile cashless setup" thing is real. I read about a food truck that had the same problem during a big festival, lost a ton of sales.

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logan_mitchell1mo ago

The cashless trend feels like one of those things where people are just copying what works for big companies without thinking about their own situation. I see it everywhere now, from farmers markets to pizza joints that used to be cash only for years. There's this weird pressure to be "modern" even when it creates new problems that cash never had. Like, what if the power goes out or the card machine just randomly decides to act up on a busy Saturday. That food truck story isnt isolated, its happening more often as people rush to ditch cash and then realize they built their whole system on something that can fail. Sometimes the old ways stick around for a reason.

karencampbell3mo ago

Ever wonder if the push for cashless is leaving some customers out, like older folks or people without bank accounts? That food truck story @adams.uma mentioned shows how it can backfire for businesses too. What if they just offered both?

park.miles3mo ago

Actually, going cashless can be a huge help for small businesses by cutting down on theft and time spent counting. The tech issues @adams.uma mentioned are just growing pains, not a real reason to keep cash around. The long-term savings and safety are worth pushing through those early problems.