My corner store stopped taking cash three months ago and it's been a mess

There's a little bodega on 14th street near my apartment that I've been going to for years. About three months ago they put up a sign saying card only, no cash. I figured it was fine until last week when their credit machine went down for two hours during the morning rush. There were like ten people standing there with their stuff, nobody had a card that worked, and the guy behind the counter just shrugged. We all had to put our items back and leave. That made me wonder - what happens when the system fails and nobody has any paper money? Has anyone else seen a small business switch over and regret it?

3 comments

3 Comments

murray.cora1mo ago

I still remember when that blackout hit the northeast in 2003 and everything that ran on a machine just stopped. Nobody could buy anything because the registers were dead and nobody was taking IOUs. That bodega owner probably saved a few bucks on bank fees but they basically turned their store into a fragile system thats one blown fuse away from being useless. Cash is the backup plan thats been working since before any of us were born. They should at least keep a small drawer of change hidden under the counter for when the tech gives out.

phoenix_lewis1mo ago

Cash is king for a reason. Why make things more complicated than they have to be?

lunah121mo ago

lol fair point but actually the 2003 blackout was in August, not just the northeast, it hit a bunch of states and even parts of Canada too. That bodega owner might be looking at this all wrong, going card-only saves on theft risks and counting time but yeah, one dead machine and the whole system falls apart. Cash is just that fallback that keeps everything moving when tech decides to take a nap lol.