Food & Wine

The Secret Restaurateur: Is it time for the hospitality sector to go fully cashless?

Our industry insider weighs up the pros and cons of ditching cash in their business

‘No small business owner would ever admit to paying their staff in cash, but everyone knows it happens.’ Picture: Getty

AIB may have sheepishly climbed down on its plan to make 70 of its branches cashless within 24 hours of announcing it, but the trend here is probably inescapable.

The bank justified the change by stating that demand for cash transactions had fallen dramatically during the pandemic, when card payments became the norm. Statistics from the Central Bank backed this up, showing that ATM withdrawals were down about a third compared to 2019, and card ...