James McDermott: If cash is no longer king, it shouldn’t be persona non grata either

The rush to replace our legal tender with credit card and smartphone payments disadvantages the more vulnerable in society, not to mention the fact that technology has a habit of breaking down

For workers in the low-paid service industry, cash tips often fill the gap between the minimum wage and an actual living wage. Picture: Getty

Last week, a café refused to sell me my morning coffee, not because I did not have the cash to pay for it but because I did.

The owner proudly declared that not only would they not accept my money, but they could not accept it as they did not possess a cash register. As a long-term believer in the concept that cash is king, I was unhappy at this forced abdication for reasons not ...