Landlord Alan Davies says he is sick of the banks taking his money
A pub landlord is offering discounts for customers who pay by cash in a bid to combat soaring bank charges on card transactions. Alan Davies, who runs The Trumpet Inn near Ledbury, Herefordshire, has slashed his prices by 5 per cent for cash payments in an attempt to battle one of the many challenges facing UK pubs.
The 53-year-old said bank charges on card payments have got so high that he could employ another member of staff for the same amount. He decided to act after getting sick of forking out extra to banks from card transactions, losing roughly £5 for every £50 spent.
A £6 pint will set punters back £5.70 instead if paid by cash and Alan has also extended the same discount to food. Now he says cash payments are up by 45 per cent as locals embrace the old-fashioned scheme. Alan, who also own another Herefordshire pub The Moon at Mordiford, said: “We started this a couple of weeks ago.
“We decided that paying for the bank charges, the credit charges for the machine, it equated to enough to pay another member of staff. The banks aren’t doing anything for this money, it’s just pressing some buttons. A lot of small businesses are struggling with the moment, so we’ve gone back to the old system like when I was young.
“We still take card, but we have the discounts for cash payments. Before this we had 95% of our transactions on card, now it’s risen to 50% cash. So that shows people still have cash and are using it.
“My staff are feeling quite strongly about it now, they’re enjoying it. If you’re saying it’s £6 a pint, it’s knocking it down to £5.70. It can add up quite nicely across multiple pints. Cash is still good, if the bank went down tomorrow, you have no way of paying.
“You’ve got to have a backup. We said we would have a few months until February or March trialling this, but for me it’s a bit of a no brainer to keep it. You’re going to get some negative comments, but at the end of the day I’m not charging anything extra, I’m just charging the correct price for things.
“If you pay £50, £5 of that goes to the bank. I don’t understand why we accept it. If I pay my local farmer £10 for potatoes, he uses that elsewhere. Why should banks have that cut.”
Alan also fired back at any critics who claim his move is just for “tax purposes”. He added: “You get a few people saying it’s for tax purposes, but how when it all goes through the tills the same. This is not just on pints, it’s on everything, food and drink. It’s also the fact that it’s bringing customers in, which is handy.
“It’s making the staff think as they’re not used to handling cash, even just counting cash, it’s a skill that some people seem to have lost. We were used to doing it as kids. It’s good for them. With credit cards you might spend more in the pub, but you might not know how much you spent. If you went out with £20, you know what you spent.”
Dave Holloway, a regular at The Trumpet, said: “Any discount in the current situation is a good idea. It’s 30 pence a pint cheaper isn’t it? Anything you can save, is worth saving. It brings people into the pub.”
Staff member Bella Grinnell added: “I think it’s a brilliant idea that we’re handling cash more. I think we spend so much time on screens every day, to then use another screen to be taking card payments, it takes you out of reality.”
Industry experts warn many pubs are still facing closure despite Rachel Reeves’s business rates climbdown this week. Landlords say it will do little to cushion the blow with rises in business rates, bills, beer duty taxes and employment costs are to blame.
