WHY THE ONLY THING THAT'S ON TAP-AND-GO IN THIS PUB IS THE BEER
- Publican said people have only had an issue with cash recently
- Has discovered hidden benefits
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A country pub has only accepted cash payments for the last 15 years with its owner saying the only customers who have a problem with it are 'out-of-towners'.
Sam James, 60, who runs King River Tavern, 11km north of Albany in Western Australia, said the decision to accept cash-only occurred after a storm 15 years ago.
Two years after buying the lease to the popular pub, the damage from the weather event forced Ms James to temporarily close her business as everything 'had been underwater' and needed replacing, 7News reported.
However, this gave Ms James the time to have a look at the pub's accounts which showed the restaurant part of the business wasn't making a profit.
The publican re-opened with the kitchen permanently closed - meaning there wasn't a need for the EFTPOS machine as cash was predominately used in the bar.
With the EFTPOS machine costing her a steep fee each month, it was an easy decision for Ms James.
'I actually had to pay to give [the EFTPOS machine] back,' she said.
Ms James installed an ATM before going completely cash-only, and although this came with initial costs, she now saves on EFTPOS fees, that costs another local business $300 a month.
At the time, the publican concedes switching to cash-only 'wasn't a big deal' and it is only now people seem to be having a problem with it.
Another perk the publican has found is when there is a blackout, her business can still run with candles lit, because she's not dependent on electricity to take payments.
The 60-year-old said that the only time the payment system is 'sometimes' a problem is when 'out-of-towners' visit the pub.
Ms James recounted the time a man put out his fist to pay, as he was wearing a payment ring - and the publican instead thought he wanted to fist bump her, and she obliged, leaving them both confused.
'Apparently you can pay with a ring, it just looked like a glass ring to me. Since then, he’s come back, and he’s very happy with the whole cash situation now. He said that he got rid of the ring,' she said.
However, with the cash payment system in place to eliminate bills, there is another important reason Ms James will remain cash-only.
The publican has a charity tin for the Albany Community Hospice and because people have cash, the tin is regularly filled up - with $9,000 being raised last year alone.
'Being a cash-only venue, a lot of people say, ‘oh, keep the change, keep the change’, and I say: ‘Well I’ll chuck it in the hospice tin’,' she said.
Ms James said if she were to go back to a digital payment system, the donations would stop.
An Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) spokesperson told 7 News that regional areas represent 30 per cent of Australian businesses.
They said many regional businesses need to find the cheapest way to collect payment and do their banking - and cash remains popular.
Ms James said she knows that her payment method may not suit some other businesses and feels fortunate it works for her and her customers.
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