According to a recent CNBC report a number of US restaurants are now refusing to accept cash payments. Among the reasons cited were improved customer service and security, but there remains the issue of convenience and customer choice. Elsewhere, in the UK the rise of contactless payments in fast food restaurants and bars shows no signs of slowing down. As I write this I am aware of Bob Dylan's “The Times They Are A'changing” playing in the background - honestly, I couldn't make it up! But can you force change and is it wise to do so? 

At the weekend I was reminiscing with an former colleague over the phone and, sad and predictable as it might seem, we got round to talking about how payments have changed. I should add that he's older than I am! I raised the issue of restaurant payments and was a little surprised and amused by the reply as I'd obviously set him off on a train of thought:

 "The way we pay at restaurants has changed over the years and from my personal experience the process hasn't always been straightforward. Back in the eighties there was the embarrassing birthday party at a Chinese restaurant when an honest and somewhat bemused owner pointed out that I had written a cheque for £1109 rather than the £109 total highlighted on the bill. We had had a good night!

Then there was the equally embarrassing experience of taking a new (and soon to be ex) girlfriend out for a meal at an expensive dining establishment in the City. This was in the days before chip and PIN.  The evening went well until a waiter refused to accept that my signature bore any similarity to the one on my credit card. After five unsatisfactory attempts it was left to my rather unimpressed guest to foot the bill. I don't think we saw each other again.

Generally speaking payment by card in the nineties was a good experience though there was always that awkward moment when the waiter took away the card to be processed. The advice was to never let the card out of your sight. But how often did you get up from the table and follow the waiter with your card. I tried it once and the guy disappeared into a backroom behind the bar. Did I climb over the counter? Discretion being the better part of valour, I went back to my table to await the return of my card and spent the next few weeks worrying that the details had been sent off to some distant land and my card cloned.

I knew that things would get better. In 1990 on a business trip to Lisbon a card reader had been brought to our table, though we were told that “the technology didn't work in all parts of the restaurant."

By this time I wasn't really sure where this conversation was heading or indeed its relevance to the CNBC report that had started us off on this track.

"Now of course things are a lot easier" he said though not always. “Last Saturday my wife and I were in Edinburgh and found an excellent tapas restaurant in a street near to the rugby ground. As we were rounding off our meal with a cortada I asked for the bill. At this point an embarrassed waiter explained they had been having some Internet problems and 'the card machine isn't working'. What were our options? 'Well you can leave us your details or there's a cash machine two blocks down'. Though it was past eleven and the city was getting a bit “excitable” I put on my coat and made my way through the late night revellers to the nearest ATM."

And there it was "Thank goodness for cash - and at least I then also had enough money to pay the babysitter when we got home."

The ways in which we can pay have multiplied and improved over the years and I’m certainly not a luddite arguing wistfully for the return of the cheque. Now we have effective alternative payment mechanisms that can meet our needs in different circumstances. However, reducing people's options reduces their convenience. It can lose you business and there may be times when you are glad you accept cash.