I’ve enjoyed our time in Northampton, MA, but there’s one thing that baffles me: all the stores and restaurants that are cash or in-town check only. It’s truly amazing, whether you’re buying used books or a tasty cupcake, you better have cash on you because otherwise, you’re stuck. For someone that charges even the smallest of items (I charged 69 cents at a grocery store last night), it’s disorienting to have to use actual money.
I know there are fees associated with accepting credit cards, but it seems to me that a business might lose customers, especially ones in a college town with a fair number of tourists, if they don’t take credit. So what’s the deal?
Posted in Everyday Life
jk August 31, 2009, 2:43 am
Wow, is that fact on a tourism website to give visitors ample warnings about being prepared?
My hairdresser moved to a location that only takes cash and checks and didn’t warn me! I am pretty much a debit-only person.
Paul August 31, 2009, 11:25 am
Now imagine an entire commuter rail system that doesn’t take credit nor debit, and you’ve got… Metra here in Chicago!
They’re taking cards starting later this year, but note that a) it’s 2009 and b) this was due to legislation, not any desire on their part to actually be modern and stuff.