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The impact of the epidemic! Starbucks accelerates the number of cashless stores

Published: 2026-08-23 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/08/23, Some British netizens have posted a notice on the social platform that local Starbucks will no longer accept cash payments, indicating that from October 1, 2022, payments will only be made by credit card, contactless or star-sharing payments. this means that more and more Starbucks stores no longer support cash payments.

Some British netizens have posted a notice on the social platform that local Starbucks will no longer accept cash payments, indicating that from October 1, 2022, payments will only be made by credit card, contactless or star-sharing payments. this means that more and more Starbucks stores no longer support cash payments. As soon as the news came out, many local netizens were dissatisfied.

According to the British media Telegraph&Argus, the same notice appeared outside a Starbucks store in Bradford, UK, and cashless payment seems to be a trend in Starbucks stores across the country as people increasingly question the practice on social media. In this regard, the above-mentioned media have contacted Starbucks officials, waiting for the latest official news.

Some netizens left a message saying that cash has not been used for a long time, Starbucks does not support cash payment this rule does not have much impact on itself, electronic payment is more convenient and secure.

Some netizens also expressed objection to Starbucks not accepting cash payment and said they would not go to any Starbucks to spend money.

Other netizens pointed out that it is nothing new for Starbucks to no longer accept cash payments, which was mentioned by then CEO Kevin Johnson as early as 2020.

However, in an interview with CNBC media as early as December 2017, Howard Schultz said Starbucks could become a cashless coffee chain in the future.

In April 2018, Starbucks tried out the cashless model in three stores in South Korea and succeeded, and the cashless operation model was launched on a large scale in Starbucks stores across the country from July 16.

On July 30, 2020, the "Office Cafe" opened by Starbucks in Japan became the first Starbucks store in Japan with "no cash, all-electronic payment".

In 2020, as the COVID-19 epidemic swept the world, in order to protect consumers and employees from novel coronavirus's infection, then CEO Kevin Johnson said that Starbucks was planning to expand the choice of cashless payment methods. It is predicted that mobile payment will become the main payment method.

However, the refusal of stores to accept cash is controversial, and some netizens have pointed out that it is not illegal for companies to refuse to accept national legal tender.

Some British netizens have said that it is not illegal for merchants to refuse to pay in cash.

However, the legal provisions are different in different countries. In August 2020, a Douyin blogger took 9.9jin of coins to Starbucks for consumption. A Starbucks clerk responded that coins were not allowed in the store, citing the inconvenience of storing them. The matter has sparked a heated discussion among netizens on the Internet.

According to the relevant provisions of the Law of the people's Bank of China, the legal tender of the people's Republic of China is RMB. No unit or individual may refuse to use RMB to pay all public and private debts within the territory of the people's Republic of China. Therefore, it is illegal for businesses to refuse to accept cash.

China's Starbucks has responded to the coin rejection: there is no rule to reject coins and has reiterated to all stores that it apologizes for the poor experience of individual customers.

At present, there is no news that Starbucks in China will follow this practice, and it is clear that it is illegal to refuse cash at home.

Photo Source: Internet

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