Cash only at Zurich Totalbar: “No data trails, no fees”

class=”sc-29f61514-0 kHgAwW”>

Totalbar is an island. Small bar in the middle of Zurich’s Langstrasse district, one of the last bars in town that does not accept card payments. A sign at the bar reads “Cash Only”, while others, on the contrary, only accept plastic money, Totalbar owner Michel Monod (49) prominently on his website, “Cash only is correct!”

Cash payments are constantly restricted. “Maybe that’s okay with you, but a lot of people today don’t have a bank account,” he says. Those affected are, for example, undocumented persons, persons in the asylum system or persons without permanent residence.

In addition, you leave a data trail with every card payment. Apart from costs: payment processors charge a monthly fee for payment terminals. There are also commissions for each payment. Depending on the payment processor and which card the customer uses, a single beer can result in commissions of up to 30 cents. “Ultimately, customers have to pay for it by adding it to the price,” Monod calculates.

“Sometimes people have to go to the ATM,” Monod says. The nearest is just 200 meters away. “Here, in the heart of the city, we can send people to withdraw money. It would be harder in the country.”

Some guests are leaving

Like Monod, it’s run by a handful of bars and restaurants, including the living room bar, Mars bar or Turkish restaurant Tantpis. They all serve a similar clientele: the young, urban, trendy, left-wing alternative.

And yet: even at Totalbar the “cash only” rule is not well received by everyone. “Some people think it’s totally wrong and they go,” Monod says with a shrug. But the bar is usually full on weekends. When one of the guests leaves, the next guest takes his place. Monod: “We’re also getting a lot of positive feedback. People think it’s good that we don’t exclude anyone.”

Source :Blick