It’s no secret that the great British high street is warming to the idea of going, if not cashless, then certainly less cash. In the past 15 years, we’ve seen the introduction of contactless cards and mobile phone payments (or digital wallets).
A 2018 report by UK Finance [pdf] found that in just 10 years we’ve gone from cash making up six out of 10 payments to just three, and predicts that in another 15 years that number could go down to as low as one in 10.
And with 2017 marking the year in which debit card transactions officially overtook cash payments in the UK, with almost two-thirds (63%) of people in the UK using contactless payments and 3.4m people almost never using cash at all, it’s only natural that businesses would soon follow suit.
That’s exactly what Ed Barry, 28, owner of west London coffee shop and cocktail bar Over Under Coffee, has done. Barry’s Earl’s Court shop is only a stone’s throw away from the tube station, where relaxed customers work on their laptops or discuss things over plates of food from the simple “toast and toppings” menu, made in the shop’s flatpack kitchen.
The space is small but comfy, and the furnishings simple but effective, much like the business as a whole. For two years, Over Under Coffee has been a cashless business – a practice more common now, but not so when he first adopted it after a successful trial month at the start of 2018.
Barry recalls some teething issues – the odd customer who’d prefer cash, for example – but Over Under Coffee was already taking the vast majority of its payments using card and, reflecting back on it, Barry feels his business has reached the level it’s at today because of the decision.
“Going cashless has been huge for us,” Barry says. “It’s been a big talking point, and everyone knows about it. I think generally Londoners are warming to it, because of things such as Oyster cards, for example.
“We’ve had a few hiccups along the way, but generally it’s been quicker for us – quicker for the customer.”
His two shops in Earl’s Court and West Brompton have been operating completely cashless for more than two years, powered solely by iZettle and Barry and his team’s enthusiasm.
For the uninitiated, iZettle is a mobile point-of-sale device and integrated app that takes card payments, both contactless and chip and pin. It’s affordable – with an iZettle Reader only costing £29 (for your first reader, £59 for subsequent readers) without having to sign up to a contract or pay high fees – and its accompanying app can be used for accounting, inventory and business analytics, which has helped Barry every step of the way.
“iZettle has always been super supportive of us: we always get a really good rate, and we’re not tied into a contract,” Barry says. “The devices look cool on the counter and they’re portable, too – we do a lot of events and we just use our phone hotspot to make payments, so it’s really easy to use. It’s basically plug and pay for payments, so it’s great for small businesses like us.”
“Supporting independent businesses such as Over Under Coffee is iZettle’s whole reason for existing. We want to ensure that they have the tools they need to start, run and grow their businesses,” says Ed Hallett, managing director at iZettle UK.
At 6pm at Over Under Coffee, the counters, seating and walls all flip around to reveal their evening cocktail bar alter egos.
“I wanted to create a really welcoming environment, and have that throughout the day and then throughout the night,” Barry says. “My whole ethos is: there’s no point in working in hospitality if you’re not going to have a positive impact on somebody’s day. A positive mental attitude is something I try to filter through our entire company and culture.
“Just because there’s a counter between us doesn’t mean we can’t talk like we’re mates. It’s not going to please everyone, but I’d rather verge on too friendly than the opposite.”
But it’s not always been easy for him to create and run a business as a millennial entrepreneur in London.
“There have definitely been tough periods. Some months I couldn’t pay myself any money. I had never run my own shop, I’d never been a boss, I’d never written employment contracts, or taken accounts,” Barry explains. “We opened our second shop too quickly and had to close it within four months. We picked the wrong location, we got the layout of the bar wrong, we hired the wrong people.
“But now we’ve got another shop in West Brompton, west London, and are opening another place in Manchester next month. So each year you have to take stock of what you’ve learned and realise that the things you thought were problems at first are actually very easy to do, but only if you’re willing to learn on the job.”
To find out how iZettle can help your business, visit izettle.com
