Woolworths is not phasing out cash
What was claimed |
The verdict |
Woolworths has stopped accepting cash payments, which is evidence of Australia transitioning to a cashless society under new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. |
False. Social media users are posting an old Woolworths storefront window notice of a trial of card-only payments in some stores in 2020 as evidence that the chain is phasing out cash in its stores. Woolworths still accepts physical cash and says it has no plans to move to cashless payments only. |
By Ellen Blake
Facebook users are falsely claiming an old Woolworths window notice is evidence that new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will introduce a cashless society.
One user said: “Labor government sworn in on Monday. Cashless society begins today (Thursday) with Woolworths store refusing to accept or give out cash. It won’t be easy under Albanese!”
Cashless society refers to the removal of physical cash as a payment method in favour of electronic methods.
The claims were posted alongside an image of a window notice from the supermarket chain informing customers that cash payments were no longer accepted in-store.
“Payments can now only be made by card. We no longer accept cash payments or offer cash out facilities,” the notice says.
The claim was originally published on Twitter by Liberal Democrat Party candidate Diane Demetre, who failed to win the Queensland seat of Moncrieff in the 2022 federal election.
However, the poster is not evidence of a move to a cashless society under the new Albanese government but a remnant of an old trial conducted in Woolworths’ small-scale Metro stores.
A reverse image search showed the poster first appeared online in July 2020 and was featured in 7news and the Daily Mail news articles.
A Woolworths spokesman told RMIT FactLab that the sign was not current and was likely displayed during a period when the retailer trialled electronic payments in a select number of stores in Sydney and Melbourne, which were receiving few cash payments.
The cashless trial ended in March 2021 after media reports of customer dissatisfaction with the system.
The spokesman confirmed Woolworths customers are free to use cash as a payment option in stores across Australia.
“Cash remains an important payment option for many of our customers and will continue to be offered as a payment form in our stores,” he said.
The Woolworths Twitter account also tweeted that the image was an old sign from the trial, and all stores now accepted physical payment.
A move to a cashless economic system was not part of the Labor Party’s election policy platform. The party, in fact, pledged to abolish the cashless debit card that restricts the way some welfare recipients spend their money.
Reserve Bank data analysed by the Australian Banking Association shows the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the decline of physical cash. There are concerns a move to a cashless society could be a significant inconvenience or create “geniune hardship” for a quarter of consumers.
The verdictFalse. Woolworths is not removing cash as a payment option in stores across Australia. Social media users are posting an old Woolworths notice of a trial of card-only payments in some stores in 2020 as evidence of the supermarket’s transition to cash-free payment for groceries. Woolworths still accepts cash and says it has no plans to move to a cashless payment method. The Albanese government has not announced any plans to move to a cashless economic system. |
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