Visa card meltdown sparks chaos in stores and shocks Brits — here’s how much cash shoppers really carry
We chat to shoppers in Newcastle, Rotherham and London to find out how the Visa crash affects what's in their wallets
IS cash still king or does contactless tech now hold all the cards?
Friday’s Visa meltdown caused chaos in stores, huge queues at cashpoints and inconvenience for millions.
KELLY JENKINS and HANNAH THOMPSON headed around the country to find out what is in our wallets.
Newcastle
FINANCIAL adviser Ryan Teasdale, 24, from Newcastle, said: “I never carry cash.
“On Friday I went to Subway and I couldn’t pay for it on my card.
"I had to queue for ages for cash – the glitch caused problems for everyone.
“My food was cold and ruined by the time I got back with my money.”
Carries... £0 cash
LISA Hay, 34, a business owner from Newcastle, said: “We were celebrating my daughter Georgia’s birthday in a restaurant.
"My card still worked, other diners weren’t so lucky.
“Paying by card is easier. I use online banking all the time. It is far easier to log in than go to the bank.”
Carries... £0 cash
PROJECT manager Michael Wong, 25, from Newcastle, said: “I never carry cash.
"I use my card all the time.
“I’m scared of losing cash. If you lose a card you can cancel it, but if you lose money you can’t get it back.
“I use my card for everything. I’d be stuck if it happened again.”
Carries... £0 cash
RETIRED Kenneth Gill, 83, from Newcastle, said: “I have always carried cash with me, usually £100.
“I would only use a card if I wanted something special.
"I have never used a cashpoint in my life – I always go into the bank to withdraw cash. Young ones use cashpoints.”
Carries... £100 cash
Rotherham
NURSERY nurse Hannah Parsonage, 18, of Treeton, said: “I always pay using my Visa debit card or Apple Pay.
"Both went down on Friday and I had to queue for 20 minutes at a cashpoint.
"I’ll always carry at least £10 now.”
Carries... £10
CAR salesman Liam McKenna, 27, a dad of two from Rotherham, said: “Right now I’ve got about two quid, as I always use my Visa debit card.
“My card got rejected in Asda on Friday and I had to queue for over 30 minutes at a cashpoint.
“I will still rely on my card though.”
Carries... £2
LAURA Vernon, 39, a Tesco worker from Sheffield, said: “I use contactless Visa for everything.
"It got declined on the bus on Friday but the driver knew about the meltdown and let me on.
“At Tesco cards were being declined all day – there was a huge queue at the cashpoint.”
Carries... £0 cash
DAD-of-three Chris Burley, 52, a double glazing branch manager, from Rotherham, said: “I never carry cash and always pay by card so I was stuck on Friday.
“It was the first time I’ve used a cashpoint in years.
“Our lass spends all the money while I’m at work six days a week!”
Carries... £0 cash
SAM Parsonage, 50, who owns a vintage clothes stall in Rotherham, said: “Contactless cards have been great – until Friday.
"I only every carry change – no notes – so I was stuck.
“My card reader on the stall has been down since, so it’s been cash only, but it has not affected sales.”
Carries... 50p
SARAH Thornhill, 36, a school kitchen assistant and Rotherham mum of two, said: “I always carry cash.
"I hate the feeling of not having any on me. I prefer to pay cash for everything.
“When you tap a card, it doesn’t feel like real money.
"So when Visa crashed I just carried on as normal.”
Carries... £50
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London
SARAH Martinez, 19, a student visiting from California, said: “Luckily I always have cash, otherwise I would have been quite annoyed.
“I had another card and pay for my travel separately so wasn’t hit by the Visa issue.
“I do find it’s easier to have a card, rather than cash, while travelling.”
Carries... £20
CABBIE Sean Williams, 36, from Peckham, said: “I always have cash on me because I get paid in cash.
“But more people are paying me with cards now – up from 20 per cent to 50 per cent.
"I’ve had to alter how I pay my bills due to the time it takes for the cash to reach my bank.”
Carries... £50
TOURIST Andy Cross, 35, from Norwich, said: “I never have anything in my wallet.
“I find not having a card to be inconvenient. I only ever use Apple Pay.
“I have found that I have used cash less and less every year.
“It has been a very gradual thing.”
Carries... £0
AIDAN Black, 28, an engineer, and Chelie Stockbridge, 25, a teacher, both from Leicester, never carry cash and even buy bags of crisps using debit cards.
Chelie said: “It’s lucky we were working as I’m not sure what we’d have done.
"We only get cash out for a specific reason.”
Carries... £0
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