When going 'cashless' goes completely wrong...

[JohnS]

Ever since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems more and more of our institutions are favouring 'cashless' solutions for doing business. This is one example whereby one tourist attraction in the UK got it 100% completely wrong...

Roman Baths loses £90k (US$115k) after switching to contactless wishing well

Donations plummet tenfold during ‘notable decline in use of cash’, charity says

4 July 2024 - 8:00am

The Roman Baths collected just £9,490 in donations in 2023/24 – a fall from £104,129 in 2018/19 Credit: Andy Fletcher Photography/360image

The Roman Baths Foundation has lost more than £90,000 (US$115,000) after banning cash donations to its wishing well and asking visitors to make a contactless payment instead, The Telegraph can reveal.

The charity has seen donations plummet tenfold since closing the popular feature in March 2022, with its most recent accounts showing it collected just £9,490 in donations in 2023/24, a fall from £104,129 in 2018/19 – the last full year the bath operated as a wishing well.

Bath and North East Somerset Council, which oversees the Roman Baths charity, said the decision was made in part due to a “notable decline in the use of cash” since the pandemic and that the age-old tradition had “begun to damage the 2000-year-old structure”.  

The council also concluded it was “no longer a viable income source” because it took a long time to drain the bath to collect the coins, that some coins were “garbled” and could not be banked and that the process “wasted water”.

However, campaign groups have demanded the “utterly mad policy” is reversed and said half of the population regularly uses cash to give donations.

Bath council said the feature was 'no longer a viable income source' Credit: G. Wright/De Agostini Editorial

Martin Quinn, of campaign group Payment Choice Alliance, said the British public should have a choice when it comes to charity donations.

He said: “A child making a wish with a contactless card does not have the same magical appeal, this policy should be reversed immediately.

“The British public should be allowed to have payment choice when it comes to charitable giving.”

Constructed in 70AD, the Roman Baths is home to some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world. The historical site welcomed more than one million visitors last year.

It ranks as the most popular attraction outside of London after Stonehenge and is made up of the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House and an accompanying museum.

Although the Circular Bath became a popular wishing well among visitors, it was used as a frigidarium in Roman times, a 1.6m deep cold plunge pool which refreshed bathers at the final stage of the bathing process.

A Freedom of Information request obtained by The Telegraph shows the charity, which helps fund the maintenance of the entire site, has struggled to collect donations despite the increased footfall.

In 2018/19, the Roman Baths Foundation collected £104,129 in donations from the Sacred Spring, £90,280 of which came from the Circular Bath, a 1.6 metre cold plunge pool, which acted as a popular wishing well for visitors.

The charity also collected £13,305 from a separate donation box and £543 in contactless card donations.

In March 2022, the Roman Baths installed a sign attached to the railings of the Circular Bath which read: “Please do not throw coins in the bath. Tap the Contactless point or use the cash box to make your offering.”

In March 2022, the Roman Baths installed a sign attached to the railings of the Circular Bath Credit: Conor Pigott

However, visitors have not taken to the contactless wishing well. The charity collected £10,812 in 2022/23, of which £2,504 was made using the touch-free payment method. In 2023/24, it fell further to £9,490 with visitors donating £2,335 by contactless.

Mr Quinn said it was “unbelievable that a charity would forgo cash donations in order to go cashless”, describing the policy as “utterly mad”.

He added: “The march towards a cashless society needs to stop. What’s next? The Tooth Fairy going cashless.”

While contactless use has increased since the pandemic, cash donations remain a vital source of fundraising for charities. Research by NoteMachine, the second largest provider of ATMs, found half of Britons regularly use cash to make donations.

Chief executive Steve Makaritis urged the next government to protect payment choice so that “communities can continue to access their cash for essential items, services and charitable giving”.

“If no action is taken, the UK will become a cash desert,” he said.

Matt takes a swipe at the contactless payment trend

A spokesman for Bath and North East Somerset Council said: “The Roman Baths is a post-pandemic success story and in the last financial year it generated more income from ticket sales and other activity than ever before.

“In addition our priority is to care for and conserve the Roman Baths, one of the world’s great historic sites. The tradition of throwing coins into the water had begun to damage the 2,000-year-old structure of the circular bath, putting the monument at unnecessary risk.

“Managing water-damaged coins and the decline in cash usage post-pandemic further supported our decision to look at other ways to encourage support.”

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/roman-baths-loses-90k-switching-contactless-wishing-well/

[ha_banos]

This is a very specific use case for cash. The move to zero cash has been on the go for a long time. Electronic fiat transactions have been heading towards micro payments for a long time of course. 

These guys sound like they had no choice but to try to go cashless due to the damages. 

Don't know about you lot but the difference for me of throwing some value (coin) Vs the fear of tapping and some tea leaf taking something more than I intended from my account digitally is real! (Banks still don't always give real time notifications and I have to check later and then have to order a chargeback if something goes wrong. Too much grief!) Here's 50p! 🪙

 

[Fuzz]

Just install a fine mesh net in the pool and pull it up every month. No need to drain the pool.

[Cigar Surgeon]

I've been largely cashless since the late 90s. Canada itself has almost 75% of all payments are now electronic. 

Personally I hate carrying cash now, but I always have some as a backup just in case.

[ha_banos]

3 hours ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

I've been largely cashless since the late 90s.  Canada itself has almost 75% of all payments are now electronic. 

Personally I hate carrying cash now, but I always have some as a backup just in case.

My wife moans at me when we get caught out at some market stall that only takes cash. I don't carry my bank card either, it's all on the phone. So we can't even draw cash from an ATM. Oops.

[Ford2112]

I'm a fan of cash. I always have at least a bit on me when I travel in case I'll need it.

[ha_banos]

I found today that I have a WTP 50p coin...selling on fleabay for up to 200£!

Long live cash!

[Chibearsv]

I’ve always got plenty of cash with me. I don’t feel right without it.

[El Presidente]

1 hour ago, Chibearsv said:

I’ve always got plenty of cash with me. I don’t feel right without it.

I always carry $500 in my wallet. Told to me by my state manager in my first year of banking and never faltered since. 

[Nevrknow]

Funny. I heard a long time ago to always carry $1000. I have made a good deal of percentage deals with those small transactions in passing over the years. The wife figured it out before I did. Made a lot of 50% deals. Not bad returns for a couple days of layout.

[Fuzz]

I still carry a few hundred in cash, just in case. Though, my nieces and nephews still tell me I'm old when I tap with my card instead of using my phone or smartwatch.

[westg]

Just returned from a week in Singapore. For the first time in 20 years I didn't have a single note on me. Kinda strange. 

[Li Bai]

I love cash, I happen to always have at least a few hundreds in my wallet. It still gets a lot of love here and that's a good thing to me as I hate "virtual" money. 

[Arabian]

Cash is king, but those Visa, AMEX perks and points are hard to miss.

[Mr. Japan]

Cash is cash, no gaming here. When you feel touching it, it's a pleasure but I have to say that now at least 90% of my daily payments are tap on phone.
What happens if battery of phone is down (no physical card with me) so when overseas always have 500 Euro/US$ on me.