Safety concerns trigger cashless policy at McDonald’s, spark heated debate among customers

Many are increasingly becoming more reliant on technology, especially businesses.

McDonald's, a global fast-food giant, has recently sparked a wave of outrage among its Australian customers due to a sudden shift towards cashless payments at certain times of the day in some Melbourne branches.

This move, which McDonald's claims is for safety reasons, has left many customers disgruntled and threatening to boycott the chain.



A customer from Clayton South McDonald’s, in Melbourne’s south, shared a photo of signs at the restaurant's entrance.

The sign read, 'For the ongoing safety of our staff and customers, we will no longer accept cash payments between midnight and 6 am.'


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Some McDonald’s stores in Melbourne implemented a cashless policy from midnight to 6 am. Image source: Shutterstock.


This customer, a regular patron for years, was taken aback by this sudden change and called for others to boycott the branch.

'Boycott this Maccas,' they said.

'I don’t come here that regularly, but I have been for years and (have) only seen this today.'



When the customer questioned the staff about the reason behind the cashless move, they were told it was due to a recent robbery.

However, the customer was not satisfied with this explanation.

'Either way, I don’t care, I’m paying cash regardless,' the customer said.

The customer's call for a boycott sparked a heated debate on social media.

While some users agreed that the cashless policy was inconvenient, others defended McDonald's, arguing it was a sensible move to protect staff.



A McDonald’s spokesperson explained that the decision to go cashless was implemented in restaurants in Melbourne’s East and South.

However, they assured that cash would still be accepted if that was the only payment method available to the customer.

'The safety and wellbeing of our people and customers is our top priority,' the spokesperson said.

'In response to recent incidents, McDonald’s restaurants in Melbourne’s East and South have implemented a number of proactive safety measures to ensure the ongoing protection of our people and customers.'

'This includes asking customers to use cashless payment methods where possible.'

The spokesperson thanked customers for their understanding and cooperation as the company continues to prioritise safety in its restaurants.



This comes after news of outrage from the recent nationwide Optus outage, which left millions of Aussies unable to make digital transactions.

The incident also ignited a heated debate about the country's readiness to abandon cash entirely, with many arguing that the outage underscores the importance of maintaining a dual system of cash and digital payments.

The outage—which went on for over nine hours—had a domino effect, crippling thousands of businesses across the country that rely on EFTPOS machines for transactions. As a result, customers were forced to revert to cash payments.

You can read more about this story here.
Key Takeaways
  • Some McDonald's stores in Melbourne are moving towards cashless payments, citing staff and customer safety concerns.
  • The move has sparked outrage among some customers, leading to calls for boycotts of the chain.
  • McDonald’s responded by stating the safety and wellbeing of their staff and customers is a top priority, and the cashless policy is a response to recent incidents.
  • The policy is specific to certain times of the day at certain restaurants, and cash will still be accepted if it is the patron's only method of payment.
What's your take on this, dear readers? Does opting for cashless transactions as an anti-robbery measure make sense? Or is it an unreasonable move for a food business? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
 
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Makes a lot of sense to me. If you are going to rob a Service Station or Take-a-way, after midnight is a perfect time. Fewer Police patrols, people & cars on the road buying those items means less chance of being caught.

Keeping no cash in a Cash Register takes away the temptation to rob a business & makes working at those times safer for staff.
 
It would make sense if most would be thieves had any sense. They'll rob you for a few dollars. Recently the idiots stole an EFTPOS machine😭.
Join the group 'Cash is King' and sign the petition to keep cash in our society. Japan, a highly organised modern country, mostly runs on cash. Why would Australia think it's a forward move to go cashless?
 
It would make sense if most would be thieves had any sense. They'll rob you for a few dollars. Recently the idiots stole an EFTPOS machine😭.
Join the group 'Cash is King' and sign the petition to keep cash in our society. Japan, a highly organised modern country, mostly runs on cash. Why would Australia think it's a forward move to go cashless?
If they are going to rob me for a few dollars I'm not carrying cash. I have never carried around an eftpos machine so they won't get that eitherp
 
Makes a lot of sense to me. If you are going to rob a Service Station or Take-a-way, after midnight is a perfect time. Fewer Police patrols, people & cars on the road buying those items means less chance of being caught.

Keeping no cash in a Cash Register takes away the temptation to rob a business & makes working at those times safer for staff.
Unless you are a Shift Worker or something else like that why would you want Macca's at that hour ? If you do, what is the problem ? Sooner or later Common Sense needs to come into play
Doesn't it ?
 
It would make sense if most would be thieves had any sense. They'll rob you for a few dollars. Recently the idiots stole an EFTPOS machine😭.
Join the group 'Cash is King' and sign the petition to keep cash in our society. Japan, a highly organised modern country, mostly runs on cash. Why would Australia think it's a forward move to go cashless?
It's the BANKS who want to go cashless, just another service they no longer want to provide, less service equals more profit. They should be deregistered as a bank or ordered to provide full banking services.
 
Many are increasingly becoming more reliant on technology, especially businesses.

McDonald's, a global fast-food giant, has recently sparked a wave of outrage among its Australian customers due to a sudden shift towards cashless payments at certain times of the day in some Melbourne branches.

This move, which McDonald's claims is for safety reasons, has left many customers disgruntled and threatening to boycott the chain.



A customer from Clayton South McDonald’s, in Melbourne’s south, shared a photo of signs at the restaurant's entrance.

The sign read, 'For the ongoing safety of our staff and customers, we will no longer accept cash payments between midnight and 6 am.'


View attachment 38704
Some McDonald’s stores in Melbourne implemented a cashless policy from midnight to 6 am. Image source: Shutterstock.


This customer, a regular patron for years, was taken aback by this sudden change and called for others to boycott the branch.

'Boycott this Maccas,' they said.

'I don’t come here that regularly, but I have been for years and (have) only seen this today.'



When the customer questioned the staff about the reason behind the cashless move, they were told it was due to a recent robbery.

However, the customer was not satisfied with this explanation.

'Either way, I don’t care, I’m paying cash regardless,' the customer said.

The customer's call for a boycott sparked a heated debate on social media.

While some users agreed that the cashless policy was inconvenient, others defended McDonald's, arguing it was a sensible move to protect staff.



A McDonald’s spokesperson explained that the decision to go cashless was implemented in restaurants in Melbourne’s East and South.

However, they assured that cash would still be accepted if that was the only payment method available to the customer.

'The safety and wellbeing of our people and customers is our top priority,' the spokesperson said.

'In response to recent incidents, McDonald’s restaurants in Melbourne’s East and South have implemented a number of proactive safety measures to ensure the ongoing protection of our people and customers.'

'This includes asking customers to use cashless payment methods where possible.'

The spokesperson thanked customers for their understanding and cooperation as the company continues to prioritise safety in its restaurants.



This comes after news of outrage from the recent nationwide Optus outage, which left millions of Aussies unable to make digital transactions.

The incident also ignited a heated debate about the country's readiness to abandon cash entirely, with many arguing that the outage underscores the importance of maintaining a dual system of cash and digital payments.

The outage—which went on for over nine hours—had a domino effect, crippling thousands of businesses across the country that rely on EFTPOS machines for transactions. As a result, customers were forced to revert to cash payments.

You can read more about this story here.
Key Takeaways

  • Some McDonald's stores in Melbourne are moving towards cashless payments, citing staff and customer safety concerns.
  • The move has sparked outrage among some customers, leading to calls for boycotts of the chain.
  • McDonald’s responded by stating the safety and wellbeing of their staff and customers is a top priority, and the cashless policy is a response to recent incidents.
  • The policy is specific to certain times of the day at certain restaurants, and cash will still be accepted if it is the patron's only method of payment.
What's your take on this, dear readers? Does opting for cashless transactions as an anti-robbery measure make sense? Or is it an unreasonable move for a food business? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Cashless goes customerless, I will not enter a cashless shop.
 
Unless you are a Shift Worker or something else like that why would you want Macca's at that hour ? If you do, what is the problem ? Sooner or later Common Sense needs to come into play
Doesn't it ?
Clearly there are a lot of people wanting to Mac-out at odd hours, that's why there are so many 24 hour places now. I wouldn't have a problem with it, use cash and card equally.
 
It would make sense if most would be thieves had any sense. They'll rob you for a few dollars. Recently the idiots stole an EFTPOS machine😭.
Join the group 'Cash is King' and sign the petition to keep cash in our society. Japan, a highly organised modern country, mostly runs on cash. Why would Australia think it's a forward move to go cashless?
Yep !!
 
Many are increasingly becoming more reliant on technology, especially businesses.

McDonald's, a global fast-food giant, has recently sparked a wave of outrage among its Australian customers due to a sudden shift towards cashless payments at certain times of the day in some Melbourne branches.

This move, which McDonald's claims is for safety reasons, has left many customers disgruntled and threatening to boycott the chain.



A customer from Clayton South McDonald’s, in Melbourne’s south, shared a photo of signs at the restaurant's entrance.

The sign read, 'For the ongoing safety of our staff and customers, we will no longer accept cash payments between midnight and 6 am.'


View attachment 38704
Some McDonald’s stores in Melbourne implemented a cashless policy from midnight to 6 am. Image source: Shutterstock.


This customer, a regular patron for years, was taken aback by this sudden change and called for others to boycott the branch.

'Boycott this Maccas,' they said.

'I don’t come here that regularly, but I have been for years and (have) only seen this today.'



When the customer questioned the staff about the reason behind the cashless move, they were told it was due to a recent robbery.

However, the customer was not satisfied with this explanation.

'Either way, I don’t care, I’m paying cash regardless,' the customer said.

The customer's call for a boycott sparked a heated debate on social media.

While some users agreed that the cashless policy was inconvenient, others defended McDonald's, arguing it was a sensible move to protect staff.



A McDonald’s spokesperson explained that the decision to go cashless was implemented in restaurants in Melbourne’s East and South.

However, they assured that cash would still be accepted if that was the only payment method available to the customer.

'The safety and wellbeing of our people and customers is our top priority,' the spokesperson said.

'In response to recent incidents, McDonald’s restaurants in Melbourne’s East and South have implemented a number of proactive safety measures to ensure the ongoing protection of our people and customers.'

'This includes asking customers to use cashless payment methods where possible.'

The spokesperson thanked customers for their understanding and cooperation as the company continues to prioritise safety in its restaurants.



This comes after news of outrage from the recent nationwide Optus outage, which left millions of Aussies unable to make digital transactions.

The incident also ignited a heated debate about the country's readiness to abandon cash entirely, with many arguing that the outage underscores the importance of maintaining a dual system of cash and digital payments.

The outage—which went on for over nine hours—had a domino effect, crippling thousands of businesses across the country that rely on EFTPOS machines for transactions. As a result, customers were forced to revert to cash payments.

You can read more about this story here.
Key Takeaways

  • Some McDonald's stores in Melbourne are moving towards cashless payments, citing staff and customer safety concerns.
  • The move has sparked outrage among some customers, leading to calls for boycotts of the chain.
  • McDonald’s responded by stating the safety and wellbeing of their staff and customers is a top priority, and the cashless policy is a response to recent incidents.
  • The policy is specific to certain times of the day at certain restaurants, and cash will still be accepted if it is the patron's only method of payment.
What's your take on this, dear readers? Does opting for cashless transactions as an anti-robbery measure make sense? Or is it an unreasonable move for a food business? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Go for it Macca’s keeping our kids safe is more important than losing a few customers, and besides if you know they don’t take cash why go there and make a big deal about it, just saying
 
So I guess the correct time to rob a Maccas is 11:59pm when it has maximum cash!
I don't patronise Maccas that force customers to use their order entry screens at the entrance while having multiple servers standing behind the counter.
I won't patronise any store that forces me to use a card for payment of everyday items.
 
Go for it Macca’s keeping our kids safe is more important than losing a few customers, and besides if you know they don’t take cash why go there and make a big deal about it, just saying
Where's the crime statistics backing up this excuse?
 
I boycott when they started serving McSloppy burgers back when they first opened.
 

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