Costa Coffee has become the latest retail chain to refuse to accept cash payments across its 2500 outlets in the UK.
The coffee house is making big changes to its instore environment in response to the spread of the coronavirus as it moves to a cash-free, take-away only mode across the counter.
Chief among the measures being adopted is a move to card-only payments for fear of spreading the virus through contaminated note handling. Other initiative include the removal of all seating areas to support government guidance on social distancing. Newspapers are also being removed "as we cannot clean them in between each customer handing them".
"At Costa Coffee our number one priority is the safety and wellbeing of our team members and customers," the firm states. "we are committed to providing you with a clean and safe environment. The safety of our customers and our store teams is our number one priority, no more so than when operating in unprecedented times."