'I feel held to ransom by contactless payments'

Roger Wicks says he believes contactless payments are not safe

A shopper said he felt "held to ransom and bullied" by the "phenomenal" amount of businesses which only accept contactless payments.

Roger Wicks, 62, from Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire, said he believed people should have more choice as to how they can pay.

Mr Wicks said he was recently unable to use public toilets at Waterside Shopping Centre in Lincoln which have only accepted a 20p charge by contactless payments since April.

Waterside Shopping Centre has been contacted for comment.

Mr Wicks said he did not mind the fee, but said he felt "frustrated" by the lack of payment options and people should not be "held to ransom" by companies.

"I don't see why people should be bullied into things they don't agree with."

"We're meant to be inclusive and democratic in this country yet we've been stopped from using toilets because businesses have decided they want us all to be contactless," Mr Wicks said.

He said it was unfair the public had no say in the rise of contactless payments.

"It's not been voted on. We haven't had a referendum have we?"

According to UK Finance in March 2024 contactless cards accounted for 93% of those in issue

In June 2021, Age UK published a report on how the decline of cash was affecting older people.

It said there was a "critical importance of cash to older people in a world which is increasingly forcing all of us to use digital payment and banking services".

The charity warned the government and industry needed to take action to protect access to cash to ensure "millions of older people and other citizens are not cut off from their money".

A further report in May 2023 said: "No matter what advances in technology occur, there will always be people who depend on cash.

"It is imperative that it remains in circulation and as a payment method for retail customers."

Mr Wicks said he contacted his bank and asked for the contactless option on his card to be disabled.

"I won't have one, I don't want it and I don't see why anyone else should if they don't feel that way."

Ben Whitfield-Heap from Lincoln says he trusts contactless payments

Bill Draycott, from Lincoln, said he used contactless payments "very seldom".

He said he was concerned scammers could access his money.

"I just prefer cash really," he said.

However, Ben Whitfield-Heap, from Lincoln, said: "I don't think we need cash anymore." He said he often used contactless payment methods.

Helen Lloyd, also from Lincoln, said she used contactless several times a day and had "never had a problem".

Sam Richardson from Which? says contactless can be trusted

According to UK Finance, contactless payments accounted for 76% of all debit card transactions made during March 2024.

Sam Richardson, deputy editor of Which? Money magazine, said contactless methods were secure and could be trusted.

"We've had over 10 years of mass contactless use with very little in the way of fraud," he said.

"Everyone thinks about fraudsters running off with our cards. Whilst that occurs, it's actually a very small amount of fraud."

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