A Woolworths employee who has worked at the supermarket for 20 years has highlighted a recent change in the retail giant’s cash policy.
Darren Morfoot said on Facebook this week that Woolworths used to allow small cash withdrawals by asking at the service counter, but this now requires an advance purchase.
‘Since when did Woolworths introduce that you have to buy something just to withdraw money. I only found out today,” Mr Morfoot said.
Mr Morfoot, from Bondi in Sydney, said he has “been with the company for 20 years and has only just discovered this”.
The move is one of several recent changes around cash handling, which the supermarket says is becoming less common as customers choose to pay electronically via swipe or tap-and-go.
Woolworths no longer offers cash withdrawals without purchase in its stores
In September last year, Woolworths reduced the maximum cash withdrawal from $500 to $200 and announced it would introduce the purchase requirement the following month.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday that the shift was due to “the lack of cash, with the majority of customers opting for card-only transactions.”
“We understand that cash remains an important payment option for some customers.
‘That is why we continue to offer the option to withdraw cash.’
Obviously, there is no minimum purchase amount required to withdraw cash at this stage.
Mr Morfoot said the supermarket had made a shift away from handling cash in recent years and favored customers scanning their own items and paying by card.
“We have 12 self-service checkouts, and only two take cash, which are hidden by a pole,” he said.
‘When the store manager goes home at the checkout, it’s basically self-service or nothing.
In October, shoppers were told they could only get $200 at Woolworths
Aussies said places to withdraw money are becoming increasingly difficult to find.
“This was my favorite way to withdraw money now that all the banks are closing or limiting their opening hours,” said one.
“Especially since the banks took away their ATMs and put in private ATMs that charge extra fees to get your money,” said another.
“They (Woolworths) used to ask you to cash out when you did your shopping and they don’t do that anymore,” said a third.
“That’s fine if you have a bank near you, my nearest one is a 40 minute drive away,” said another.
“For months I’ve felt like I’m doing something wrong when I go to a bank to get my money and they come running and push you out to an ATM,” said a fifth.
According to the Global Payments Report, cash will make up just 2 percent of point-of-sale transactions by 2025 and digital wallets will replace cards as the preferred way to pay electronically.
Numerous concerns have been raised about the shift to a cashless society, including the increased risk of hacks and scams, the drying up of access to money if electricity or internet coverage is disrupted, and the amount of fees deducted electronically.
