For some local businesses, cash remains king.
As credit card swipe fees increase and small shops grapple with rising costs — from utility bills to hourly wages and ingredients — some maintain a cash-only policy to avoid costly processing fees.
Credit card and debit card swipe fees hit a record $198.25 billion in 2025 and are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor, driving up prices by more than $1,200 a year for the average family, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.
A sign warning customers that the National Bakery in Scranton is cash only near the entrance Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Employee Karen Loss helps a customer at National Bakery in Scranton Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Manager Candace Fox works behind the counter of National Bakery in Scranton Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Varieties of bread sit on the shelf of National Bakery in Scranton Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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A sign warning customers that the National Bakery in Scranton is cash only near the entrance Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
For more than five decades, Manning Farm Dairy has accepted only coins and bills, and that policy remains in place at its retail locations in Clarks Summit, Dunmore and Scranton, as well as the farm in North Abington Twp.
“The ice cream started in 1964, and there were no credit cards then,” Manning’s co-owner Jean Manning said. “It started as a cash business, Paul and I continued that, and we’ve been around so long that I’m going to say 99.9% of our customer base has been with us through the generations — grandparents, then parents and children — and they know it’s cash.”
Manning noted she previously crunched the numbers to determine the credit card cost — even if only half of the customers paid by card — and decided to stick with the status quo.
“We don’t lose enough to warrant the change over to a credit card,” she said. “We really haven’t come upon losing a lot of customers to the fact that we just take cash. It hasn’t seemed to impact our business. If it did, that’s probably when we’d sit down and reevaluate.”
As Manning, 79, and her husband, Paul, 80, plan to gradually transition the business over to their kids, she said the policy may change in the future.
“Our three sons will be taking over the business, in time, little by little,” Manning said. “We’re in a transition period and one never knows what the next generation will do. My six children — all between 44 and 54 — will say, ‘Mom, I never carry cash.’ Well, people our age, we always carry cash. I have a credit card, but I use it for business.”
Burt Flickinger III, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a New York-based retail and consumer goods consulting firm, believes several factors contribute to businesses going cash only.
“There’s been a lot of credit card fraud between delivery companies and people stealing credit card numbers and running up hundreds of charges,” he said. “Energy is 30% higher than it was two years ago, the cost of spirit-based beverages is almost double what it was 10 years ago, and the cost of labor has gone up almost 70% during the last 10 years. To eliminate credit card fraud, eliminate the swipe fees, and have somewhat of a prayer, especially for family-owned and -operated restaurants and franchisees, they have to go cash only to stay in business.”
Additionally, consumers have shifted their dining patterns since the COVID-19 pandemic, Flickinger said.
“People can’t afford to go out as often and when people go out, they’re spending less,” he said. “Before COVID, 11 of every 21 meals per week were consumed outside the home. Now, 19 of 21 meals a week are typically being consumed inside the home.”
Flickinger also believes some consumers prefer paying with cash as a way to better budget their expenses.
“While it may be a transitory inconvenience, the customers actually like it because it means they spend in line with their disposable income from the money they earn versus overspending on a credit card, and then having the consequences of the interest,” he said.
As eateries face mounting challenges, Ben Fileccia, senior vice president of strategy and engagement for the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, sees them exploring all types of options.
“All restaurants are really struggling with costs, whether it’s higher labor cost, or higher cost of goods, which we’ve seen across the board,” he said. “They’re always searching for ways to either drive revenue or save where they’re already spending.”
However, the credit card processing fees continue to become a bigger burden for retailers, Fileccia said.
“We’ve seen swipe fees go from somewhere in the top 20 expenses a restaurant has to pay to within the top five, if not top three, highest expenses a restaurant has to cover,” he said. “As you’re going through your P&L (profit and loss statement) and ways to save money, that’s going to come to the forefront. I’ve seen restaurants go the cash route when they can’t negotiate with the credit card companies. They’re being charged 3%-4% on the swipe fees and there might be an extra 10 cents to a quarter per swipe tagged on top of that to cover other expenses.
“They’re being hit from all angles so it certainly does not surprise me that more restaurants, to combat these high costs, are switching to a cash-only model. It has to be something where you’re talking with your accountant, looking over your books, and making that decision business by business.”
Fileccia urges businesses that accept only cash to make it clear to customers — whether it’s listed on a website, menu or host stand — to make transactions and the consumer experience easy and hospitable.
“We recommend being as transparent as possible if you’re a restaurant or business that doesn’t accept other forms of payment,” he said.
Candace Fox, manager of National Bakery on Capouse Avenue in Scranton, said her family briefly accepted credit cards at the National Pastry Bake Shop, but the experiment didn’t last.
“We owned a bakery in Dunmore, first, and then my dad bought the pastry shop on Main Avenue,” she said. “We tried the credit cards for a little bit there but they want so much money for people to use their cards. Our prices are so cheap that it’s not really worth it in the end. Otherwise, we’re going to have to charge almost double to cover ourselves. That’s a big cost we’re able to avoid.”
For some guests, the thought of paying with dollar bills is a bit foreign, Fox acknowledged.
“We have a lot of people who say, ‘I don’t know the last time I touched cash money,’” she said. “It’s sad that you’re seeing it come to an end because that’s what you always knew.”
On the other side of the coin, some clientele only feel comfortable using cash, Fox said.
“A lot of the older people aren’t (good) with technology to be able to do the card thing, and they’re protective over their privacy,” she said. “They don’t want their information out there.”
Fox admittedly picked up the check for some customers if they didn’t have cash on them and stressed that many paid the debt back, and then some.
“We’re always willing to work with somebody, and help them out, if they’re in a bind,” she said. “I trust people too much, probably, but I say I’ll cover it this time and, actually, a lot of people do pay it back and they pay it forward. They’ll give me a little bit extra and say put it toward the next person, which is nice.”
A loyal customer base keeps the business going amid a difficult economic climate, Fox added.
“We’re seeing a lot of bakeries closing, so it’s getting a little bit scary,” she said. “We’re doing the best we can. Obviously, prices are going up all over the place. We’re experiencing a lot of increases and we’re trying to maintain our prices because we have a lot of older clientele that live on Social Security. The biggest thing is we have repeating customers. I think because we service so many people in the area, it’s really keeping us afloat.”
Ashley Koropchak, an employee of Bill’s Produce in North Manheim Twp., Schuylkill County, stated the store accepts only cash or checks and said there currently is no plan under consideration to expand payment options.
Brittani Shearer, co-owner of the Snack Shack in Wilkes-Barre Twp., said the family-owned business has been cash-only for 13 seasons. The main reason, she said: Keeping ice cream as a budget-friendly snack.
“We do debate this, back and forth, with the growth in credit cards and Apple Pay growing,” Shearer said. “It’s on our radar, it just, at this time, doesn’t seem like the best option. We want to keep the ice cream affordable for families. When you look at the price of vacations and traveling, and going to different places, with the economy and prices going up, we want to make sure we can keep ice cream affordable.
“At this time, we’re sticking to cash only because with credit cards there are extra fees and it kind of adds up. Most people are buying one or two ice cream cones and it’s under a $10 bill, so that’s the route we’re going.”