I also have to agree. For small purchases, credit is WAY faster. Whenever I make a small purchase, I can swipe the card at any time during my order and it will start the approval process before the transaction is even completed. Not unlike how gas pumps tend to work with credit, at least around here, small purchases get a pre-approval up to a certain amount and don’t require a signature, which at least in my state I think is something like $15-20.
Thus, at a fast food place, it’s always faster than cash, because by the time the cashier finishes punching in my order, my card has already been swiped, and approved. If I were to pay with cash, they’d have to handle it, count it, make change, and then I’d have to double check their counting. So, even if you have exact change in hand, it will still take longer than paying with credit. But since that’s seldom the case, cash is almost always slower.
The other benefits of credit win too. I can check my balance and my purchases online or even from my smart phone whenever I want. The idea that cash helps with that makes no sense. Even if you get, say $50 in cash a week to spend on lunch or whatever, how is that easier to manage than actually seeing the exacty amounts spent when I look online. And, of course, if you ever lose your walltr or it’s stolen, any cash in your wallet is gone, but as long as you report your card stolen, you’re typically not accountable for anything that might have been spent on it.
Seriously, I generally carry very little cash on me, which is mostly intended for tipping, or the rare occassions where credit doesn’t work, like an unexpect toll or maybe a vending machine. In fact, I had had the same few bucks on my for almost a year until just a few weeks ago when I went out to dinner for someone’s birthday and we wanted to pay for his dinner and split it several ways and they couldn’t split it up between all of us so we just put it on one person’s bill and everyone give him a little cash.
As for the OP, as mentioned upthread, it sounds like it’s related to recent changes in the laws and they’re just getting around it a bit. Regardless, also as mentioned upthread, most debit cards can be used as credit cards. I used to use a debit card maybe 10-12 years ago, and even then, I could use it exactly like a credit card. I’m not even really sure why one wouldn’t want to do that other than to get cash back.
(OK, you won’t profit much but you’ll really screw Popeye’s on credit card fees).