Why Cash is Vital in an Emergency

When disaster strikes, your customers need cash more than ever. As a retail business owner, understanding why cash matters isn’t just about being prepared, it’s about keeping your doors open when your community needs you most.

The Red Cross Says Cash is Essential

The American Red Cross doesn’t mince words when it comes to emergency preparedness. Their official survival kit checklist includes cash as a must-have item for every household. Why? Because when the lights go out and the internet goes down, plastic cards become useless.

The Red Cross recommends keeping cash in small bills on hand This advice isn’t just for families; it’s crucial for retailers as well. When disaster strikes, businesses that can accept cash become a lifeline for customers who need essential supplies.

More Emergencies Means a Greater Need for Cash

Natural disasters are happening more frequently across the United States, and each one proves why cash is vital for retailers. Cash transactions don’t require electricity, internet connections, or working phone lines. When the point-of-sale system goes dark, cash becomes the only way to serve customers and keep revenue flowing.

Hurricane Season

Hurricane season officially started on June 1st, and weather experts are predicting an above-normal season for 2025. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warns that hurricane activity typically picks up in August and continues through late October, peaking in early to mid-September.

For store owners, this means a rush of customers buying essential items – and getting cash from the ATM in preparation for the storm. After the storm passes power and internet may be out for days, weeks or even months in some cases, and no way to accept credit and debit cards to serve customers desperate for everyday essentials like water, canned goods and diapers.

When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, businesses with an ATM that could accept cash opened after the storm while others stayed closed for weeks afterwards. The same pattern repeated itself during Hurricanes Sandy, Harvey, and countless other storms.

Wildfire Danger Continues

California’s recent wildfire season remind us that natural disasters can strike anywhere, anytime. The fires forced thousands to evacuate with little warning, electricity and internet were cut off throughout the affected area and beyond as a precaution, and many found themselves in situations where they needed essentials without cash to buy them.

Gas stations, grocery stores, and pharmacies that could process cash transactions were able to serve customers. Meanwhile, businesses that relied entirely on electronic payments had to close their doors because electricity was cut off.

Tornado Season Brings More Challenges

The 2025 tornado season has already shown its destructive power across multiple states. Tornadoes can destroy power lines and communication towers in seconds, leaving entire communities without power or internet access for days or weeks.

Unlike hurricanes, where consumers have time to prepare and get cash, tornadoes can strike with little notice. Businesses in tornado-prone areas need to be ready to operate on cash-only systems at a moment’s notice. When the sirens stop and people emerge from shelters, they need supplies immediately, and cash transactions may be the only option.

When the Power Goes Out, Cash Still Works

Extreme weather has become more common, and with America’s aging electrical grid struggling to keep up, power outages now occur regularly in many parts of the country. Summer heat waves strain the electrical grid, causing rolling blackouts in states like Texas and California. Winter storms knock out power for days in the Northeast and Midwest.

When the power goes out, debit and credit card readers stop working. But cash transactions continue without missing a beat. No internet required. No electricity needed. No waiting for systems to reboot. Just simple, reliable commerce that has worked for thousands of years.

Your Customers Count on You

During emergencies, your business becomes more than just a store. It becomes a community resource. Consumers need water, food, batteries, flashlights, and other essential supplies as well as gas for their cars and medicine for their families.

If your business can only accept electronic payments, you’re left with no choice but to turn away customers and lose business as well. Many people don’t have access to financial options during emergencies. Bank branches close. Online banking doesn’t work. Credit and debit card processing systems fail.

Cash matters because it keeps commerce running when everything else stops working. It lets you continue to serve customers when they need you most. And it keeps money flowing into your business as well.

The Bottom Line for Retailers

Smart retail owners know accepting cash isn’t old-fashioned, it’s essential business planning. Every emergency proves this point again and again. Businesses with an ATM will see an increase in business prior to an emergency because consumers know they will need it. Once the disaster strikes retailers that handle cash transactions stay open longer, serve more customers, and generate more revenue during crisis situations.

The businesses that thrive during emergencies are the ones that prepare for them. They have an ATM on-site. They keep adequate change on hand, safely locked in a Smart Safe. They train employees to handle cash transactions. They understand that when electronic systems fail, cash becomes the most important payment method.

Ready to Ensure Your Business Stays Open During the Next Emergency?

Having cash on hand is crucial during an emergency but so is making sure your customers can access it in preparation for a storm, and during tornado and wildfire season. An on-site ATM gives customers immediate access to cash to handle business on a regular basis and ahead of a natural disaster. And it keeps them shopping in your store – all year long – because of the convenience.

After a disaster strikes and electronic payments fail, cash matters more than ever. Don’t let the next emergency catch you unprepared. Contact NationalLink today to learn how having an ATM and a Smart Safe or Cash Recycler can help you prepare and continue to serve your community.